Wisconsin's 6th congressional district is a congressional district of the United State House of Representatives in eastern Wisconsin. The district includes all or portions of the following counties: Adams, Calumet, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Jefferson, Manitowoc, Marquette, Sheboygan, Waushara and Winnebago. The district's current Representative is Thomas E. Petri (R), from Fond du Lac, who came to office in a special election held in April of 1979. Petri is member of the House Committee on Labor and Education. He is also on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is the ranking Republican on the Aviation Subcommittee.
History
Wisconsin's 6th congressional district came into existance in 1863 following the Federal Census of 1860. The first elected Representative from the District was Walter D. McIndoe of Wausau. The district was orginally comprised of the counties of the northern and western parts of the state and shifted eastward as further reapportionment occured following future censuses.
Census of 1860
The reapportionment of Congressional Districts, which occured following the federal census of 1860, gave Wisconsin three additional members to the House of Representatives. Members elected from the newly created 4th, 5th and 6th districts were chosen in the midterm elections of 1862 and took their seats in the lower house as part of the 38th Congress.
The 6th District(yellow) originally included the counties of Bad Ax (Vernon), La Crosse, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Portage, Wood, Jackson, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, Dunn, Eau Claire, Clark, Marathon, Chippewa, Dallas (Barron), Polk, Burnett, Douglas, La Pointe and Ashland. Areas of east central Wisconsin, which make up much of the 6th District today, were originally part of the newly created 5th district.
Census of 1870
The results of the 1870 Census allowed for Wisconsin to gain two additional seats in the House of Representatives. The new 6th District was shifted eastward and included many counties that are included what is today identified as Northeast Wisconsin. It included the counties of Brown, Calumet, Door, Green Lake, Kewaunee, Outagamie, Waupaca, Waushara and Winnebago. Representative Philetus Sawyer of Oshkosh had been elected to Congress from Wisconsin's 5th District since 1865, was then elected from the new version of the 6th District. He later went on to serve the state as a member of the U.S. Senate.
Census of 1880
The Federal Census of 1880 showed further population growth in Wisconsin and the state gained a 9th Congressional seat. Reapportionment of the state moved the 6th District to a more central location within the state, though the men elected from the district came from the communities along the shores of Lake Winnebago thoughout the decade. The 6th District now included the counties of Adams, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Waushara and Winnebago.
Census of 1890
Reapportionment following the Federal Census of 1890 allowed for Wisconsin to gain a 10th Congressional seat. The 6th District shifted eastward to a configuration that closely resembled that of today's linear east to west shape with a population of 187,001. The state population was enumerated at 1,686,880. The 6th District then included the counties of Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Marquette, Waushara and Winnebago.
Census of 1900
The state's population reached 2,069,042 according to the 1900 Federal Census and Wisconsin gained an additional seat in the House of Representatives. This was the peak of Wisconsin's Congressional representation and they mainted eleven members of the lower house until the opening of the 73rd Congress in 1933. The new 6th District was shifted southward and included the counties of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Ozaukee, Sheboygan and Washington. The counties in the vacinity of Lake Winnebago became part of the 8th District. The population of the counties making up the 6th District totaled 184,517.
Censuses of 1910 & 1920
The 1910 Census tabulated a population of 2,333,860 citizens and the 1920 Census saw the state population grow to 2,632,670. The states eleven districts were maintained and reapportioned for the elections of 1912. The 6th District was reconfigured in manner closer to that of the 1893 apportionment. The district included the counties of Calument, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Marquette and Winnebago.
The state was not reapportioned following the 1920 Census. All eleven districts continued in the same configuarations until the elections of 1932. The 6th district did grow from 201,637 to 214,206.
Census of 1930
District Representatives
| Name | Party | Years | Residence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter D. McIndoe | Republican | 1863-1867 | Wausau |
| Cadwallader C. Washburn | Republican | 1867-1871 | La Crosse |
| Jeremiah M. Rusk | Republican | 1871-1873 | Viroqua |
| Philetus Sawyer | Republican | 1873-1875 | Oshkosh |
| Alanson M. Kimball | Republican | 1875-1877 | Pine River |
| Gabriel Bouck | Democratic | 1877-1881 | Oshkosh |
| Richard W. Guenther | Republican | 1881-1887 | Oshkosh |
| Charles B. Clark | Republican | 1887-1891 | Neenah |
| Lucas M. Miller | Democratic | 1891-1893 | Oshkosh |
| Owen A. Wells | Democratic | 1893-1895 | Fond du Lac |
| Samuel A. Cook | Republican | 1895-1897 | Neenah |
| James H. Davidson | Republican | 1897-1903 | Oshkosh |
| Charles H. Weisse | Democratic | 1903-1911 | Sheboygan Falls |
| Michael E. Burke | Democratic | 1911-1913 | Beaver Dam |
| Michael K Reilly | Democratic | 1913-1917 | Fond du Lac |
| James H. Davidson | Republican | 1917-1919 | Oshkosh |
| Florian Lampert | Republican | 1919-1930 | Oshkosh |
| Michael K. Reily | Democratic | 1930-1939 | Fond du Lac |
| Frank B. Keefe | Republican | 1939-1951 | Oshkosh |
| William K. Van Pelt | Republican | 1951-1965 | Fond du Lac |
| John A. Race | Democratic | 1965-1967 | Fond du Lac |
| William A. Steiger | Republican | 1967-1979 | Oshkosh |
| Thomas E. Petri | Republican | 1979-Incmb | Fond du Lac |
External links
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