website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Census
Population
1840-1853
In 1853, Watertown ranked as the state’s second largest community at a population of 4,000 with 2,000 of those citizens claiming German heritage. This population is a large step from the 218 inhabitants in 1840, 800 recorded in 1847, and validates the 10,000 estimated in an 1856 census (City Council, 1856). German influence was particularly penetrating in the city’s sixth ward which came to be known as “Little Germany.” The continuous German inflow has been accredited to the presence of other Germans which is comparable to the growing Hispanic citizenry today. Sadly this remarkable growth was abruptly ended by the Panic of 1857 in which the city’s huge bonds to support railroad expansion fell through and red bankruptcy flags lined city streets forcing the city to temporarily dissolve its government to avoid paying back the bonds. Wallman reports the population dropping by almost 50% within three years to its recorded population of 5,302 in 1860. There was only negligible growth for the next seventy-five years.
1853 <>
Incorporation
The City of Watertown
was incorporated with a population of 4000.
At that time there
were
6 dry goods stores,
11 grocery stores,
2 drug stores,
3 hardware stores,
15 taverns,
2 bakeries,
3 meat markets,
2 livery stables,
1 tobacco factory,
7 blacksmith shops,
6 wagon shops,
2 joiners,
2 jewelry stores,
4 tin shops,
6 cabinet shops,
1 chair factory,
1 machine shop,
5 tire shops,
1 fork & hoe
factory,
1 plow factory,
1 sash & door
factory,
1 saleratus factory,
3 flour mills,
4 sawmills,
1 fanning mill
factory,
2 saddlery shops,
2 bookstores,
2 barber shops,
1 gunsmith,
1 tannery,
1 furnace,
1 pottery,
1 oil mill,
1 carding factory,
1 rake & cradle
factory,
1 woolen & yarn
factory,
2 printing offices,
6 school houses,
2 select schools,
and 1 bank.
WDTimes 05 16 1923
<> PERSPECTIVE
<> 1 year before Octagon House construction completed
1855
Census
Watertown Democrat, 08 02 1855
Population of city of Watertown -- just finished -- 8,512. An increase of 7061 since 1850. WD
1860
The
Marvelous Growth of Wisconsin
Watertown
Democrat, 03 14 1861
It is a
remarkable fact that the census of 1860 renders Wisconsin the fifteenth state
of the Union—counting slaves and whites in the Southern States. We have a larger population than Louisiana, a
state that has been settled over one hundred years and which contains the fifth
city in the Union. Wisconsin is the
growth of barely twenty-five years, yet we have a population larger than any of
the New England states, except Massachusetts, and in 1870 we hope to pass even
that old and flourishing commonwealth.
Our population in 1860 was 768,000.
In 1870, if our legislation is SO BEARLY DECENT AS NOT TO DISGRACE OUR
STATE, we shall have a population of 1,400,000.
The secession movement will have the tendency to bring us a large
emigration from the border Slave States—for the last few months have lamentably
shown the insecurity of states where slavery is allowed to exist.
↓ More on 1860 Census ↓
Watertown Democrat, 05 24 1860
The time for taking the census of the United States is near at
hand. The Marshal of Wisconsin, Jehu H.
Lewis, is naming his deputies to do this important work. For this Assembly district, Gen. John C.
Gilman has been appointed, and for the Jefferson district, A. H. Waldo, both
first rate selections of officers who will discharge their duties promptly and
accurately.
In Dodge County, Richard Mertz of Juneau has been
appointed to take the census in the Oak Grove district, and Capt. Gustavus
Hammer in the Mayville district.
↓ More on 1860 Census ↓
Watertown Democrat, 05 31 1860
Tomorrow, the 1st of June, the Deputy Marshals begin the discharge of
their official duties as census takers.
Every facility should be afforded necessary to enable them to make a
correct enumeration of inhabitants and collect trust-worthy statistics
concerning the resources of the country.
Marshal Gilman has prepared the following list of questions he is
obliged to ask, and it will be a great convenience if those who must answer
them will be prepared to do so when they shall be called on, as will soon be
the case:
1st. Name of corporation or individual, producing article to the annual
value of $500.
2d. Name of business manufacture or produce.
3d. Capital invested in real or personal estate in the business, raw
materials used, including fuel.
4th. Quantity.
5th. Kinds.
6th. Value.
7th. Kind of motive power, machinery, structure or resource, average
number of hands employed.
8th. Male.
9th. Female.
Wages during the year ending June
1st, 1860.
10th. Average monthly cost of male labor.
11th. Average monthly cost of female labor.
Annual Produce
12th. Quantities.
13th. Kinds.
14th. Value.
It becomes necessary that the above questions be answered as accurately
as possible, in order to arrive at the truth in
relation to the productive industry of the country.
