White Lake, Wisconsin
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1990. It stands in White Lake Village. It lies in ZIP code area 54491. The Survey maps it on the White Lake quadrangle. 262 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,286 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresWhite Lake fell from 363 to 262 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 | 363 | |
| 2020 | 262 | -101 (-28%) |
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.
- 1952 USGS White Lake quadrangle1:48000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Iron Mountain quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Iron Mountain quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1973 USGS White Lake quadrangle1:24000
- 1990 USGS Wabeno quadrangle1:100000
In the county-history sources
993 words on this townshipHistory of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. Government Survey to Present Time, with Biographical Sketches, published 1922 names this settlement in its chapter on White Lake Village. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
A year before the Yawkey-Bissell Lumber Company, lumber kings of Wisconsin for a half century, located, rumors floated about to the effect that a large saw and planing mill would be erected at White Lake. The rumors became facts when in July, 1916, the Yawkey-Bissell Lumber C6mpany began clearing land east of White Lake for a village and mill site. August 16, 1916, work was started on the large saw mill which commenced operations June 1, 1917. A year later ground was broken (August, 1917) for the planing mill which was completed and in operation January 1, 1918.
Passage source: History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. Government Survey to Present Time, with Biographical Sketches, published 1922.
White Lake schools. The large enrollment is increasing every year. The White Lake rural school is still used on section 29. For three years it was vacated. W. D. Cavers, Director, B. C. Nelson, Clerk and H. F. De Horn, Treasurer were the 1921-22 officers in charge of the high school, White Lake graded and White Lake rural schools.
Passage source: History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. Government Survey to Present Time, with Biographical Sketches, published 1922.
Leitl. The lumber concern also has a boarding house where many employes live. R. Pagel conducts it. In September, 1916, the depot erected at Van Ostrand by the Wisconsin & Northern railroad was moved to White Lake and W. H. Gamble became the first agent. A store was built by the lumber company in November, 1916. William Obendschein is in charge of the store and Julius Strauch of the meat market. A barber shop is operated by P. J. Reis. In August, 1917, the C. & N. W. Railroad Company built a depot at White Lake. The Yawkey-Bissell Lumber Company office was erected in 1916 and by January 1, 1917 was completed. A splendid club house, dance hall and community center building was erected at an approximate cost of $15,000 in 1918-19. It was opened June 1, 1919.
Passage source: History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, from U. S. Government Survey to Present Time, with Biographical Sketches, published 1922.
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 White Lake Village - it names this place 5 more 5 times.
Fires near this place
57 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 57 fires within 5 miles of White Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 40 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 |
| Debris and open burning | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 12 |
| Other causes | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | FIRE OPTIC |
| 16 August 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 August 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 July 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 July 2009 | Fireworks | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | TOWNLINE FIREWORKS |
| 30 July 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest | VAL ALSTINE RD |
| 3 July 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 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 White Lake: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Lake Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
14 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names White Lake in 14 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 7 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2007 | Tornado (EF3) | White Lake | 1 hurt, $2,200,000 | The long-track tornado moved from Menominee Co. into Langlade Co. about three miles south of White Lake at 4:48 PM CDT. Significant damage occurred as the tornado grew to just over one-half mile. The Bear Paw Outdoor Adventure Resort sustained severe damage with nearly every building (ten) damaged or destroyed, including a three-story inn that was pushed over by the high winds. Only nine people were on site at the time of the tornado; hundreds were expected the next day for the upcoming weekend. One employee at the resort was injured, suffering minor cuts to the head. Hundreds of acres of trees were flattened, and nine homes sustained damage. The average width of the tornado was 700 yards as it moved across the county. The tornado was rated EF3 (DI 6, DOD 9; poorly anchored buildings) with winds estimated of 150 to 160 mph. The tornado exited Langlade Co., around 6 miles east-northeast of White Lake, and moved into Oconto Co. at 4:58 PM CDT. |
| May 2022 | Hail | White Lake | - | Nickel size hail fell in White Lake. |
| September 2019 | Hail | White Lake | - | Quarter size hail fell in White Lake. The time of this event is an estimate based on radar data. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees as they passed through White Lake. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | Widely scattered severe thunderstorms produced a funnel cloud and damaging winds over central Wisconsin. A small tornado moved a garage off its foundation and wrecked a house roof and shed three miles northwest of Elderon (Marathon County). A second small tornado destroyed a garage and toppled trees three miles southeast of Aniwa (Shawano County). Thunderstorm wind damage was confined to trees and power lines. |
| March 2007 | Hail | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| September 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Lake | - | no account filed |
| April 1994 | Hail | White Lake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Langlade | 2.8 miles | 9 | |
| Four Corners | 4.3 miles | 8 | |
| Markton | 5.8 miles | 8 | |
| Hollister | 6.4 miles | 8 | |
| Elton | 6.5 miles | 8 | |
| Lily | 11.4 miles | 10 | |
| Polar | 12.0 miles | 8 | |
| Sherry Junction | 12.6 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 White Lake | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2091409 | 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 1580775. 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.




