Bayfield, Wisconsin
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Bayfield City. It lies in ZIP code area 54814. The Survey maps it on the Bayfield quadrangle. 584 people lived here at the 2020 count.
On record in Bayfield
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 11 records
Bayfield Historic Districtlisted 1980
Booth Cooperagelisted 1976
Frank Boutin Jr. Houselisted 1974
Christ Episcopal Churchlisted 1974
Hokenson Fishing Docklisted 1976
Old Bayfield County Courthouselisted 1974
Pureair Sanatoriumlisted 1981
Sevona Cabinlisted 1976- Shaw Farmlisted 1976
- Shaw Point Historic Districtlisted 2020
- West Bay Clublisted 2014
Population over time
2 figuresBayfield grew from 487 to 584 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 487 | |
| 2020 | 584 | +97 (+20%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1941 USGS Bayfield quadrangle1:48000
- 1946 USGS Bayfield quadrangle1:48000
- 1953 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Bayfield quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Bayfield quadrangle1:62500
- 1989 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
62 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 62 fires within 5 miles of Bayfield between 1992 and 2020, burning about 43 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 28 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 13 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | WINSTON PROPERTY |
| 5 August 1992 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 August 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 August 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.1 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 August 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 16 August 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 July 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Bayfield: 2 past producers, 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F. L. Wolfe Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Red Cliff Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Richard E. Smith Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Roy S. Smith Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
16 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bayfield in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 12 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | 2 hurt, $1,500,000 | Downburst winds hit the Bayfield waterfront where an art fair was in progress at Memorial Park. Most of the ninety fair tents were demolished and art pieces were tossed into Lake Superior. A woman broke her hand while a man received a large gash on his hand. Numerous large trees were blown down in Bayfield. The local Catholic church lost a portion of its roof, resulting in damage estimated at $300,000. There was an unverified report of a private weather system clocking the wind at 99 mph before it became inoperable. At the Apostle Island Marina numerous boats lost their canvas coverings. Many boats lost their stanchions after being tipped under the docks by the strong winds. Damage estimates at the marina ranged from $25,000 to $30,000. Trees were reported down all across northern Douglas County. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | $400,000 | Major wind damage to docks and a few boats occurred at two marinas. Many docks were destroyed. One 40 foot boat was destroyed. There was also three-quarter inch hail and some downed trees. |
| October 2005 | Flash Flood | Bayfield | $345,000 | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Flash Flood | Bayfield | $100,000 | Areas of flooding and washed out roads were reported in the City of Bayfield. |
| April 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | Numerous reports were received of several tall pine trees uprooted in Washburn including several that blocked Highway 13. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | A power pole was knocked down and on fire. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | The severe thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | The concession tent at the Big Top Chautauqua outdoor performance area was blown down. The main tent received hail and water damage. Shows at the tent were cancelled for three days. Hail size is unknown. |
| July 2003 | Hail | Bayfield | - | The hail fell for two minutes. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | Numerous trees were blown down on County Highway J. |
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | Numerous trees were blown down at Little Sand Bay. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | Several trees were blown down on highway 13 between Bayfield and Cornucopia. |
| July 2000 | Hail | Bayfield | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bayfield | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Bayfield | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q812543 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1561325. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