↓ More on 1860 Census ↓
Census
Watertown Democrat, 06 14 1860
Not Very Sensible
One of
the instructions given to Deputy Marshals in the discharge of their duties as
census takers is that they must not furnish any statistics to newspapers for
publication. We confess that we are too
obtuse to fathom the object of any such arrangement. Uncle Sam is such a slow old coach that if we
have to wait for him to supply the information we will be at least two years in
finding out our population and the thousand and one other items of
intelligence, to obtain which the census is especially taken. But we suppose the thing is all right and
can’t be helped.
↓ More on 1860 Census ↓
Census of Watertown
Watertown Democrat, 07 26 1860
We are indebted to Deputy Marshal John C. Gilman for the following statement of the present population of the City of Watertown: [population of individual wards listed] 5,242 Total.
It will be seen that these figures show a considerable falling off from the enumeration of 1855. At that time three railroads were being built within the limits of the city, giving employment to at least 1,000 men. A large amount of building was going on, requiring the services of hundreds of masons and carpenters. All this has since been changed. The railroads are built, the blocks are finished and the laborers dispersed. Then came the revulsions of 1857 and the Pike’s Peak excitement. Many of our most prominent mercantile houses were swept away and company after company of adventurers started on their way to the newly discovered land of gold.
All these and other causes have been in constant operation to draw off and diminish our numbers. The floating elements of our population have drifted away, but the permanent remains. We are surrounded by a country of unrivalled fertility and productiveness. It is being rapidly brought under cultivation. Every year adds to the area of improved lands and lessens the extent of wilderness that spreads out in every direction. We still have a vast and undeveloped water power. This will not always be permitted to run to waste. It will one day be used to its utmost capacity. When that period arrives, an industrious and energetic population must gather here and help to construct a large and flourishing city. The foundations of wealth and business are here and will not always remain dormant. Everything around us is advancing and improving, and we cannot fail to feel the beneficial influence of such activity.
1870 Census
Watertown Republican, 09 14 1870
FACT FROM THE CENSUS -- There are in our city, south of Main Street,
3,389 inhabitants; north of Main Street, 4,180.
There are in Dodge county 2,186; in Jefferson county 5,383. There are on the east side of the river
4,811; on the west side 2,758. On the
east side of Rock River and Silver Creek there are about 5,411; west of the
same 2,158. The last two items are
nearly correct, but we could not give the exact figures as three of the wards
lie on both sides of the river, and Silver Creek also divides one ward.
1911
Watertown Population 8829
Watertown Gazette, 01 13 1911
The late census gives Watertown a population of 8829, an increase of 392 since 1900. This is not as great an increase as was expected, but many cities in Wisconsin and the Middle West have fell behind in 10 years instead of increasing in population, Watertown ought to feel pleased with so substantial an increase.
1950
In 1954 Watertown celebrated its centennial as a city and published a booklet in commemoration of the event. Besides its recording of the city’s history, the booklet has provided a view of the city’s current status. It claimed the population to be around 12,417 according to a 1950 census.
1960
1960 Census
Watertown's gain in population the past decade has been 1,984 according to census figures for 1960. The total population at present is 14,401, compared with 12,417 in 1950. The 1960 census was completed some time ago and figures for Watertown were issued this morning at Madison. The city's Jefferson County wards have a population of 10,450 and the Dodge County wards a total of 3,951. In 1940 the population of Watertown was 11,301, according to census figures issued at the close of the 1940 enumeration and in 1930 the official figure was 10,613.
Watertown Daily Times, 12 02 1960
Watertown's official population, as shown in the 1960 census, is 13,953, according to a report issued today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Census population date is April 1, 1960. In 1950 Watertown had a population of 12,417. The report shows that the population of the Jefferson County portion of the city is 9,975 and of the Dodge County wards 3,968. The total population of Dodge County is 63,170.
2000
Once the second largest community in the state, the 2000 Census puts the city of Watertown at a total population of 21,597 and the 2008 estimate of 23,127 leaves it ranked as just another third class city. Of this population there are an estimated 8,046 households and 5,583 families. The city’s median income per family is $42,562 while about 4.6% of families fall below the poverty line. When compared to the national median income of $41,994 it becomes apparent that Watertown is a prime example of a middle-class city. The employment status of Watertown continues this standard with 70% of its population of working age in the labor force, and 3.3% of the population unemployed.
Watertown Daily Times, 03 08 2001
Watertown's official 2000 census is 21,598, an increase of 2,456 or 12.83 percent in the past decade, official numbers released late Thursday afternoon show. The 1990 census showed Watertown's population to be 19,142. The new population places Watertown as the 40th largest city in Wisconsin. That's a drop of nine places from the 1990 census when the city was ranked 31st in the state. Dodge County's population increase was far larger than Jefferson County's both in absolute numbers and in percentages. In the past decade, Dodge County's population increased from 76,559 to 85,897 for an increase of 12.2 percent. Jefferson County's increase was 9.2 percent as the population rose from 67,783 to 74,021.
