Racine was created on 1836 from Milwaukee County. The County Seat is Racine. The County was named for its principal town, which was laid off in 1834-35 by Gilbert Knapp. The first designation of this settlement was Port Gilbert; but its founder decided to change this to Racine, the French translation of Root River, on which he had laid out his town. Root was apparently the translation of the aboriginal name for this stream. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.
Counties adjacent to Racine County are Milwaukee County (north), Lake Michigan (east), Kenosha County (south), Walworth County (west), Waukesha County (north). Racine County Cities Include Burlington, Racine. Towns Include Burlington, Dover, Norway, Raymond, Rochester, Waterford, Yorkville. Villages Include Caledonia, Elmwood Park, Mount Pleasant, North Bay, Rochester, Sturtevant, Union Grove, Waterford, Wind Point.
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All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link below for each department.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Racine County Register of Deeds Officehas Birth Records from 1877, Marriage Records from 1839, Death Records from 1880 and Land Records from 1837.
In 1848 the Wisconsin Constitution established the Register of Deeds as a permanent element of the County level of governmental structure. The purpose of the Racine County Register of Deeds is to provide official record keeping for Records or files land record documents authorized by law, such as deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, certified survey maps, plats and Federal Tax liens. Files and indexes Birth, Death and Marriage records, Military Discharges, and issues certified copies upon request.
Racine County Register in Probate Office has Probate Records from 1849. It is the responsibility of the Register in Probate to maintain and update files regarding probate of estates, guardianships, protective placements, adoptions and mental commitments. This is a statutory office with the position of Register in Probate filled by judicial appointment.
Racine County Clerk of Court Office has Court Records from 1837. The Clerk of Court is part of the Judicial Branch of local government and as such is required to maintain a record of all documents filed with the courts, keep a record of all court proceedings, and collect various fines and forfeitures ordered by the court and specified by statute.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Wisconsin Land Records: This database contains information on Wisconsin (U.S.A.) land records. The database comes from the Bureau of Land Management's Wisconsin Pre-1908 Homestead and Cash Entry Patent and Cadastral Survey Plat Index. Information recorded in the collection includes patentee name, land office, legal description, etc.
The earliest tax records in Wisconsin appear to be for real estate. Brown County has an extant tax roll for 1824. Tax rolls are kept by the county treasurer for each county. Many of these records have been transferred to the appropriate Area Research Centers.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Racine County Treasurers Office
The County Treasurer's office collects all real estate taxes including postponed and delinquent, all county revenues in addition to the research and issue tax deed applications. Our department is the holder of tax records and assessed values.
Click Here to Search Wisconsin Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Wisconsin Division of Health, Vital Records, 1 West Wilson Street, Rm 158, Madison, WI 53701. Thier mailing address is Wisconsin Vital Records Office, P.O. Box 309, Madison, WI 53701-0309. Telephone: For automated assistance 24 hours a day, please call (608) 266-1371. To contact our service counter during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:15 P.M. (C.S.T.), Monday through Friday, please call (608) 266-1373. All fees are not refundable if no record is found. You must enclose a personal check or money order made payable to "Wis. Vital Records". Please do not send cash. Please include a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope with your request.
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Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates: In Wisconsin, official registration of births, marriages & deaths vary by county, see the table below for the Earliest available records.
Cost: $20.00 is the cost for the search, which includes one copy of the birth, marriage or death certificate, if found. Additional copies of the same record, requested at the same time as the first, are $3.00 each. The cost is the same whether you request a certified or uncertified copy of the birth certificate.
Processing Time: Filled requests take 3-6 months when ordered by mail (Application for Birth, Marriage or Death) or 2-5 Days when you order online.
Divorces: Divorces on availible since Oct 1907.
Cost: $20.00 is the cost for the search, which includes one copy of the divorce certificate, if found. Additional copies of the same record, requested at the same time as the first, are $3.00 each. The cost is the same whether you request a certified or uncertified copy of the birth certificate.
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Order On-Line: To obtain a certified copy of a vital record by on-line purchase with a credit card, please link to VitalChek.
