Amherst Junction, Wisconsin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amherst Junction, Wisconsin
Village
Location of Amherst Junction in Portage County, Wisconsin.
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Portage
Area
• Total	1.24 sq mi (3.22 km2)
• Land	1.24 sq mi (3.20 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	1,109 ft (338 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	377
• Estimate  (2019)	383
• Density	309.87/sq mi (119.63/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Zip code	54407
Area codes	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-01800
GNIS feature ID	1560833

Amherst Junction is a village in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 377 at the 2010 census.

History

Amherst Junction was created when the railroad first came through the county. It was a junction between two railroads: the Wisconsin Central and the Green Bay and Lake Pepin railroads.

Until 1875, the community was referred to as Groversburg, presumably after the Grover family that held considerable property in the area. But when a post office was established in March 1875, it was called Amherst Junction.

It was not until 1911 that the village was incorporated. By 1914, the village had become an important buying and shipping center for potatoes. Many people traveling to the eastern and northeastern parts of the county would detrain in Amherst Junction and hire a rig from a livery in the village to take them to their destination.

The village at one time had 36 businesses which included: five taverns, two hotels, two grocery stores, dancehalls, depots, feed stores, four potato warehouses, a blacksmith, a livery stable, a meat market, bank, hardware store, car dealership, a post office, a school, and a turkey processing plant.

The Summit House, a fairly large hotel, was built in the village around 1872 or 1873 by H. N. Livermore. Since the hotel was a popular place to stay, eat and dance, Amherst Junction must have been a gathering center for many of the surrounding communities. The Summit House remained in business until 1939, when it was dismantled and its lumber was used to build a new home for the owner. At one time, the hotel was operated by Zilphia Moyers Een, the county's first woman hotel keeper.

Geography

Amherst Junction is located at 44°28′10″N 89°19′1″W / 44.46944°N 89.31694°W / 44.46944; -89.31694 (44.469523, -89.316827).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.22 square miles (3.16 km²), of which, 1.21 square miles (3.13 km²) of it is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 377 people, 137 households, and 102 families living in the village. The population density was 311.6 inhabitants per square mile (120.3/km²). There were 146 housing units at an average density of 120.7 per square mile (46.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 100.0% White. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 137 households, of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.5% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.16.

The median age in the village was 35.2 years. 28.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

See also

In Spanish: Amherst Junction para niños