Plain, Wisconsin
Encyclopedia
Sauk County, Wisconsin
Sauk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,225. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. Sauk County is included in the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area and in the Madison Combined Statistical Area....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 792 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Plain is located at 43°16′39"N 90°2′40"W (43.277580, -90.044563).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²), all of it land.
History
The village of Plain is located on Wisconsin Highway 23 in the Town of FranklinFranklin, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Franklin is a town in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 696 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.3 square miles , of which, 49.2 square miles of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is...
. The area of Plain was originally known as Cramer's Corners because Solomon, John, and Adam Cramer owned the land after moving there from Richland County, Ohio (previously from Pennsylvania). The Cramers are listed as land owners in an 1857 Town of Franklin map. (This Cramer family should not be confused with the Kraemer [Krämer] family from Irlach, Bavaria, Germany, who settled in Plain, Wisconsin, in 1867.) Several rough buildings were erected and the area acquired the nickname of Logtown. A post office was established at Plain in 1860, and Plain formally became a village in 1912.
The origin of the village's name is widely rumored to have been selected as an homage to the Shrine of the Virgin Mary at Maria Plain, in Salzburg, Austria. There are, however, no known documents, newspaper articles or books of the time to support this claim, and writings of the time indicate a less colorful origin: In the book Baraboo and Other Place Names in Sauk County, Wisconsin (written in 1912, the same year that Plain was incorporated) it says of Plain that it was "called Plain because the inhabitants were plain people." In a September 23, 1915 letter in the local newspaper, the Weekly Home News, a subscriber wrote of his desire to have Plain re-christened, as the town had expanded and improved so much over the past three years that it had outgrown the "plain"ness of its name. In the letter, the author wrote: "Within a few weeks very strong efforts will be made at proper headquarters to have the name of Plain changed, as that name does not agree with the rushing strides our burg is making. First of all there is no meaning to the word Plain, as it is an adjective; we must have at least a noun and why not put a "ville" or "city" to it."
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 792 people, 333 households, and 224 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,083.4 people per square mile (418.9/km²). There were 339 housing units at an average density of 463.7 per square mile (179.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.61% White, 0.25% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.38% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population.
There were 333 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% 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 2.96.
In the village the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $44,028, and the median income for a family was $51,094. Males had a median income of $34,236 versus $25,385 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $24,658. About 0.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Festivals
In Plain there is an annual St. Luke's Parish Festival and a Plain Fire and EMS 3-day celebration during the summer. The St.Luke's Parish Festival lasts three days (Friday-Sunday). The Plain Fire and EMS celebration, sponsored by the Fire Department and EMS service, includes fireworks on Saturday night, kickball, baseball, and fun activities for the kids.Notable residents
- Sister Rose Thering, of the Racine Dominican SistersRacine Dominican SistersThe Congregation of Sisters of St. Dominic of St. Catherine of Siena is a Catholic religious order for women.The order was founded in 1862 in Racine, Wisconsin in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.The mother house is in Racine...
, who was a professor of Catholic-Jewish dialogue at Seton Hall, was born in Plain.