Biggest cities in Wisconsin 150 years ago

After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.

With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.

On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.

The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in Wisconsin from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S. it's easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.

The largest city in Wisconsin ranked #19 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 1 was in Wisconsin. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.

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#25. Platteville, Grant County

- Total population: 3,683 (#944 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,831
--- Female population: 1,852
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,146

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#24. Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County

- Total population: 3,689 (#939 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,046
--- Female population: 1,643
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,134

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#23. Dodgeville, Iowa County

- Total population: 3,708 (#928 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,871
--- Female population: 1,837
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,337

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#22. Berlin, Green Lake County

- Total population: 3,800 (#889 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,859
--- Female population: 1,941
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,156

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#21. Waukesha, Waukesha County

- Total population: 3,877 (#858 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,988
--- Female population: 1,888
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,373

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#20. Portage, Columbia County

- Total population: 3,945 (#840 nationwide)
--- Male population: 1,986
--- Female population: 1,959
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,318

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#19. Ripon, Fond du Lac County

- Total population: 4,119 (#759 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,041
--- Female population: 2,078
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,163

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#18. Kenosha, Kenosha County

- Total population: 4,209 (#733 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,115
--- Female population: 2,194
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,365

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#17. Whitewater, Walworth County

- Total population: 4,285 (#711 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,033
--- Female population: 2,252
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,358

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#16. Beloit, Rock County

- Total population: 4,396 (#677 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,178
--- Female population: 2,218
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,314

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#15. Jefferson, Jefferson County

- Total population: 4,408 (#673 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,259
--- Female population: 2,149
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,585

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#14. Appleton, Outagamie County

- Total population: 4,518 (#638 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,213
--- Female population: 2,305
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,373

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#13. Monroe, Green Bay County

- Total population: 4,536 (#631 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,243
--- Female population: 2,293
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,428

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#12. Green Bay, Brown County

- Total population: 4,666 (#591 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,353
--- Female population: 2,313
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,437

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#11. Mineral Point, Iowa County

- Total population: 4,825 (#558 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,439
--- Female population: 2,386
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,648

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#10. Manitowoc, Manitowoc County

- Total population: 5,168 (#496 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,558
--- Female population: 2,610
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,697

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#9. Sheboygan, Sheboygan County

- Total population: 5,310 (#471 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,627
--- Female population: 2,683
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,874

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#8. Watertown (part of), Jefferson County

- Total population: 5,364 (#466 nationwide)
--- Male population: 2,640
--- Female population: 2,724
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 1,876

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#7. La Crosse, La Crosse County

- Total population: 7,785 (#262 nationwide)
--- Male population: 3,948
--- Female population: 3,837
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,123

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#6. Janesville, Rock County

- Total population: 8,789 (#223 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,324
--- Female population: 4,465
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,686

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#5. Madison, Dane County

- Total population: 9,176 (#215 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,562
--- Female population: 4,614
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,198

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#4. Racine, Racine County

- Total population: 9,880 (#189 nationwide)
--- Male population: 4,909
--- Female population: 4,971
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 2,664

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#3. Oshkosh, Winnebago County

- Total population: 12,663 (#127 nationwide)
--- Male population: 6,402
--- Female population: 6,261
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 3,769

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#2. Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County

- Total population: 12,764 (#124 nationwide)
--- Male population: 6,254
--- Female population: 6,510
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 4,109

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#1. Milwaukee, Milwaukee County

- Total population: 71,440 (#19 nationwide)
--- Male population: 35,275
--- Female population: 36,165
--- Child population, ages 5-18: 22,225