46 Fun Facts Everyone Should Know About Wisconsin

There are so many Wisconsin facts to share but this list will highlight 46 fun facts about the state. From owning the title of many ‘firsts’, to being the ‘largest’, ‘oldest’, and ‘longest’, there are plenty of facts to highlight about this dairy state.

State Facts

 On May 29, 1848, Wisconsin became the 30^th state to join the Union.

 The population in July 2016 was 6, 778,708.

The Capital city is Madison and the state flower is wood violet. Wisconsin’s state bird is the American robin, which gained its title back in 1949.

The state measures 320 miles in length and has a width of 295 miles. There are 471,329 acres of state forests throughout the state and 60,570 acres of state parks.

Bodies of water in Wisconsin make up 1.13 million acres, while there are 34.8 million acres of dry land throughout the state.

Oddities

The city of Green Bay is known as the ‘Toilet Paper Capital’ of the world.

According to folklore, Wisconsin houses more ghosts per square mile than any other state in the nation.

Looking to catch a muskie? Have some patience, as it takes on average 100 hours of fishing to accomplish that feat.

There is more shoreline in Door County than any other county in the United States. In total throughout this county, there are over 250 miles of shoreline.

If all the deer hunters showing up on the first day of deer season were gathered together, they would make up the sixth-largest army in the world.

Fox River is one of the few rivers throughout the United States that flows north.

Geography

The highest point in Wisconsin is Timms Hill, at 1,951 feet of elevation. There are 72 counties within the state, and Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota border Wisconsin.

Nearly 1/3 of all Americans live within a 500-mile radius of the state of Wisconsin.

Firsts

Two Rivers was the location of the first ice cream sundae; concocted in 1881.

The first kindergarten class in the U.S. was in 1856, in the city of Watertown.

Flag Day’s first celebration was in Ozaukee County, on June 14, 1885.

Delavan is the home to the first circus to perform within the United States. Meanwhile, the first Wisconsin town to offer free rural mail delivery was Watertown, in 1896.

Wisconsin is recorded to have opened the first cheese factory within the United States, back in 1841.

Before forming as a s state, the capital of Wisconsin as a territory was Belmont, in 1836.

The state’s first governor was Nelson Dewey, from 1848-1852.

Milwaukee has shown up several times, this time for being home to the first brewery, Pabst Brewery.

Largest

The largest city within Wisconsin is Milwaukee, followed by Madison as the second-largest city. These two powerhouses are less than 80 miles apart.

The EAA Fly-In at Oshkosh is the largest experimental aviation event in the world. For one week each summer, the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh watches over 15,000 aircraft landing at the airport. There are approximately 500,000 visitors to the annual event that began back in 1970. Spectators love to see the aerobatic displays and flybys completed in both modern and vintage military aircraft.

The largest cross-country ski race, American Birkebeiner, has more than 5,000 competitors within Cable.

Lake Winnebago is the largest inland lake and measures 30 miles long and 10 miles wide at its widest point.

Milwaukee Public Museum houses a replica of the largest woolly mammoth ever to be excavated. The huge mammal was dug up in Kenosha.

Wisconsin is the largest exporter of cranberries, sweet corn, and ginseng, and is the second-largest exporter of whey throughout the United States.

Oldest

The oldest city in the state of Wisconsin is Green Bay. This city can be accredited to a French explorer, Jean Nicolet, who ran a small trading store back in 1634.

Milwaukee is famous for many things, one of those having the oldest soccer team in the contiguous United States operation. The Milwaukee Wave is still kicking goals against the city’s opponents.

Food and Beverage

Known as ‘America’s Dairyland’, Wisconsin is one of the nation’s prominent dairy producers. In addition to being a leader in dairy, 60 % of the nation’s cranberries are from this state.

Another Wisconsin fact is common among beer drinkers. They know the headquarters of Miller Brewing Company is what made Milwaukee famous.

Foodies might not know this fact: Wisconsin is one of the leading producers of ginseng grown in the United States. Additionally, this amount also accounts for nearly 10 percent of the world’s complete supply.

Each year, Wisconsinites go through nearly 21 million gallons of ice cream.

The ‘Bratwurst Capital’ of the world is Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Festivals

Each year, Sun Prairie hosts a sweet corn festival, and it is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the United States.

Wausau hosts the international Wisconsin Ginseng Festival. This annual event is held in September. Events for this festival include cooking demonstrations, food and beverage sample booths, live music, area dance groups, and the Root Run 5K.

The world’s largest cranberry festival is held each September in Warrens. The small town has 400 citizens, but the festival draws 100,000 yearly.

In even-numbered years, folks swarm like flies on buttermilk to the Green County Cheese Days. The event is held every other September in the city of Monroe.

By the Numbers

Door County, Wisconsin increases 10 times the number of citizens each summer; jumping to 250,000 from the annual count of 28,000.

Throughout the Wisconsin woods, more than 800,000 deer roam.

These 46 Wisconsin facts shed light on the state, known primarily for its dairy products.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © rarrarorro/iStock via Getty Images