Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Sheboygan is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 50,792 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area and is the county seat of Sheboygan County. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Sheboygan River, about 50 mi (81 km) north of Milwaukee and 64 mi (103 km) south of Green Bay.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.4 km² (14.1 mi²). 36.0 km² (13.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.07%) is water. It is located at latitude 43°45' north, longitude 87°44' west.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 50,792 people, 20,779 households, and 12,799 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,409.8/km² (3,652.4/mi²). There were 21,762 housing units at an average density of 604.1/km² (1,564.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.63% White, 0.86% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 6.48% Asian (with many being of Hmong descent), 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.85% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. 5.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Many of the residents have German ancestry. Even second- and third-generation residents have maintained words in their vocabulary such as "andso" that indicate they are from the original German settlers.

There were 20,779 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,066, and the median income for a family was $47,718. Males had a median income of $35,242 versus $24,690 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,270. About 6.2% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people from Sheboygan

Ray Buivid, American football player
The Chordettes, female popular singing quartet
Jerry Donohue, chemist, major contributor toward DNA identification
Walter J. Kohler, Jr, Governor of Wisconsin
Walter J. Kohler, Sr, Governor of Wisconsin
Brandon Magee, Major League Baseball prospect
Rick Majerus, basketball coach
Jackie Mason, comedian
Martha Nause, golfer
E. E. Smith, science fiction author
Adolphus Frederic St. Sure, judge

Education

Sheboygan is home to three institutes of higher education:

University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan
Lakeland College
Lakeshore Technical College (satellite campus)

High schools:

Sheboygan South High School
Sheboygan North High School
Sheboygan County Christian High School
Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School

Points of interest

Above & Beyond Children's Museum; [1]
Ellwood H. May Environmental Park [2]
John Michael Kohler Arts Center [3]
Sheboygan County Historical Museum [4]
Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts [5]
Blue Harbor Resort
Whistling Straits Golf Course

Transportation

Sheboygan County Memorial Airport

Bratwurst

Sheboygan County is famous for its bratwurst, including the well-known Johnsonville bratwurst. The city of Sheboygan's Jaycees have an annual fundraising festival called Bratwurst Days, which includes the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship. The 2005 contest was part of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. The event was won by professional eating champion Sonya Thomas, who set a world record by eating 34.5 bratwurst in 10 minutes. Footage of the event was aired on ESPN and CNN. The 2006 contest featured Takeru Kobayashi, who easily broke the record by eating 58 bratwurst.

Trivia

Annually, Sheboygan hosts the Dairyland Surf Classic - the largest freshwater surfing competition in the world.
From 1938 to 1951, Sheboygan was home to a National Basketball Association franchise, the Sheboygan Redskins, which played at the Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory.
Acuity Insurance, a Sheboygan-based insurer, raised the tallest flagpole in the United States on July 2 2005. The steel pole is 338 feet high, 6 feet wide at the base, weighs 65 tons (without the flag), and is sunk into a 550-ton block of concrete that is 40 feet deep, 8 feet wide and reinforced by steel rods. The flag is 120 feet by 60 feet, or 7,200 square feet. Each star is 4 feet high and each stripe is 4 1/2 feet wide. It weighs 300 pounds. This flag and flagpole outdid an earlier Acuity record, a flag raised June 2, 2003, atop a 150 foot flagpole. The old pole toppled over due to stress and high winds, almost falling onto nearby Interstate 43. The new flagpole is designed with extra bracing and placed much farther from the highway.
In April of 1896 the schooner Lottie Cooper was wrecked just off Sheboygan in a gale. The wreckage was found buried in the harbor during the construction of the Harbor Centre Marina. The wreckage was recovered and is now on display in DeLand Park, along Sheboygan's lakefront. The free display is the only one of its kind on the Great Lakes.
Sheboygan was recognized by Reader's Digest as "The Best Place to Raise a Family" in the United States in 1995.