Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin


Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,144 at the 2010 census. The city is 38.4 miles north of Green Bay, 127 miles north of Milwaukee, 169 miles south of Houghton, Michigan, and 289 miles east of Minneapolis.

History

The area was originally inhabited by the Ho-Chunk and Menominee. The town is known in the Menominee language as Namāēw-Wīhkit, or "bay of the sturgeon". The Menominee ceded this territory to the United States in the 1836 Treaty of the Cedars following years of negotiations with the Ho-Chunk and the U.S. government over how to accommodate the incoming populations of Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Brothertown peoples who had been removed from New York. After that, the area was available for white settlement. In 1874, Sturgeon Bay was incorporated as a village. It became a city in 1883. In 1891, Charles Mitchell Whiteside, member of the Wisconsin Assembly, sponsored a bill that merged the community of Sawyer with Sturgeon Bay. The city is locally known for its Bridge, which at the time of its 1931 opening was both the second across the bay and to carry WIS 17 seen from a resort in Sturgeon Bay

Geography

Sturgeon Bay is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, is land and is water.
Sturgeon Bay is at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay; the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula. It is one of several cities along the bay of Green Bay, including Green Bay, Marinette, and Escanaba, Michigan, and along Lake Michigan north of Manitowoc and south of Manistique, Michigan.

Climate

Sturgeon Bay has a humid continental climate. The city experiences warm summers and cold snowy winters, with an average temperature ranging from in the summer down to in the winter.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,144 people, 4,288 households and 2,385 families. The population density was. There were 4,903 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.1% White, 1.0% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population.
There were 4,288 households of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.74.
The median age in the city was 45.2 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.5% were from 25 to 44; 31% were from 45 to 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,437 people, 4,048 households, and 2,432 families residing in the city. The population density was 981.4 people per square mile. There were 4,447 housing units at an average density of 462.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.22% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 4,048 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.81% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city, the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,935, and the median income for a family was $45,084. Males had a median income of $31,879 versus $21,414 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,899. About 5.5% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Municipal services

Major highways

Airport

Sturgeon Bay is served by Door County Cherryland Airport, which is off of Wisconsin Highway 42 and 57 on County Highway PD.

Education

The community is served by Sturgeon Bay High School and has a satellite campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
Sturgeon Bay also has three elementary schools, Sawyer, Sunrise, and Sunset. The middle school, T.J. Walker Middle School, is connected to the high school. St. Peter's Lutheran School is a Pre-K to 8th grade school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Three former schools, Saint Peter and Paul, Corpus Christi, and Saint Joseph, have combined to form Saint John Bosco. The Door County Charter School was in operation from 2002 to 2005.
In 2000–2019 public school statistics, high school enrollment declined 21.0%, middle school enrollment 27.1%, and elementary school enrollment 13.7%.

Media

Sturgeon Bay is home to the Door County Advocate and numerous radio stations in the. No television stations originate from Sturgeon Bay, and WFRV's and WLUK's remote-operated weather cameras are the only full-time presence of Green Bay stations in the city.

Entertainment

The community has one movie theater, Sturgeon Bay Cinema 6, and a professional regional theatre, the Third Avenue Playhouse. Every year the town hosts Steel Bridge Songfest, where nationally known musicians perform. Past performers include Jackson Browne, Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos and Pat MacDonald of Timbuk3.

Notable people