BlockBefore

Chetek, Wisconsin

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Chetek City. It lies in ZIP code area 54728. It stands on Tenmile Creek. The Survey maps it on the Chetek quadrangle. 2,172 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,050 feet above sea level.

Chetek within Barron County

Population over time

2 figures

Chetek fell from 2,221 to 2,172 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
20102,221
20202,172-49 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 7 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

8,609 words on this township

History of Barron County Wisconsin, published 1922 names this settlement in its chapter on Chetek City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

It is situated on the northwest shore of Chetek Lake, a beautiful body of water of Irregular outline, well stocked with bass, pickerel and other choice fish, and largely frequented in the summer time by tourists and rest seekers from various and some far-distant parts of the country. This lake is one of a chain extending seven or eight miles from northwest to southeast, the north end of Chetek city touching the south end of Prairie Lake. The country surrounding the city, and especially that near the shores of the lake, presents many picturesque fea¬ tures. It is well adapted to stock raising, dairying and general farming, all of which are extensively carried on.

Passage source: History of Barron County Wisconsin, published 1922.

Previous to white settlement the country in this vicinity was well wooded, the timber consisting mostly of White and jack pine, with some varieties of hardwood. Knapp, Stout & Co., who began logging operations here in the middle of the sixties, cut only the white pine, as there was no profit to be made at that Ume from the hardwood. Wil¬ liam W. Carey, now living in Chetek city, arrived in this vicinity about 1866, as a boy of fifteen, and remembers that lumber¬ ing operations were then being actively car¬ ried on by the above mentioned company.

Passage source: History of Barron County Wisconsin, published 1922.

Chetek was platted Oct. 16, 1875, on land owned by Knapp, Stout & Co. and E. M. Sexton. It embraced a large tract including much of the present platted portion of the city and other territory besides. Dec. 4, 1877, all except blocks 29 and 30 were vacated. The present business section is located largely on the Second Addition, replatted on a part of the vacated land formerly occu¬ pied by the original plat. This Second Addition was platted June 12, 1682, by Knapp. Stout ft Co., the surveyor being Thomas Parker. It occupies six blocks and is bounded by Main and Fourth, Douglass and Moore streets. The two blocks left of the original plat lie between Main and Sec¬ ond, Mill and Douglass streets.

Passage source: History of Barron County Wisconsin, published 1922.

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 Chetek City - it names this place 36 more 36 times.

Fires near this place

130 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 130 fires within 5 miles of Chetek between 1992 and 2020, burning about 130 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 burning46
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Railroad operations and maintenance22
Equipment and vehicle use13
Recreation and ceremony7
Smoking5
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Other causes4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Arson/incendiarism3
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
6 September 2013Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources329 SS
19 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2009589
19 September 2008Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 August 2007Naturalunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
12 August 2003Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 August 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 July 2013Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesAA-SS RAIL FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Barron County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Chetek: 7 producers, 7 occurrences, 5 past producers. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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
Chetek Quartzite DepositStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
American Materials Corp. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Anna Haseman Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Barron County PitsSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Chetek River Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Curtis Havgestuen Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Edward Kraemer & Sons PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hazel B. Francois Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Lloyd & Ruth Otten Gravel Deposit 1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Marg. Ruppell Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Barron County

Storms near this place

30 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chetek in 30 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 15 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 1 funnel cloud, 1 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 1996Thunderstorm WindChetek$250,000no account filed
July 2016Tornado (EF0)Chetek$50,000A storm chaser and local residents recorded a tornado just south of Chetek. A large metal shed was destroyed and a number of trees were downed.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChetek-Time estimated from radar. Delayed report of multiple large trees down blocking roads.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChetek-Time estimated from radar. Delayed report of multiple large trees down blocking roads.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChetek-Time estimated from radar. Delayed report of multiple large trees down blocking roads.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChetek-Time estimated from radar. Delayed report of multiple trees and powerlines down in Chetek.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChetek-County Dispatch reported trees down along 25 3/4 St.
July 2022Heavy RainChetek-A 6 hour rainfall report of 3.12 inches.
May 2021Thunderstorm WindChetek-Several trees were blown down with one blocking Highway 53 south of Chetek.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindChetek-A few trees and power lines were blown down near Chetek.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindChetek-Several trees were blown down in Chetek.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindChetek-The Chetek Police Department confirmed a storm-related fatality, as a 46-year-old was killed while cutting down storm damage and the debris rolled over the individual. This was an indirect fatality.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindChetek-A large tree was blown down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindChetek-Over 100 trees toppled, some onto power lines. Much of Chetek was without power for several hours.
June 2005HailChetek-Hail up to the size of golf balls fell in Prairie Lake Estates off County Road SS.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindChetek-A tree was downed onto Stout Street.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindChetek-Power lines down.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindChetek-Large trees blown down. Shed destroyed. Boats flipped onto docks.
September 2024HailChetek-no account filed
September 2012HailChetek-no account filed
September 2012HailChetek-no account filed
September 2012HailChetek-no account filed
September 2012HailChetek-no account filed
September 2012HailChetek-no account filed
May 2008HailChetek-no account filed
May 2008HailChetek-no account filed
June 2005HailChetek-no account filed
May 2001HailChetek-no account filed
August 2000HailChetek-no account filed
July 1999Funnel CloudChetek-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Barron 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
Sumner5.0 miles7
Wickware7.6 miles7
Canton7.9 miles7
Cameron8.2 miles7
Dallas9.5 miles7
Lehigh10.2 miles7
Hillsdale11.1 miles7
Barron12.1 miles7

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 ChetekAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1570219The 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 1562995. 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.