Order In Person: You can apply in person for a copy of a marriage certificate at 1 West Wilson Street, Room 158, in Madison, Wisconsin (driving directions/parking). The office is open from 8:00 A.M. until 4:15 P.M. (C.S.T.), Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. Identification is required to pick up certified copies of vital records in person. The acceptable forms of identification are listed below.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Wisconsin Births, 1820-1907: This database indexes over 985,000 births recorded in the State of Wisconsin, USA, prior to 1907. Information provided in the index includes: name, birth date, country, and source information.
Wisconsin Deaths, 1820-1907: This database indexes over 435,000 deaths recorded in the state of Wisconsin prior to 1907.
Wisconsin Marriages, 1973-1997: This database is an index to approximately 949,000 marriages that took place in the State of Wisconsin, USA, between 1973 and 1997. Information that may be found in this database includes groom's name, groom's age, groom's residence (county and/or state), bride's name, bride's age, bride's residence (county and/or state), marriage date, marriage county, and marriage certificate number.
Wisconsin Marriages, pre-1907: This index contains over 920,000 individuals married in the State of Wisconsin, USA, prior to 1907. Information that may be found in this database for each individual includes their name, marriage date, county of marriage, and source information.
Click Here to Search Wisconsin Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Wisconsin Census, 1820-90: This database contains indexes to the Wisconsin (U.S.A.) portions of the 1820-1860 U.S. Federal Censuses as well as indexes to the 1836-1838, 1842, 1846, and 1855 State Censuses, the 1840 Pensioners Lists, the 1890 Veterans Schedules, and other early censuses. Information contained in these indexes can include name, state, county, township, year of record, and name of record set.
Wisconsin State Censuses, 1895 and 1905: This database contains an index to the 1895 and 1905 Wisconsin state censuses. Both censuses cover all counties that existed at the time. Information listed includes: name of individual, and place of enumeration. The 1905 census also includes relationship to head of household, race, gender, age, marital status, and birthplace.
Genealogy Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Wisconsin showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Wisconsin showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Maps. Email us with websites containing Racine County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Wisconsin Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Wisconsin (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Racine County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Area Research Center - University of Wisconsin - Parkside, University Archives and Area Research Center, D-276 Wyllie Library Learning Center, University of Wisconsin-Parkside
900 Wood Road, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000; Phone: 262/595-2077 or 262/595-2411 Covered are Racine and Kenosha counties.
Wisconsin Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Wisconsin Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
The Wisconsin Historical Records Survey Project of Madison published the Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Wisconsin in 1941 and Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in Wisconsin in 1942. There are also numerous publications by the project for specific denominations. Extensive microfilm collections of church records in Wisconsin are available through the FHL. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin and Area Research Centers have a variety of church records including microfilm and original records.
Numerous cemeteries have been read and transcribed by local genealogical societies in Wisconsin. The transcriptions are frequently deposited with an Area Research Center, a local library, or the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. A considerable number have been printed in the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Newsletter. Some have been privately published.
The Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society, 6100 West Mequon Road,
Mequon, WI 53092, publishes a newsletter and maintains an archive of tombstone inscriptions from around the state. Contact the society for membership information
Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Racine County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Wisconsin Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Racine County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Racine County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Wisconsin Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Wisconsin Genealogy Index. Search more than 150,000 Wisconsin obituaries and biographical sketches published before 1999, as well as 1,000,000 births, 400,000 deaths and 1,000,000 marriages registered before September 1907.
Racine County is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in southeastern Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago. The County is basically shaped like a rectangle that is 12 miles high and 30 miles wide, with the addition of a southern extension of almost 3 miles along the westernmost 6 miles of land. The County contains two cities, seven villages and nine towns. Interstate Highway 94 links Racine County with Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis to the West and Chicago and Detroit to the East.
SIZE & POPULATION
Racine County is the 6th smallest County in Wisconsin by size, at 333.1 square miles. With a population determined by the 2000 Census to be 188,831 people, Racine County is the 5th most populous county in Wisconsin, and has the state's third highest population density, 566.9 people per square mile.
HISTORY
Woodland Indians were the earliest known inhabitants of Racine County. In the latter half of the 17th Century, French fur traders and missionaries, including Nicholas Perrot and Fathers Claude Allouez and Jacques Marquette, found predominately Miami Indians inhabiting the lands along Racine's Root River.
