Appleton () is a city, and the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet and Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River north of Lake Winnebago, it is southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. The city had a population of 75,644 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth-most populous city in Wisconsin. The Appleton metropolitan statistical area had 243,147 residents. Appleton is part of the broader Fox Cities region.
Appleton was founded in the mid-19th century and developed as an industrial and educational center; Lawrence University was established in 1847. Its economy was historically based on paper manufacturing and has since expanded to include retail and healthcare sectors, with major facilities including St. Elizabeth Hospital and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton. The city serves as a cultural center for the Fox River Valley, home to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and the History Museum at the Castle, which features exhibits on local history and notable residents such as magician Harry Houdini. It also hosts regional events such as Octoberfest and the Mile of Music.
History
Native American history
alt=Appleton, Wisconsin - 1867|thumb|left|Appleton, Wisconsin – 1867
The territory where Appleton is today was formerly occupied by the Ho-Chunk and the Menominee. The Menominee Nation ceded the territory to the United States in the Treaty of the Cedars in 1836. In the Menominee language, Appleton is known as Ahkōnemeh, or "watches for them place".
The first European settlers in Appleton were fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Native Americans. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.
European settlement
thumb|left|Paper mills in Appleton, 1898
Appleton was settled in 1847. It was founded as three unincorporated villages along the Fox River. From south to north along the river, these were Grand Chute, Appleton, and Lawesburg. In 1853, the three were merged into the single incorporated Village of Appleton. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. Lawrence University, also founded in 1847, was backed financially by Amos A. Lawrence and originally known as the Lawrence Institute. Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law from New England who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and the town took his name in appreciation.
The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the Vulcan Street Plant on the Fox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the Hearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system.
Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric streetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the East Coast.
The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857, with Amos Story as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted the commission form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.
Significant annexations to the city, taken from the Town of Grand Chute, were performed in the next two decades. The first, the "Glendale" district, was completed on November 8, 1941, growing Appleton north past Glendale Avenue. Another became official on December 22, 1950, after multi-year disputes, when the unincorporated villages of Bell Heights and Whispering Pines were annexed into the city from Grand Chute. Bell Heights added new area to the northwest edge of Appleton, and Whispering Pines, to the northeast, would include land where Appleton Memorial Hospital would later be built. Bell Heights and Whispering Pines increased the population of the city by ten percent, and its area by twenty percent, overnight. The Valley Fair Shopping Center, built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing. A Pick 'n Save Food Center now stands in its place.
From approximately 1930–1970, Appleton was a sundown town: black people were not allowed to stay overnight, and none lived within its city limits by 1930. A fight over Julian's employment ensued, and he was hired by Glidden in Chicago instead. A partial exception was made for opera singer Marian Anderson when she sang at Lawrence University in 1941; she was allowed to stay overnight in the Conway Hotel, but even then was not allowed to eat dinner in public.
Following the Flint water crisis, a report of Wisconsin Rust Belt cities showed high levels of lead contamination in the water of Appleton, with children under the age of 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same age group.
Geography
thumb|Appleton Locks 1-3 along the [[Fox River (Green Bay tributary)|Fox River]]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Appleton has a humid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. Summers are warm to hot and winters are rather cold in comparison. Precipitation is relatively moderate compared to other areas close to the Great Lakes, which means lesser snowfall in winter than in many other cold areas.
A dew point of was observed at Appleton at 5 p.m. on July 13, 1995. This is tied for the second highest dew point ever observed in the United States and coincides with the 1995 Chicago heat wave.
Being inland from Lake Michigan, Appleton is prone to temperature extremes. The hottest temperature recorded was during the 1936 Dust Bowl and the coldest was in 1929.