Oconto, Wisconsin
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Oconto City. It lies in ZIP code area 54153. It lies near Ajax Island. The Survey maps it on the Oconto East quadrangle. 4,609 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 584 feet above sea level.
On record in Oconto
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 12 of 13 shown
Oconto SiteNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966
Beyer Home Museumlisted 1979
John G. Campbell Houselisted 1980
Farnsworth Public Librarylisted 2017
First Church of Christ, Scientistlisted 1974
Holt-Balcom Lumber Company Officelisted 1976
Huff Jones Houselisted 1978
Oconto County Courthouselisted 1982
Oconto Main Post Officelisted 1980
Gov. Edward Scofield Houselisted 1973
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Guild Hall and Vicaragelisted 1985
St. Peter's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churcheslisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresOconto grew from 4,513 to 4,609 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 | 4,513 | |
| 2020 | 4,609 | +96 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 8 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.
- 1954 USGS Manitowoc quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Oconto quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Manitowoc quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Oconto East quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Sturgeon Bay quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
66 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 66 fires within 5 miles of Oconto between 1993 and 2020, burning about 338 acres in total. None started naturally. 11 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 | 22 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 21 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 August 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 27 August 2014 | Fireworks | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | COUNTY Y FIRE |
| 10 August 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 July 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 July 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | YOUNG ROAD FIRE |
| 16 July 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 June 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | FROG POND FIRE |
| 17 June 2009 | 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
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Oconto: 1 producer. All of them still produce. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shuch Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
37 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oconto in 37 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 flood, 10 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1998 | Hail | Oconto | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| December 2019 | Flood | Oconto | $384,000 | An ice jam and high river stages produced flooding in the city of Oconto. The high water mainly affected Pecor, McDonald, Water, Turner, Ontario, Bridge, First and Second streets. The mobile home park on Farnsworth Avenue also Flooded. Washington Street by the Oconto County Courthouse also flooded as storm sewers overflowed. |
| January 2020 | Flood | Oconto | $96,000 | An ice jam and high river stages produced flooding in the city of Oconto. The high water mainly affected Pecor, McDonald, Water, Turner, Ontario, Bridge, First and Second streets. The mobile home park on Farnsworth Avenue also Flooded. Washington Street by the Oconto County Courthouse also flooded as storm sewers overflowed. |
| July 2013 | Tornado (EF0) | Oconto | $25,000 | A tornado touched down just east of Highway 41 near Swede Town Road and County Road A in Oconto County and moved along an eastward path toward the bay. The tornado was observed by an eyewitness. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path of the tornado (DI 27, DOD 3-4 and DI 28, DOD 3-4). The tornado also blew over a recreational vehicle trailer. Average path width of the tornado was 75 yards. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Lightning | Oconto | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Oconto | - | A tornado touched down west of Oconto at 6:00 PM CDT. The tornado tracked northeast and snapped and uprooted several trees before dissipating just north of Oconto at 6:04 PM CDT. The tornado uprooted several trees at a local golf course northwest of Oconto. Total path length is estimated to be 2.37 miles long, with a width of 65 yards. Peak wind estimated to be around 77 mph. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | - | Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Oconto. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data. |
| March 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to record high lake levels. |
| May 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to record high lake levels. |
| April 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to record high lake levels. |
| January 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to high lake levels. |
| February 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to record high lake levels. |
| July 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road and County Highway Y from Harbor Road to County Highway A are closed due to ongoing flooding from record high lake levels. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | - | Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in Oconto. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data. |
| August 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road and County Highway Y from Harbor Road to County Highway A are closed due to ongoing flooding from record high lake levels. |
| September 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road and County Highway Y from Harbor Road to County Highway A are closed due to ongoing flooding from high lake levels. |
| June 2020 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road and County Highway Y from Harbor Road to County Highway A are closed due to ongoing flooding from record high lake levels. |
| October 2019 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to high lake levels. |
| August 2019 | Hail | Oconto | - | Walnut size hail fell in Oconto. |
| September 2019 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to high lake levels. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to high lake levels. |
| November 2019 | Flood | Oconto | - | North Bayshore Road was often under water due to high lake levels. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | - | Thunderstorm winds overturned a pickup truck that was pulling a large trailer on Highway 41 near exit 198 outside of Oconto. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Oconto | - | Hail as large as quarter size fell at Oconto. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Oconto | - | Quarter size hail fell just to the west of Oconto. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Oconto | - | Thunderstorms produced quarter size hail at Oconto. |
| June 2012 | Funnel Cloud | Oconto | - | A funnel cloud was spotted over Oconto. |
| March 2007 | Flood | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| September 2004 | Hail | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Flood | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Oconto | - | no account filed |
| May 1995 | Hail | Oconto | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pensaukee | 5.1 miles | 8 | |
| Cullen | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| County Line | 7.1 miles | 8 | |
| Oak Orchard | 8.0 miles | 8 | |
| Brookside | 9.1 miles | 8 | |
| Stiles Junction | 9.7 miles | 8 | |
| Stiles | 9.9 miles | 8 | |
| Lena | 10.6 miles | 8 |
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 Oconto | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1003715 | 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 1570741. 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.




