Stanley, Wisconsin

Stanley is a city in Chippewa and Clark counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,608 at the 2010 census. Of this, 3,602 were in Chippewa County, and 6 in Clark County.

For the town in Barron County, see Stanley, Barron County, Wisconsin.
Stanley, Wisconsin
City
Location of Stanley in Chippewa County
and Clark County, Wisconsin.
Coordinates: 44°58′N 90°56′W
Country United States
State Wisconsin
CountiesChippewa, Clark
Area
 • Total4.33 sq mi (11.22 km2)
 • Land4.26 sq mi (11.05 km2)
 • Water0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation1,083 ft (330 m)
Population
 • Total3,608
 • Estimate 
(2019)[4]
3,711
 • Density870.11/sq mi (335.93/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s)715 & 534
FIPS code55-76625[5]
GNIS feature ID1574790[2]
Websitestanleywisconsin.us

History

Stanley was settled and platted in 1881 when the Wisconsin Central Railroad built its line through the area. The town is named for Lemuel C. Stanley, a merchant and railroad man from Chippewa Falls who was involved in that first plat.[6] The main early businesses were a small steam sawmill and some charcoal kilns built by the York Iron Company in 1887.[7]

In 1891 the Northwestern Lumber Company from Eau Claire started a big lumber mill at Stanley.[8] Starting in the 1860s, Northwestern had sawed its lumber at its company town Porter's Mills, on the Chippewa River four miles below Eau Claire. But by the early 1890s Northwestern had exhausted its holdings of timber easy to drive down the river. Timber stands still remained on land away from the rivers, so Northwestern switched its model from river-logging to railroad-logging, and shut down Porter's Mills.[9] The company built a new mill at Stanley and spawned the Stanley, Merrill and Phillips Railway to haul logs out of the country to the north and south. (The railway never reached Merrill or Phillips; its furthest reach was Walrath, to the north of Jump River.) The mill in Stanley sawed wood until 1920, when Northwestern's timber holdings in the area were largely exhausted. Over that period, the mill is estimated to have sawed 850 million board feet of lumber.[8]

Through the 1890s the population of Stanley increased from 500 to 2500.[9] Stanley became a village in 1895 and a city in 1898. In 1897, attracted by rail connections and the supply of hemlock bark, the U.S. Leather Company opened a tannery in Stanley which employed 200 men and by 1908 tanned 75,000 hides shipped in from Chicago to South America. Stanley's other big early industry was the Big Four Canning Factory[9] on the north side of town,[10] where immigrant farmers brought wagonloads of peas, cabbage, corn and beets grown on the logging cutover. In 1914 Big Four produced up to 100,000 cans of vegetables per day, shipping them all over the country.[9]

The D.R. Moon Library was donated in 1901 to the people of Stanley by the family of the Northwestern Lumber Company's president.

On May 18, 1906 a fire started in one of the Northwest Lumber Company buildings east of the current Chapman Lake in what is now Fandry Park. The fire quickly spread to other businesses and into the residential area to the east. It ended up destroying a number of business buildings, two churches, and about seventy homes. But neighbors helped neighbors, businesses rebuilt (some with fireproof brick), and the city moved on.[11] The Northwestern Lumber Company had started a brickyard around 1900, digging its clay north of Chapman Park's location. After the fire in 1906, production increased greatly to rebuild Stanley and buildings as far off as Eau Claire and Auburndale.[12]

On May 20, 2002, the city annexed a portion of land in the Town of Thorp in Clark County.

Geography

Stanley is located at 44°58′N 90°56′W (44.9613, -90.9385).[13]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.25 square miles (11.01 km2), of which 4.18 square miles (10.83 km2) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km2) is water.[14]

Stanley is located primarily on the north side of Wisconsin State Highway 29. It is mostly in Chippewa County, but parts of the east side are in Clark County.

Demographics
2000 Census Age Pyramid for Eau Claire County
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19002,387—
19102,67512.1%
19202,577−3.7%
19301,988−22.9%
19402,0211.7%
19502,014−0.3%
19602,0140.0%
19702,0491.7%
19802,0952.2%
19902,011−4.0%
20001,898−5.6%
20103,60890.1%
2019 (est.)3,711[4]2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $27,644, and the median income for a family was $41,964. Males had a median income of $27,900 versus $21,607 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,421. About 4.0% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 3,608 people, 930 households, and 532 families residing in the city. The population density was 863.2 inhabitants per square mile (333.3/km2). There were 1,006 housing units at an average density of 240.7 per square mile (92.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 80.4% White, 16.6% African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 930 households, of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% 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 2.96.

The median age in the city was 37.6 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 39.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 68.8% male and 31.2% female.

Education

Students residing in Stanley and the neighboring village of Boyd are served by Stanley-Boyd Elementary School, Stanley-Boyd Middle School, and Stanley-Boyd High School. The high school has an enrollment of 326 students. For interscholastic sports, Stanley-Boyd High School is a member of the Cloverbelt Conference of the WIAA.

Stanley Correctional Institution

The city is the site of the Stanley Correctional Institution.

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. Taylor, Mary E. (August 1985). "D.R. Moon Memorial Library". NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. Forrester, George (1891). Historical and Biographical Album of the Chippewa Valley Wisconsin. Chicago, Ill: A. Warner. p. 61.
  8. Nagel, Paul (1979). S.M.&P. Ry. – The Stanley, Merrill and Phillips Railway. Chippewa Falls, Wisc.: Print-it Press Company. pp. 6–10, 44.
  9. Pfaff, Tim (1994). Settlement and Survival: Building Towns in the Chippewa Valley (1850-1925). Eau Claire, Wisconsin: Chippewa Valley Museum Press. pp. 73, 78–79. ISBN 0-9636191-1-X.
  10. "Stanley 1919 - Sanborn Fire Insurance Map". Wisconsin Historical Society. Sanborn Map Company. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  11. Hoffman, Arnie; Jean Anderson (1976). "Stanley fire among most damaging". Our Story 1776–1976 – insert in Eau Claire Leader Telegram. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  12. "Brickmaking once Booming Business". Our Story 1776–1976 – insert in Eau Claire Leader Telegram. 1976. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  13. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  14. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  15. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
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