Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
Town
Boulder Junction Location within Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin Boulder Junction Boulder Junction (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 46°5′16″N 89°41′19″W / 46.08778°N 89.68861°W / 46.08778; -89.68861
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Vilas
Area
• Total	100.4 sq mi (260.0 km2)
• Land	81.9 sq mi (212.2 km2)
• Water	18.5 sq mi (47.8 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,663 ft (507 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	958
• Density	11.7/sq mi (4.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-08950[2]
GNIS feature ID	1582845[1]
Website	http://townofboulderjunction.org/

Boulder Junction is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 958 at the 2000 census.

In 1903, the Milwaukee Railroad laid tracks to the area that became known as Boulder Junction. While the railroad served the booming logging industry, it also attracted outdoors enthusiasts who came to fish and hunt. Electricity arrived in 1925. The town of Boulder Junction was incorporated in 1927. Phone service began in 1930. Also in the 1930s, wide-scale replanting began of the trees that had been harvested from the land during the logging boom of the previous decades.^[3]

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 958 people, 445 households, and 303 families residing in the town. The population density was 11.7 people per square mile (4.5/km²). There were 1,407 housing units at an average density of 17.2 per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.23% White, 0.52% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population.

There were 445 households, out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.62.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.4% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,722, and the median income for a family was $41,029. Males had a median income of $30,750 versus $25,556 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,678. About 4.5% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

The Town of Boulder Junction is located in central Vilas County. The area encompasses the basin of the Trout and Manitowish Rivers, which flow eventually into the Flambeau River. Much of the town is covered by the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, whose headquarters can be found on the east shore of Trout Lake. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 100.4 square miles (260.0 km²), of which, 81.9 square miles (212.2 km²) of it is land and 18.5 square miles (47.8 km²) of it (18.40%) is water. Most of the water is smaller and medium-sized lakes, and most of the land is forested in tree typical of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest band. The census-designated place of Boulder Junction is located in the town.^[4]

Economy

The town's economy depends heavily on tourism. Boulder Junction holds a trademark as the "Musky Capital of the World," based on the fact that more muskies are caught per square mile than any other similar sized area of the world.^[5]

A large statue of a "Marty the Musky" in Boulder Junction

Transportation

Recreation

Winter activities include hunting, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. In summer, golf, camping, paddling, fishing, and biking on the 52 mile paved Heart of Vilas bike trail^[7] are popular activities. Year-round activities include horseback riding, bird watching, and hiking.^[8]

The Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest is located near Boulder Junction. It consists of 25,000 acres of forest and lakes, with 54,000 acres of surface water in 930 lakes and 250 miles of rivers and streams. Within the preserve is 15,000 square miles of northern Wisconsin woodland. Because of the large number of lakes and rivers in the area, Boulder Junction has been proclaimed the “Musky capital of the world”.^[9]

Boulder Junction was formerly home to the Northern Wisconsin National Canoe Base, a national base of the Boy Scouts of America.^[10][11]

Camp Manito-wish trip groups, paddling their easy-to-see orange canoes, are frequently seen paddling the lakes and streams in Boulder Junction and the Northern Highland State Forest.

Boulder Junction is the home of Camp Manito-wish YMCA, which was founded in 1919. Manito-wish offers summer camp programs, wilderness tripping and leadership training for teens, families, schools and youth serving organizations.

White deer

Boulder Junction claims to have the largest herd of white (albino) deer in Wisconsin.^[12] The city uses white deer on its advertising and some tourists come to the city just to see the deer.^[13]

References

External links

• Town of Boulder Junction Official Web site
• Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce