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Oshkosh, Wisconsin

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Oshkosh City. It lies in ZIP code area 54901. It stands on Campbell Creek. The Survey maps it on the Oshkosh quadrangle. 66,816 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 791 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Oshkosh within Winnebago County

On record in Oshkosh

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 39 shown

Every listing in Winnebago County

Population over time

2 figures

Oshkosh grew from 66,083 to 66,816 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
201066,083
202066,816+733 (+1%)

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

856 words on this township

History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and Early History of the Northwest, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Oshkosh City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Among the manufactures of the city which have started into new life, with enlarged proportions, since the fire, are the new Soap Works of J. R. Loper. Mr. Loper has been burnt out three times, meeting with heavy losses, and has built up larger than ever, and furnishes another instance of Oshkosh enterprise and business vigor.

Passage source: History of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, and Early History of the Northwest, 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 Oshkosh City.

Fires near this place

19 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Oshkosh between 1994 and 2020, burning about 10 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Debris and open burning2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking2

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 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources205308
17 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources205595
7 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources184525
26 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources185073
12 July 2018Smoking1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources184656
25 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources204206
24 June 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources89
22 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2018028

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Winnebago County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Oshkosh: 4 unknowns, 3 producers, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Last PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Newell PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Eureka QuarryStoneUnknown
Grundy QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Own CrewsStoneUnknown
Own CrewsStoneUnknown
Sheppard QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Vulcan QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Winnebago County

Storms near this place

60 of 88 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oshkosh in 88 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 39 thunderstorm wind, 28 hail, 5 funnel cloud, 4 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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
July 1997Thunderstorm WindOshkosh1 killed, $150,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodOshkosh$18,600,000Heavy rainfall, totaling 5.41 inches for the day, over already saturated ground caused widespread flash flooding in the Oshkosh area. Sewage backed up into many basements and the foundations of some homes on the south side of the city crumbled, making them uninhabitable. The flooding destroyed 20 homes, caused major damage to 150, and caused minor damage to over 400 others. Several schools sustained damage, including Lourdes High School and the attached St. John Neumann Middle School, which had extensive water and sewage damage. Water built up in the parking lot and caved in windows on the school's lower level. Flood waters rose over five feet, destroying classrooms, athletic equipment, carpets and computers. Damage to the schools was well over $1 million. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus also sustained some water damage. High water made 50 to 75 percent of the streets impassible, including parts of U.S. Highways 41 and 45. It also washed out a railroad bridge causing a train to derail and spill diesel fuel into the floodwaters.
June 2008FloodOshkosh$625,000Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1 to in excess of 2 inches per hour moved across Oshkosh early during the evening. The combination of heavy rain and ground that was saturated from rain that fell earlier in the day resulted in damage to about 100 homes and 5 businesses in Oshkosh. Most of the damage was due to basement flooding and ponding of water around building foundations. Many streets in the city were impassible due to nearly a foot of standing water. By the end of the day Oshkosh had a total of 4.13 inches of rain.
July 2012HailOshkosh$250,000Thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail as they passed through Oshkosh. Approximately 500 homes and two dozen vehicles sustained at least minor damage as a result of the large hail in east-central Winnebago County.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$200,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$175,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$25,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$20,000Thunderstorms produced large hail and wind gusts to 70 mph in Oshkosh. The gust caused a canopy to collapse at a car rental business, damaging five cars.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$20,000no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$5,000no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$5,000no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$5,000no account filed
June 2017FloodOshkosh$2,000Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms caused flooding near Interstate 41 at 9th Avenue and at State Highway 26.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$1,000no account filed
June 1997LightningOshkosh$1,000no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh$1,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees in Oshkosh. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed trees on the southwest part of Oshkosh. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
July 2025Flash FloodOshkosh-Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches in a short time caused flash flooding in the city of Oshkosh and just south of Neenah. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
September 2025Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 60 mph at the Oshkosh airport.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed numerous trees and power lines throughout Oshkosh. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorms produced a wind gust to 68 mph in Oshkosh.
June 2020HailOshkosh-Quarter size hail fell on the north side of Oshkosh.
June 2020HailOshkosh-Quarter size hail fall near Oshkosh.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed a couple of branches and a tree in the Oshkosh area.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorms produced an estimated wind gust of 60 mph as they moved through Oshkosh.
August 2014Heavy RainOshkosh-Heavy rain caused minor street flooding in downtown Oshkosh.
April 2014HailOshkosh-A thunderstorm produced penny size hail in Oshkosh.
June 2014Heavy RainOshkosh-Thunderstorms produced 1.16 inches of rain in 40 minutes on the northeast side of Oshkosh causing street flooding. The storm also dropped pea size hail.
May 2012HailOshkosh-A spotter observed penny size hail on the southwest side of Oshkosh.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorms produced wind gusts to 60 mph that downed large tree limbs along 9th Avenue in Oshkosh.
September 2012HailOshkosh-Penny size hail fell in Oshkosh.
May 2011HailOshkosh-Quarter size hail fell in Oshkosh.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees and tree branches in Oshkosh. A power line was knocked down on Church Street.
September 2010Funnel CloudOshkosh-A funnel cloud was seen and photographed by a storm spotter near Oshkosh.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorms winds downed trees throughout Oshkosh.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Thunderstorm winds downed trees at the corner of Tyler Avenue and Sawyer Street in Oshkosh.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Numerous large tree branches and several trees were blown down by winds from a severe thunderstorm.
July 2010Funnel CloudOshkosh-A funnel cloud was spotted southeast of Oshkosh over Lake Winnebago.
July 2010HailOshkosh-Quarter size hail fell and heavy rain produced street flooding in Oshkosh.
July 2010HailOshkosh-Quarter to half dollar size hail fell at Oshkosh.
August 2008Funnel CloudOshkosh-A funnel cloud was seen by the public over Oshkosh.
June 2008HailOshkosh-Hail up to penny size fell for 10 minutes and covered the ground at Oshkosh.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-High winds from thunderstorms downed large tree limbs and produced half inch hail at the intersection of New York Avenue and Broad Street.
July 2008HailOshkosh-Penny to nickel size hail fell in Oshkosh as thunderstorms moved through the city.
October 2006HailOshkosh-A wind gust of 41 mph was also measured.
August 1995Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-Isolated strong thunderstorms blew trees down in Manitowoc (Manitowoc County), with one of them falling onto a car. The powerful winds also felled trees and power lines in Oshkosh (Winnebago County).
May 1994HailOshkosh-Isolated severe thunderstorms produced hail up to one inch in diameter over southern and east-central Wisconsin.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-no account filed
June 2008HailOshkosh-no account filed
June 2007Funnel CloudOshkosh-no account filed
March 2006HailOshkosh-no account filed
June 2006HailOshkosh-no account filed
June 2006HailOshkosh-no account filed
July 2006HailOshkosh-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindOshkosh-no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Oshkosh-no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Oshkosh-no account filed
June 2005Tornado (F0)Oshkosh-no account filed
May 2005HailOshkosh-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Winnebago 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
Rockaway Beach2.3 miles9
Stony Beach2.6 miles10
Keenville2.7 miles9
Melrose Park2.8 miles9
Sunset Point3.2 miles9
Oakwood3.5 miles9
Winnebago3.6 miles9
Paukotuk4.1 miles10

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 OshkoshAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q936741The 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 1570874. 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.