BlockBefore

Watertown, Wisconsin

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Watertown City. It lies in ZIP code area 53094. It lies near Tivoli Island. The Survey maps it on the Watertown quadrangle. 22,926 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 853 feet above sea level.

Watertown within Jefferson County

On record in Watertown

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

Every listing in Jefferson County

Population over time

3 figures

Watertown grew from 21,598 to 22,926 between 2000 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
200021,598
201023,861+2,263 (+10%)
202022,926-935 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 19 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

15 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Watertown between 2018 and 2020, burning about 6 acres in total. 2 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/undetermined8
Debris and open burning4
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
5 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources33
30 August 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1901800
20 August 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2001619
15 June 2018Natural1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1801158
30 May 2018Naturalunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1801057
7 April 2019Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources13
30 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800842
29 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1804119

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson 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 Watertown: 4 unknowns, 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Schmidt PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Martin Kaddatz Gravel QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Sherwood QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
City of Watertown QuarryStoneUnknown
Own CrewsStoneUnknown
Watertown QuarryStoneUnknown

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

47 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watertown in 47 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 17 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 6 lightning, 5 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 1996Flash FloodWatertown1 hurt, $400,000no account filed
July 2003LightningWatertown1 hurtno account filed
May 2001HailWatertown$300,000no account filed
July 2010Flash FloodWatertown$150,000Training thunderstorms produced 3 to 5 inches of rain in two hours or less across mainly the northern two-thirds of the county. Many roads were rendered impassable for a time due to the heavy downpours. Localized flooding of roads and some basements, with damage to contents, were reported by the county emergency manager in Waterloo, Watertown, Lake Mills, Jefferson, Ixonia and Johnson Creek. STH 19 was closed east of Watertown due to high water over the road. Some storm total rainfall reports include 5.45 inches at Palmyra; 4.97 inches in Milford; 4.70 inches at the National Weather Service office in Sullivan; and 4.59 inches in Waterloo.
July 2005LightningWatertown$100,000no account filed
May 2011Thunderstorm WindWatertown$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were reported blown down by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots in a swath from 2 miles south of Watertown to Watertown. A tree fell on a home, with minimal damage reported by firefighters responding to the scene. The winds blew over a shed that damaged fencing, a viewing platform and a horse trailer at the Avalon Therapeutic Equestrian Center. Damage in the area totaled $50,000 dollars.
June 1997FloodWatertown$50,000no account filed
April 2026Flash FloodWatertown$40,000Flash flooding of streets in Watertown. A few stranded vehicles across the city. A 3 to 4 foot sinkhole occurred due to the floodwaters.
June 2010Flash FloodWatertown$25,000Three to five inches of rain fell with a severe thunderstorm complex that crossed southern Wisconsin. Many streets were flooded in Watertown where a measured 3.25 inches of rain fell in 4 hours. Law enforcement officials closed Industrial Road in Ixonia due to flooding. Water depths on some roads reached 1 to 3 feet. A few gravel shoulder washouts on country roads were reported.
May 2000Flash FloodWatertown$25,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWatertown$20,000no account filed
July 1997LightningWatertown$15,000no account filed
May 2014Thunderstorm WindWatertown$10,000Multiple trees and powerlines down throughout Watertown. The combination of winds and heavy rains caused an old brick building to partially collapse.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWatertown$10,000The Jefferson County Emergency Manager reported trees and power lines were blown down in Watertown from damaging thunderstorm wind gusts that were estimated up to 60 mph (52 knots).
July 1997LightningWatertown$5,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWatertown$2,000no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWatertown$1,000no account filed
July 2005LightningWatertown$1,000no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindWatertown$1,000no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindWatertown$1,000no account filed
April 2026HailWatertown-Public report of 1.25 inch diameter hail in Watertown.
April 2026HailWatertown-Trained spotter reports 1.75 inch diameter hail in Watertown.
April 2026HailWatertown-Public report of 1 inch diameter hail in Watertown.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Large tree down along West St. in Watertown. Winds estimated at 60 mph. Pea size hail also occurred.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWatertown-A trained spotter reported a severe thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 60 mph (52 knots).
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWatertown-A tree two and one half feet in diameter blew down partially blocking the intersection of Highway 26 and Milwaukee Street in Watertown. Time estimated from radar.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindWatertown-Powerful thunderstorm winds knocked down large trees.
July 2004Tornado (F0)Watertown-A weak F0 tornado (40 to 45 mph) briefly spun up 3.4 miles southwest of Watertown and produced no damage. Specifically, it spun up about one-half mile west of STH 26 in the center of an area bounded by CTH Y, Ebenezer Rd., and High Rd.
April 2023HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2018HailWatertown-no account filed
July 2017HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2015HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2012HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2011HailWatertown-no account filed
June 2008HailWatertown-no account filed
April 2007HailWatertown-no account filed
October 2006HailWatertown-no account filed
May 2004Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
August 2002FloodWatertown-no account filed
May 2000HailWatertown-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
August 1998Funnel CloudWatertown-no account filed
April 1996LightningWatertown-no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindWatertown-no account filed
August 1995HailWatertown-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson 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
Ebenezer3.9 miles19
Grellton5.2 miles15
Pipersville5.5 miles19
Ixonia7.8 miles18
Hubbleton8.1 miles16
Johnson Creek8.5 miles15
Farmington8.7 miles18
Milford9.0 miles15

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 WatertownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1207479The 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 1576295. 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.