Port Washington, Wisconsin

Port Washington, Wisconsin
City
Port Washington Pierhead Light, as viewed from Lake Michigan
Flag
Location of Port Washington in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.
Port Washington Show map of Wisconsin Port Washington Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 43°23′36″N 87°52′52″W / 43.39333°N 87.88111°W / 43.39333; -87.88111
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Ozaukee
Settled	1835; 189 years ago (1835)
Incorporated	1882; 142 years ago (1882)
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Ted Neitzke IV
• Administrator	Vacant
• Clerk	Susan Westerbeke
• Treasurer	Mark Emanuelson
• City council	Aldermen Deborah Postl Paul Neumyer Michael Gasper Dan Benning Jonathan Pleitner Patrick Tearney John Sigwart
Area [1]
• Total	5.86 sq mi (15.19 km2)
• Land	5.86 sq mi (15.19 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	12,353
• Density	2,031.21/sq mi (784.29/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code	53074
Area code	262
FIPS code	55-64450
Website	portwashingtonwi.gov

Port Washington is the county seat of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore east of Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area 27 miles (43 km) north of Milwaukee. The city's artificial harbor at the mouth of Sauk Creek was dredged in the 1870s and was a commercial port until the early 2000s. The population was 12,353 at the 2020 census.

When French explorers arrived in the area in the 17th century, they found a Native American village at the mouth of Sauk Creek—the present location of historic downtown Port Washington. The United States Federal Government forcibly expelled the Native Americans in the 1830s, and the first settlers arrived in 1835, calling their settlement "Wisconsin City" before renaming it "Port Washington" in honor of President George Washington.^[4] In the late 1840s and early 1850s, the community was a candidate to be the Washington County seat. Disagreements between municipalities and election fraud prevented Washington County from having a permanent seat of government until the Wisconsin State Legislature intervened, creating Ozaukee County out of the eastern third of Washington County and making Port Washington the seat of the new county.

For much of its history, Port Washington has been tied to the Great Lakes. Early settlers used boats to transport goods including lumber, fish, and grains, although the community's early years were marred by shipwrecks, which led the U.S. Federal Government to construct Port Washington Harbor in 1871. Commercial fishing prospered in Port Washington until the mid-20th century, and beginning in the 1930s, the Port Washington Generating Station used the harbor to receive large shipments of coal to burn for electricity. The commercial harbor closed in 2004 when the power station switched to natural gas for fuel, but the community maintains an active marina for recreational boaters. In the 21st century, Port Washington celebrates its lacustrine heritage with museums, public fish fries, sport fishing derbies, and sailboat races.