By 1720, the Miami tribe had moved on and the area had become the home of the Potawatomi Indians. In the late 1820's, at a place then called Skunk Grove, Jacques and Louis Vieaux set up a fur trading post with the Potawatomi. A historic marker has been placed at the site, which is now in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Following the Black Hawk War in 1832, "Wisconsin Fever" brought many pioneers from Western New York State, rural New England and Britain to this area. One of these was Captain Gilbert Knapp, who, in 1834, founded the settlement of Port Gilbert at the place where the Root River empties into Lake Michigan. However, the name Port Gilbert never gained acceptance over the earlier Indian designation of Chippecotton (Root River) or its French version, Racine, and in 1841 the community was incorporated as the Village of Racine. Shortly after statehood was granted in 1848, the brand new Wisconsin legislature voted to incorporate the Village of 3,000 as the City of Racine.
Soon after Captain Knapp founded his settlement on Lake Michigan, other pioneers were settling areas to the west. Lemuel Smith, who arrived in 1835, was said to have been the first settler in Burlington. David Bushnell and Herman and Elizabeth Loomis arrived the following year. In 1836, Levi Godfrey and John Wade built a log house in what is now Rochester. S.E. Chapman and Levi Barnes came to Waterford the same year.
In 1805, Congress created the Michigan Territory, which included all the land that is now in the State of Wisconsin. In 1818, the land west of Lake Michigan was divided into three counties. As settlers moved in, new Counties were split off from those original three. Milwaukee County was founded in 1834, the year Captain Knapp arrived, and included all the land along the lake south to Illinois. In 1836, the Wisconsin Territory was organized. That same year, this area was sufficiently inhabited to warrant separation from Milwaukee County, and Racine County was formed. It did not take on its present-day borders, however, until 1850, when Kenosha County was created out of its southernmost portion.
In the years preceding the Civil War, Racine was known for its strong opposition to slavery. Many slaves escaping to freedom via the "underground railroad" passed through Racine County. When Joshua Glover, an escaped slave who had made a home in Racine, was arrested as a fugitive and taken to jail in Milwaukee, a band of citizens from Racine broke into the jail and freed him.
When the Civil War began, the men of Racine County responded by forming the "Belle City Rifles." Over the course of that conflict, more than 2,000 of Racine County's sons fought in the Union Army. Almost 275 were killed, including Colonel Hans Christian Heg, one of the founders of the Town of Norway and the highest-ranking officer from the State of Wisconsin to perish in the War. A statue honoring him is located in the County's Heg Park.
Racine County holds the distinction of having erected, in 1853, the first High School building in the State of Wisconsin. The present County Courthouse grounds include the former sites of both Racine High School and the County's first public school.
Racine County land has been farmed for 2,000 years. The first Racine County farmers, members of the Hopewell Culture that inhabited the area some 1,300 to 1,900 years ago, grew corn, beans, squash and tobacco. Later, the Potawatomi added melons and pumpkins, and introduced the harvesting of maple sap and sugar.
The primary crop for the first European settlers was wheat. The Perkins flouring mill of Burlington sent the first Wisconsin wheat back east in the 1840's. After the Civil War, however, dairy farming became more important, and remains so today. In 1998, there were 650 farms, covering 136,000 acres, in Racine County.
The first industry in Racine County was agriculture-related, and included the manufacture of fanning mills, machines that separated grain from chaff. In 1842, 24-year old Jerome Increase Case came from New York State with a combined thresher-separator that he had invented. He started production of his machine in Rochester, in competition with a local company, Fanning Mills. Case moved his factory to the City of Racine a few years later. The company he founded, originally J.I. Case but now CNH, is still headquartered in Racine and continues to be a world leader in the manufacture and sale of agricultural and construction equipment.
As dairy farming became more prevalent, it brought other industries. Wagner Specialty Company of Burlington produced bull rings and calf weaners for use by farmers. In the years following the Civil War, the Horlick Malted Milk Company of Racine sold the powdered milk and malted milk that British immigrant William Horlick developed. The Wisconsin Condensed Milk Company was active in Burlington.
