Appleton, Wisconsin is a city of about 77,000 people, sitting on the northern edge of Lake Winnebago and about 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton sits on the Fox River. Appleton is a very picturesque city that consistently rates high for quality of life. It is affordable and safe. In 2004, Appleton was in the top 10 most secure cities in the country. Appleton has warm summers and very cold winters with an average snowfall of 47 inches a year. Appleton prides itself on being friendly and laid-back. It has a very small-town feel to it, and anyone thinking of moving to Appleton will find a city with a lot of heart.
Economy:
The median household income for Appleton is higher than the state average. The cost of living there is quite a bit lower than the national average. Appleton is part of a group of 16 small cities situated near the Fox River who compromise the largest concentration of paper making and processing facilities in the world. However the top employer in Appleton is an insurance company, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The other top employers include Miller Electric and Voith. In the area, Kimberly-Clark and the Plexis Corp. are the largest employers.
History:
Home to many Indian tribes, the first Europeans in the area were French explorers in the early 1600s. One fur trader, Hippolyte Grignon, stopped there and built a home and a trading post. More settlers soon followed, and started wheat farms and dairies. In 1847, Amos Lawrence decided to build a college in the area, and it became Lawrence University. Amos decided to name the town Appleton in honor of his wife's family. The town grew around the university, and was incorporated in 1857. In 1882, the world's first hydro-electric plant was built on the Fox River, and this led to paper mills being established there. There are currently more than 3,000 Hmong-Laotians living in the city, originally refugees from the Vietnam War.
Tourism:
The Hearthstone Historic House Museum is a Victorian Home built in 1882 and is the first home to ever be lit by hydro-electric power. It has tours and exhibits. The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum has one of the largest exhibits of glass paperweights in the world. The Barlow Planetarium has on-going laser light shows. There are many wonderful and diverse art galleries in Appleton as well. Of course, being on the Fox River, the water attractions are numerous and varied. There is boating, fishing, camping and nature trails. You can enjoy the Houdini Walking Tour of the city and observe a collection of many of his magic feats. The Paper Discovery Museum has exhibits explaining about the importance of the paper industry in the area.