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Location of Neenah, Wisconsin

Neenah Dam on the Fox River in Neenah, Wisconsin

Neo-classical style Equitable Fraternal Union Building with the old City Hall clock tower behind it on S. Commercial St. (Wisconsin Highway 114).

Neenah is a city on Lake Winnebago in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 24,507 at the 2000 census. The city is surrounded by, but is politically independent of, the Town of Neenah. Neenah is the southwestern-most of the Fox Cities of Northeast Wisconsin. It is the smaller in population of the two principal cities of the Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah Combined Statistical Area. Doty Island is located partially in Neenah.

[edit] History

Neenah was named for the Winnebago word for "water" or "running water" by Governor James Duane Doty.^[1] The area was first designated an industrial and agricultural mission to the Menominee Indians in 1835, and early settlement by Americans of European descent began a few years later, stimulated in large part by the proximity of the area to the Fox River.^[2]

[edit] Geography

Neenah is located at 44°10′26″N 88°28′6″W / 44.17389°N 88.46833°W / 44.17389; -88.46833 (44.174035, -88.468508)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.2 km²), of which, 8.2 square miles (21.4 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (3.85%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 24,507 people, 9,834 households and 6,578 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,971.7 people per square mile (1,146.9/km²). There were 10,198 housing units at an average density of 1,236.6/sq mi (477.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.08% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 2.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Thirty-five percent of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,773, and the median income for a family was $55,329. Males had a median income of $39,140 versus $25,666 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,280. About 3.3% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

Neenah hosts significant steel and paper industries. Kimberly-Clark was founded in Neenah and maintains significant operations there, though its headquarters moved to Irving, Texas in the 1980s following a dispute over taxes between the CEO and the governor of Wisconsin.

Neenah is well-known for producing manhole covers at Neenah Foundry.

[edit] Culture

Neenah's Bergstrom-Mahler Museum has a world-renowned collection of glass art, comprising over 3,000 pieces, concentrating in historic paperweights and Germanic glasswork.

[edit] Notable people

Perhaps the most notable resident of Neenah was film director Howard Hawks, whose mother was a Neenah native. Her husband, Frank Hawks, moved to Neenah from Goshen, Indiana, when Howard was an infant. The family resided in Neenah in a house they had built on Wisconsin Avenue, then Neenah's most prestigious thoroughfare, until Mrs. Hawks' best friend Theda Clark, a Kimberly-Clark heiress, died young. Mrs. Hawks' grief motivated the family to move to Pasadena, California, where they had previously wintered.
Marcus Lee Hansen, historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, born in Neenah
John Whitlinger, tennis player, born in Neenah
Charles B. Clark, U.S. Representative
Samuel A. Cook, U.S. Representative
Jim Hall, professional boxer
Elmer J. Burr, Medal of Honor recipient
Kenneth E. Stumpf, Medal of Honor recipient
Rich Loiselle, MLB player
John Schneller, NFL player
Wayne Kreklow, NBA player, head coach of the Missouri Tigers women's volleyball team
Ryan G. Van Cleave, author and educator
Jack Ankerson, NFL player
Kenneth John Conant, architectural historian, professor at Harvard University
Philip Daly, Edmonton, Alberta Alderman
Kris Kelderman, MLS player and assistant coach
Konrad Tuchscherer, professor
Tami Whitlinger, WTA player
Frank Bateman Keefe, U.S. Representative
John Strange, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin