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Fall River, Wisconsin

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Fountain Prairie town. It lies in ZIP code area 53932. It stands on North Branch Crawfish River. The Survey maps it on the Fall River quadrangle. 1,801 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 856 feet above sea level.

Fall River within Columbia County

On record in Fall River

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

Fall River grew from 1,712 to 1,801 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
20101,712
20201,801+89 (+5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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

166,159 words on this township

The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement .., published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Fountain Prairie Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

O. W. FIELD, farmer. Sec. 16; P. 0. Fall River; 280 acres, 170 acres cultivated; born in Onondaga Co., N. Y.; son of Stephen and Charlotte (Berry) Fields; went to Michigan, Kalamazoo Co., at the age of 5 years, with parents, remained there sixteen years and then came here. Married in this town, October, 1863, to Maria N. Smith, daughter of Lewis and Sylvina (_Webb) Smith ; had .six children - Mary E., born Sept. 26, 1864 ; Maud E., born April 6, 1866 ; George S., born Dec. 8, 1868 ; Oliver West, born Feb. 20, 1871 ; Edwin P., born April 25, 1873 ; Lewis G., born Sept. 10, 1877. Mr. Fields is a Republican ; seven years Supervisor, one year Chairman and fourteen years Treasurer of his School District ; his father was in Springfield armory during war of 1812.

Passage source: The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement .., published 1880.

NHELDEN E. HE WIIVS, farmer, Sec 29; P. 0. Fall River ; born in Massachusetts in, 1834; son of Elijah and Sabia A. (Wooster) Hewins ; went to Lorain Co., Ohio, with parents at 18 months of age, where he lived 10 years; then to Byron, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., and, at 14 years of age, came to this town. Married, Jan. 15, 1856, at Byron, by Elder Harrington, to AJolia A., daughter of Chestes and Olive (Ingals) Thomas; wife born March 13, 1839; had four children - Frank K., born Oct. 0, 1850 ; Wilbur F., Dec, 21, 1863 ; Mjrtie A., March 4, 1871 ; Homer E., Dec. 5, 1872. Republican in politics; Baptist in religion. Has a well-cultivated farm of 216 acres. His brother, George W., wa.s in Go. E, 3d W. V. I., and had his arm shot off at the shoulder-joint at the battle of Beverly's Ford ; be came home, and, while boarding with Mr. McCoy, in the Lower Town in the city of Fond du Lac, Wis., was accidentally burned to death on the night of Sept. 8, 1878, the house being totally destroyed with its contents; all the inmates escaped except Hewins, and he, being disabled, perished in the flames; strong suspicion.s of foul play were generally entertained at that time ( he having lately drawn his pension), but the case was never fully investigated. Hi.s brother, Edwin M., wa.s in the 2d Kan. V. C.; was wounded, now lives in Chautau(|ua Co., Kan. Edwin M. and Eliza Shepard, now the wife of Mr. Sweet, were, about July, 1847, lost in the woods in Fond du Lac Co., and remained three dajs with nothing to eat, except the few berries they could find ; they were discovered only six miles from home, nearly famished. The father of Mr. Hewins kept the Crescent House at Appleton three years, and went to California April 5, 1853; returned March 11, five years later, and died at Pickett's Station three days after, being unconsciou.s, as reported, from the effect of apoplexy ; it was strongly suspected, however, that his death was the result of other causes, as he was in po.ssession of considerable money when he left.

Passage source: The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement .., published 1880.

SAMUEL LASHIEK, wagon-maker and mechanic; P. 0. Fall River; born at Union, Broome Co., N. Y., April 22, ISll); son of Aaron and Mary (Roe) Lashier (from Germany and Connecticut); settled in town of Columbus June 12, 1846 ; farming four years; was one of the first Supervisors in the town of Columbus, and has held all the ofiBces in town at different times since; was eight years Treasurer, and several years Supervisor. Married, April 22, forty-eight years ago (then 22 years of age), at Union, N. Y., by Rev. Oliver Hill, to Mary A., daughter of John and Mary (Peck) Durfee ; had five children - Harvey F., now in Todd Co., Minn., where he has been County Auditor for eight years (he married a widow (formerly Kate Barr\), and has five children - Fred, Ida, Walter, Sam and Clara); Ellen L., wife of Walter Slawso.i, whi owns a job printing office in St. Louis, Mo.; Angeline E., wife of W. H. Proctor, has six cliildrcn - Nettie, John, Willie, Walter, Clara and Freddie; Nettie, the eldest, died at 17 years of age; Mary S., wife of John E. Stittman, died March 31, 1879, left five children - Eddie, John, Arthur, Mary, Martha (died at Orange City, Fla.) ; George S., single, in store at Fall River, where he keeps a uencral stock of groceries, etc.

Passage source: The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Its Settlement .., 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 Fountain Prairie Town - it names this place 28 more 28 times.

Fires near this place

81 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 81 fires within 5 miles of Fall River between 1992 and 2020, burning about 131 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was 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 burning34
Equipment and vehicle use30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Smoking1
Other causes1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
12 September 2005Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesDG DITCH GRASS #2
4 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesDG DITCH GRASS #1
17 August 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesLEINKE STRAW FIRE
1 August 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesHWY 151
9 July 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 July 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Columbia County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Fall River: 2 past producers, 2 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. 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
Cass QuarryStoneUnknown
Derr QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Cass QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
County Trunk K QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Lucille Westphal PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Columbia County

Storms near this place

12 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Fall River in 12 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 4 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 tornado, 1 flood. 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
June 2024FloodFall River$5,000A culvert partially undermined by floodwaters on County Highway DG northeast of Fall River. A washed out shoulder northbound on Highway 146 south of Cambria.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindFall River$2,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindFall River$2,000no account filed
June 2017Thunderstorm WindFall River$1,000A tree blown down onto Old WI 73.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindFall River$1,000no account filed
July 2021Tornado (EF0)Fall River-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 8th 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 and ended on one property northwest of Columbus, just west of Highway 16 and south of Hall Rd. This brief tornado did tree and crop damage.
May 2014HailFall River-Forty to fifty mile per hour winds accompanied the one inch hail.
June 2008Tornado (EF0)Fall River-This weak tornado started in Columbia County, northeast of the village of Fall River near the county line, just northwest of the intersection of Raven Road and Hemling Road. It moved southeastward and crossed into Dodge County where a creek crosses the county line just southeast of Paul Road. Minor tree damage was noted in Columbia County. The starting and ending locations for the Columbia County segment, with respect to lat/long pairs of numbers, were 43.41413/-89.01782 and 43.41086/-89.00504. DI#27 (TH), DOD2. Wind speeds estimated at 65 mph. Average path width was about 15 yards.
May 2004Tornado (F0)Fall River-A tornado spun up very briefly at 1825 CST, 2 miles southwest of Fall River in Columbia County. A storm survey determined the tornado's path was only a tenth of a mile and the width was about 25 yards. Its estimated position is about 0.3 mile west-northwest of the intersection of Hall Rd. and Freck Rd. No damage was reported and it was determined the tornado was an F0.
April 2024HailFall River-no account filed
May 2024HailFall River-no account filed
April 2011HailFall River-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Columbia 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
Englewood3.4 miles9
Columbus3.6 miles9
Doylestown6.3 miles9
Otsego6.5 miles9
Randolph10.9 miles10
Rio11.2 miles9
Cambria11.4 miles10
Keyeser12.7 miles12

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 Fall RiverAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1832851The 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 1564844. 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.