Racine County has long been known for the inventiveness of its citizens. In 1873, Reverend J.W. Carhart put together one of the first steam-powered automobiles. J.I. Case and Mitchell & Lewis were among a group of Racine-based car manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The car companies spurred the establishment of other businesses that provided vehicle parts, including Walker Manufacturing Company (jacks and mufflers), Twin Disc (clutches) and Modine Manufacturing Company (heat transfer products and torque converters). These firms endure even though no cars have been manufactured in Racine County for years.
During this same time period, S.C. Johnson founded a company to manufacture and distribute floor wax products. That enterprise has grown into one of the largest manufacturers of personal, household and professional cleaning products and insect control products in the world, now known as S.C. Johnson, A Family Company.
These years also saw the growth of Western Publishing Company. When a small printing business came under the control of the Wadewitz family of Racine, it blossomed into a large firm well known throughout the world for publishing "Little Golden Books."
In the early years of the 20th Century, Fred Osius established the United States Standard Electrical Works Company, and made Racine the world leader in fractional horsepower electrical motors. His motor powered a number of products, including the "cyclone drink mixer," more commonly known today as a blender. Osius then started a company called Hamilton Beach after two of his colleagues. Hamilton and Beach later left the firm to start another company, Dumore Manufacturing Company, which manufactured products in Racine for many years.
Another Racine inventor, John W. Hammes, used a fractional horsepower electrical motor in a machine that chewed up food waste into particles small enough to be washed away down the drain. In-Sink-Erator remains the world leader in garbage disposers, making machines under its own name as well as for other companies.
Here is a list of some - but certainly not all - of the manufacturing firms that were founded in Racine County:
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Andis Hair Clippers
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Jacobsen Textron (lawn care products)
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Rainfair (protective clothing)
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Young Radiator
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Dremel Tools (small power tools)
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Gold Medal Furniture
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Gorton Machine Co.
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Badger Basket and Veneer Company
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Ruud Lighting
Western Racine County, although traditionally the less urban, more agricultural part of the County, has still had its share of industrial firms. In 1843, the Perkins Woolen Mill produced the first machine-made roll of cloth made in Wisconsin. The Burlington Blanket Company invented and manufactured the first stay-on horse blanket. In later years, the firm produced felt linings for many of the first automobiles as well as gun belts and ammunition used in World Wars I and II. The Multiscope and Film Company manufactured the world's first panoramic camera, known as the Al-vista camera.
Burlington Brass Works produced the "kant-leak" valve for sink faucets, and made gun shell casings for the armed forces in World War II and the Korean War. Anton Zweibel of Burlington invented the first folding ironing board. Burlington was also home to the Klein Beverage Company, which shipped its ginger beer and other soft drinks around the world.
Description from John W. Hunt's 1853 Wisconsin Gazetteer:
"RACINE, County, is bounded on the north by Waukesha and Milwaukee, on the east by the State line in Lake Michigan, on the south by Kenoshia, and on the west by Walworth. It was organized from the limits of Milwaukee Dec. 7, 1836. The seat of justice is at the city of Racine, on the lake shore. This county has a proper proportion of prairie and timber, and is well adapted to agriculture. Its productions are various. Besides other branches of agriculture, the raising of fruit and keeping of cattle and sheep are successfully carried on. There is also a large amount of capital profitably employed in various branches of manufacture. A large portion of the county is well settled and improved. Though small in extent, it possesses advantages unsurpassed by any county in the State. Its soil is well adapted to all the products of the climate, and being contiguous to the lake, it has good and convenient markets both at Racine and other lake ports. Its principal streams are O'Plaine and Root rivers.
From: Handbook of Wisconsin by S. Silas, 1855,
pg. 96-97
Is one of the small, and old settled counties, lying in the south-eastern part of the State, and one of the most densely populated. It is prairie interspersed with openings, with some heavy timber in the northern part. It is gently undulating in surface, and well watered. All the public lands are taken up. The County is improved and highly cultivated, and the farms of Racine will bear comparison with those in any other part of the State. It is a good grazing and stock growing County.
Racine is the County Seat, and the Lake port, beautifully located at the mouth of Root River, which the enterprise of its citizens have converted into a good harbor. The Racine Rail Road passes into the country west to Beloit, and is now running about 20 miles. The Lake Shore Rail Road also passes through Racine. A plank road also reaches back to Delevan (sic). Racine College, under the care of the Episcopal Church, is located here. Population of the city 8044.
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