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Washburn, Wisconsin

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1942 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Washburn City. It lies in ZIP code area 54891. It stands on Thompson Creek. The Survey maps it on the Washburn quadrangle. 2,051 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 692 feet above sea level.

Washburn within Bayfield County

On record in Washburn

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 4 records

Population over time

3 figures

Washburn fell from 3,039 to 2,051 between 1890 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
18903,039
20102,117
20202,051-66 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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.

Fires near this place

47 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Washburn between 1992 and 2019, burning about 46 acres in total. 2 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 burning14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Equipment and vehicle use7
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Smoking4
Natural2
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
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
29 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 August 2000Naturalunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
2 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 August 2012Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesTEZNER'S FIRE
3 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 July 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesBIG ROCK FIRE
19 July 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Bayfield County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Washburn: 5 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Flagstone. 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
Bayview Sandstone QuarryFlagstonePast Producer
Bayfield County Gravel Pit #1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bayfield County Gravel Pit #2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crooked Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Dan Maxcy Gravel DepositSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Town of Bayview Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Bayfield County

Storms near this place

27 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Washburn in 27 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 14 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash 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
July 2016Flash FloodWashburn$1,000There was flash flooding in Washburn with backups from storm drains in town. There were several inches of water on roadways.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Nevers Road reported impassable with photos of trees completely blocking the road. Several trees were also damaged at corner of Nevers Road and Highway 13.
March 2025HailWashburn-Hail accumulated to a depth of 1 inch.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWashburn-A tree fell on a powerline bringing the powerline down and across a road.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Several trees were down onto the roadway.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Trees were down along Lakeshore Drive.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindWashburn-A few trees were uprooted by the wind.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Multiple trees were reported down in Washburn with photos received as well.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWashburn-There were 8 to 9 diameter trees down and the power was out. There were other trees damaged.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWashburn-A large tree was blown down. Report forwarded by the media.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Large tree limbs downed.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Trees were blown down.
September 1995Thunderstorm WindWashburn-Many trees and large limbs were blown down. Hail of undetermined size damaged vehicles and knocked out windows.
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
March 2025HailWashburn-no account filed
July 2019HailWashburn-no account filed
August 2018HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2014HailWashburn-no account filed
June 2006HailWashburn-no account filed
October 2004HailWashburn-no account filed
July 2002HailWashburn-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindWashburn-no account filed
September 1996HailWashburn-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bayfield 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
Barksdale4.1 miles13
Sioux4.5 miles11
Salmo7.6 miles10
Ashland Junction8.0 miles13
Pureair8.5 miles10
Bayfield10.3 miles10
Moquah12.2 miles12
Red Cliff13.8 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 WashburnAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q405500The 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 1576230. 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.