Catawba

History

Before the railroad was built circa 1884, the area that would become Catawba was a forested wilderness cut only by rivers and Indian trails. The federal government surveyed that wilderness in 1847 and 1855. In the final years before the railroad, a little pine was logged along the river and some Swedish immigrants settled near where highway 86 crosses the south fork of the Jump River. The name Catawba is said to come from the wine - perhaps from a crew of railroad gandy dancers who overindulged on the stuff, or perhaps from local lumberjacks who partook at a saloon in Kennan. With the railroad came more lumber camps, more settlers, and a sawmill. The first school was operating by 1892, expanded to two rooms in 1902. By 1902 Peter Hammer's Red Birch Lumber Company had a sawmill running. He and his wife Isabelle also operated the Commercial Hotel, which largely served men working in the lumber business. Hammer also operated a company store called the ACA store. The town hall was built in 1921 and the village incorporated in 1922. At some point Wisconsin Highway 14 joined the railroad passing through town. It was eventually upgraded to U.S. Route 8, and paved in 1949.

Geography

Catawba is located at (45.535969, -90.530445). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  297
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  263
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  262
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  248
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  239
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  216
• Common Yellowthroat

  Geothlypis trichas (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  203
• Red-eyed Vireo

  Vireo olivaceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  188