Butternut, Wisconsin
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1940 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Butternut Village. It lies in ZIP code area 54514. The Survey maps it on the Butternut quadrangle. 366 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,496 feet above sea level.
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Population over time
2 figuresButternut fell from 375 to 366 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 | 375 | |
| 2020 | 366 | -9 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 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.
- 1940 USGS Butternut quadrangle1:48000
- 1947 USGS Butternut quadrangle1:48000
- 1950 USGS Butternut quadrangle1:48000
- 1953 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Butternut quadrangle1:62500
- 1980 USGS Ironwood quadrangle1:100000
- 1984 USGS Butternut quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
2,087 words on this townshipAshland County, Wisconsin, in the World War, 1917-1919, published 1928 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Butternut Village covers the township.
Read the chapter on Butternut Village - 2,087 words.
Fires near this place
87 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Butternut between 1992 and 2020, burning about 81 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 3 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 | 35 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 14 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Other causes | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 September 1998 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 July 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 June 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 June 2010 | Fireworks | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | DUL FIRE |
| 28 June 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest | JR COMMANDER |
| 20 June 2004 | 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
10 of 29 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of Butternut: 15 past producers, 10 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Water, Free. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Butternut Deposit | Iron, Water, Free | Prospect | Surface | |
| Butternut Exploration | Iron | Unknown | Magnetite | |
| South Butternut Deposit | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Ashland County Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Ashland County Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Ashland County Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Boch Rd Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bucheger Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Butternut Lake Pit #1 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Butternut Lake Pit #2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
30 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Butternut in 30 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 17 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 1 funnel cloud. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | $10,000 | There was minor siding damage to a home, a metal barn collapsed, and some trees were blown down along Balsam Lane to the east-southeast of Butternut. The metal barn probably collapsed at a lower wind speed than would normally be expected, given a lack of damage to nearby pine trees. Estimated wind gusts in this area were around 80 mph. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Powerlines were downed in Glidden by the strong winds. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Half of a maple tree was damaged with a few 2 foot diameter branches broken off. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Butternut | - | The hail was accompanied by a 48 mph measured wind gust. A few small branched came down in the wind. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Some tree damage noted near Agenda Road and Woodpecker Lane near the Ashland-Price County border. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Trees and power lines were blown down along Highway 13 north of Butternut. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Several trees were blown down and a tent destroyed at a lodge. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | There was sporadic tree damage from near and east of Butternut to the northeast into the area just northwest of the Turtle Flambeau Flowage. Also, a large volume of hail fell in Butternut. Effects were probably a combination of two severe thunderstorms that tracked over the same area. |
| June 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Butternut | - | A rotating wall cloud briefly produced a funnel cloud. |
| May 2010 | Hail | Butternut | - | Tree limbs were blown down in Butternut and Park Falls due to strong wind gusts. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| April 2004 | Hail | Butternut | - | High winds also brought down power lines. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Large branches were blown down. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Trees and power lines were blown down. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | Trees were blown down. Wind speed is estimated. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Butternut | - | no account filed |
| May 1994 | Hail | Butternut | - | 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.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peeksville | 6.2 miles | 9 | |
| Holts Landing | 6.3 miles | 10 | |
| Petes Landing | 9.0 miles | 10 | |
| Glidden | 9.6 miles | 10 | |
| Shanagolden | 10.6 miles | 11 | |
| Morse | 16.2 miles | 10 | |
| Cayuga | 18.9 miles | 10 | |
| Tannery Town | 22.8 miles | 12 |
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 Butternut | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3046895 | 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 1562478. 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.







