Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census, while the Sheboygan metropolitan area had 118,034 residents. The city is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Sheboygan River, about north of Milwaukee and south of Green Bay.
History
Before its settlement by European Americans, the Sheboygan area was home to Native Americans, including members of the Potawatomi, Chippewa, Ottawa, Winnebago, and Menominee tribes. In the Menominee language, the place is known as Sāpīwǣhekaneh, "at a hearing distance in the woods". The Menominee ceded this land to the United States in the 1831 Treaty of Washington. Following the treaty, the land became available for sale to American settlers. Migrants from New York, Michigan, and New England were among the first new Americans to settle this area in the 1830s, though the French had been present in the region since the 17th century and had intermarried with local people. One 19th century settler remarked: "Nearly all the settlers were from the New England states and New York." Lumbering was the first major industry, as trees were harvested and shipped to eastern markets through the Great Lakes.Although Sheboygan was officially incorporated in 1846, much of the town had been platted in 1836, when property investors laid out more than one thousand lots.
By 1849, a wave of liberal, middle-class immigration triggered by the revolutions of 1848 had made the community known for its German population. As Major William Williams wrote on June 26, 1849: "Arrived at Sheboigin on the Wisconsin side, a small town, population purhaps from 700 to 1000. This is a promising place. There are a great many best class of Germans settling around it. 'Tis all along this Lake so far quite an interesting country." Between 1840 and 1890, Protestant Dutch immigrants also settled in the area, as did Irish refugees fleeing the Great Famine. A neighborhood in northwestern Sheboygan was settled by Slovenian immigrants and acquired the name Laibach; it was also known as Vollrath's Division. According to a local Optimist member's account in 1963, in 1887 Sheboygan adopted a sundown town ordinance, banning African Americans from living there, though city leaders denied that any such ordinance was in effect.
In the spring of 1898, Sheboygan elected Fred C. Haack and August L. Mohr as aldermen, making them the first two Social Democratic Party candidates to be elected to public office in the United States. Haack had originally been elected in 1897 as a member of the Populist Party but joined the Social Democrats after they organized locally. Haack served as alderman for sixteen years before moving to Milwaukee and being elected as a Socialist alderman there. At the
1932 Socialist Party convention, Haack received recognition as the first Socialist officeholder in America.
In the early 20th century, many Orthodox Greeks, Catholic Slavs and Lithuanians immigrated to Sheboygan. In the late 20th century, Hmong refugees from Laos and Southeast Asia settled there.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, is land and is water. It is located at latitude 43°45' north, longitude 87°44' west.Climate
Sheboygan has a warm-summer humid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. In spite of its position on Lake Michigan there are vast temperature differences between seasons, although it is somewhat moderated compared with areas farther inland.Demographics
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | % 2000 | % 2010 | ||
| White alone | 43,189 | 38,102 | 34,418 | 85.03% | 77.32% | 68.93% |
| Black or African American alone | 410 | 832 | 1,557 | 0.81% | 1.69% | 3.12% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone | 198 | 209 | 190 | 0.39% | 0.42% | 0.38% |
| Asian alone | 3,266 | 4,412 | 5,495 | 6.43% | 8.95% | 11.01% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone | 4 | 6 | 16 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| Other race alone | 23 | 31 | 160 | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.32% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial | 668 | 824 | 1,864 | 1.32% | 1.67% | 3.73% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 3,034 | 4,866 | 6,229 | 5.97% | 9.87% | 12.48% |
| Total | 50,792 | 49,288 | 49,929 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, the population was 49,929. The population density was. There were 22,605 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 72.3% White, 11.1% Asian, 3.3% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 4.8% from other races, and 7.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 12.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race and 68.9% Non-Hispanic White.2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 49,288 people, 20,308 households, and 12,219 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 22,339 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 82.5% White, 1.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, 9.0% Asian, 3.6% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.9% of the population.There were 20,308 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.8% were non-families. Of all households 33.4% were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.
The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
Ethnic communities
In 1976, the first three Hmong families settled in Sheboygan with the help of local refugee agencies such as the Grace Episcopal Church and Trinity Lutheran Church. They were refugees from Laos. By 1990, the city had 2,000 residents of Hmong descent, and by December 1999, there were around 5,000 Hmong and Hmong American residents in Sheboygan, 65% of whom were under the age of 18.In 2006, the Sheboygan Hmong Memorial was installed in the lakefront Deland Park to honor Hmong military and civilian contributions to the Secret War in Laos. The 2010 U.S. Census showed the number of Hmong citizens to be around 4,100 people, putting it fourth in Wisconsin for Hmong populations. Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the Hmong American population was 5,002, the largest Hmong community in Wisconsin after Milwaukee. They are the second largest ethnic group in Sheboygan after those of German descent.
Sheboygan is known for its large ethnic German population comprising roughly 40% of the population. Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the German American population was 19,694. The Mexican American population was 4,589 comprising over 80% of the Latino population.
Arts and culture
Museums in Sheboygan include the Above & Beyond Children's Museum and Sheboygan County Historical Museum. The Sheboygan Hmong Memorial recognizes the service and sacrifice of the Hmong people of Laos who fought for the United States during the Secret War from 1961 to 1975, part of the Laotian Civil War. The monument is located within Deland Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline of Sheboygan, which contains one of the larger Hmong communities in the United States.In April 1894, the schooner Lottie Cooper wrecked just off Sheboygan in a gale. The wreckage was found buried in the harbor during the construction of the Harbor Centre Marina and is now on display in Deland Park, on Sheboygan's lakefront. The free display is the only one of its kind on the Great Lakes.
The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, established in 2021 and the site of a large number of historically significant shipwrecks, lies in the waters of Lake Michigan off Sheboygan.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is a contemporary art museum and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan. The center preserves and exhibits artist-built environments and contemporary art. In 2021, the center opened the Art Preserve, a satellite museum space dedicated to art environments.
The city is also home to the historic Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts. Sheboygan was the home of The Chordettes, a 1950s female group, as well as the thrash metal band Morbid Saint.
Brat Days
Sheboygan County is well known for its bratwurst. The Sheboygan Jaycees sponsor Brat Days, an annual fund-raising festival that includes the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship.Parks and recreation
Sheboygan is a notable surfing destination and has been called the "Malibu of the Midwest". Sheboygan is considered to be one of the best places to surf in the Great Lakes region. Sheboygan hosted the annual Dairyland Surf Classic from 1988 to 2012, the largest lake surfing competition in the world. Sheboygan's surfing culture was discussed in the 2003 surfing documentary, Step into Liquid.Notable parks in Sheboygan include Ellwood H. May Environmental Park, the Sheboygan Indian Mound Park, and Quarry Beach. Blue Harbor Resort is a resort, water park and conference center in Sheboygan located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Sheboygan River. It opened in June 2004 after being built by Great Wolf Resorts.