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Black Earth, Wisconsin

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Black Earth town. It lies in ZIP code area 53515. It stands on Vermont Creek. The Survey maps it on the Black Earth quadrangle. 1,493 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 837 feet above sea level.

Black Earth within Dane County

On record in Black Earth

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Black Earth grew from 1,338 to 1,493 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,338
20201,493+155 (+12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched 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.

In the county-history sources

14,108 words on this township

History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Black Earth Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This territory was first brought under town government as a part of the town of Madison. On the 2d day of August, 1848, it was, along with the township adjoining it on the west, erected into the town of Parmersville, the name of the latter being changed to Black Earth on February 1,1851. Previous to this, however, in 1850, Berry was erected into a separate town.

Passage source: History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

The first to unite in the bonds of wedlock here were John Gray and Elizabeth Harrison, who were married by Squire Wilson, of Black Earth, in June, 1846. They are both living in the enjoyment of a prosperous old age. The early dead were buried here and there throughout the town, as there were no cemeteries for several years after the first settlement.

Passage source: History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

The soil is usually very productive, particularly in the valleys, where corn, hay and oats do very well. Wheat does better on the higher ground, which is usually a sandy loam or limestone marl, according to the height, the very highest ridges being composed of limestone, and the lower ridges of sandstone. The best soil in town is on Section 36 and adjoining. That which the farmers most regret is the washing of the hills, which has very materially damaged the arable land throughout this section. . largest of the streams is the East Blue Mound Creek, which enters the town on Section 6i, ana, flowing northwest, passes out on Section 6. The land, through which this creek flows, is cauea the saw*mill bottoms, and is very fertile. This stream supplies excellent mill privileges, wtuoa have been partly improved. All of the other streams, of which there are several, are tributary to the Bast Blue Mounds Creek, with the exception of one, which, rising on Section 25, flows northerly, passing out of the town on Section 2, and empties into the Black Earth Creek.

Passage source: History of Dane County, Wisconsin ... Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Black Earth Town - it names this place 4 more 4 times.

Fires near this place

103 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 103 fires within 5 miles of Black Earth between 1992 and 2020, burning about 230 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 8 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 burning63
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Equipment and vehicle use9
Arson/incendiarism8
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Recreation and ceremony3
Smoking3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes1
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
26 August 2008Smokingunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 August 2002Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 July 2005Debris and open burning3.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 July 2001Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 July 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesDENEEN BARREL
8 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800046
6 May 2005Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 May 2005Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Dane County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Black Earth: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Boehnen Inc. Hollefelder QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Marvin Beuthin Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Valley Hites QuarryLimestone, DimensionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Dane County

Storms near this place

20 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Black Earth in 20 storm reports between 1999 and 2026: 8 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2000FloodBlack Earth$30,000no account filed
August 2021Thunderstorm WindBlack Earth$10,000Multiple reports of trees and power lines downed across Dane County. Cities impacted were Black Earth, Cross Plains, Middleton, Madison, Oregon, and Cottage Grove.
July 2011LightningBlack Earth$10,000A home in the 1200 block of Hillcrest Road in Black Earth was struck by lightning and caught fire. The home suffered extensive water and smoke damage.
June 2016Flash FloodBlack Earth$5,000County Road KP was closed due to flooding between South Valley Road and Scherbel Road, which is between Black Earth and Cross Plains. 1.5 feet of water on the roads in the Town of Berry near highway 19 and County Road KP. Shoulder washouts on highway 19 east to Indian Lake. Shoulder washouts in various locations on County Road KP between highway 14 and highway 19. Shoulder washouts also on highway V from Loeper Road and to the west on V. Doppler radar estimates 5 to 8 inches of rain in a 6 hour period.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindBlack Earth$3,000no account filed
August 2007LightningBlack Earth$1,000Lightning struck a blew apart a 60-foot pine tree which was about 30 feet from a residential home. Part of the generated electrical current fried the home's telephone line. The time is estimated within a plus or minus 15 minutes.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindBlack Earth$1,000no account filed
April 2026HailBlack Earth-Public report of 1 inch diameter hail in Black Earth. Time confirmed via radar data.
April 2026HailBlack Earth-Public report of 1.75 inch diameter hail west of Black Earth. Time confirmed via radar data.
April 2026HailBlack Earth-Trained spotter reports 2.75 inch diameter hail with damaging to siding and roofs.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindBlack Earth-A large tree limb snapped off.
July 2021Tornado (EF0)Black Earth-This was 1 of 17 tornadoes to occur in Wisconsin on the night of July 28th into the early morning hours of July 29th. This was the 6th overall tornado for the event.|A line of storms developed in northern Wisconsin and pushed south into southern Wisconsin in the overnight hours of the 28th into the 29th of July with mainly brief tornadoes and damaging winds occurring. This tornado began northeast of Black Earth in the Marsh Valley and tracked to the south through the center of Cross Plains. There wasn't much in the way of structural damage from this tornado, rather consistent tree damage from the start point through to the south side of Cross Plains.
June 2014Tornado (EF0)Black Earth-A brief EF0 tornado was observed ripping apart trees.
July 2013HailBlack Earth-A trained spotter reported hail up to 1.50 inch in diameter partially covered the ground. Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 50 mph knocked down 6-inch diameter tree limbs.
April 2025HailBlack Earth-no account filed
June 2015HailBlack Earth-no account filed
August 2006HailBlack Earth-no account filed
August 2005Funnel CloudBlack Earth-no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBlack Earth-no account filed
May 2000HailBlack Earth-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Dane County

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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Mazomanie3.7 miles16
Cross Plains5.1 miles16
Elvers5.4 miles16
Marxville5.9 miles15
Pine Bluff7.1 miles16
Little Norway7.9 miles16
Aldens Corners (historical)8.1 miles15
Roxbury8.6 miles15

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 Black EarthAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2671303The 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 1561861. 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.