Township in Sawyer County
Town of Hayward
- Population
- 3,765
- County
- Sawyer County
- Location
- 45.990, -91.406
The Town of Hayward is a Wisconsin town (an unincorporated minor civil division) in Sawyer County that wraps around the separately incorporated City of Hayward, the Sawyer County seat. Its official 2020 Census population was 3,765 (Wisconsin DOA and the decennial count agree), making it one of the larger Northwoods towns, and its 2023 Census Gazetteer land area is about 56.9 square miles (the town's own site self-reports roughly 76 square miles). It is governed by an elected Town Board (Chairman John Froemel), runs its own Police, Highway, and volunteer Fire departments plus a town-owned Recreational Forest, and its children attend the PK-12 Hayward Community School District. Its identity is Northwoods lakes-and-forest recreation: the Namekagon River (part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway) runs to Hayward, three town-maintained public boat launches serve the lakes, and the surrounding Hayward Lakes area is nationally known for musky fishing, the American Birkebeiner ski race, and the Lumberjack World Championships.
The record
23 records name Town of Hayward
- 22 news
- 1 opinion
- Circuit court News August 19, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Town of Hayward hires contractor for preliminary building design News August 12, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News August 12, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News August 5, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- ‘A lot to think about’ - Regulation and revenue surround aviation fuel plant News July 30, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Real estate News July 29, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News July 29, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Zoning committee advances data centers moratorium News July 22, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- District 15 supervisor plans to resign following lengthy absence News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Markgren to retire at end of year News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Town of Hayward residents weigh in on new building options News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Town of Hayward FD to serve breakfast News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Real estate News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News July 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- 'A lot to think about': Regulation and revenue surround aviation fuel plant News July 14, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News May 13, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Town of Hayward facility problems outlined at annual meeting News April 29, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News April 15, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Letter: Have a voice in the Town of Hayward’s future Opinion March 18, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News March 4, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Town of Hayward continues facilities planning News February 25, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Attic fire damages house on Second Street in Hayward News January 8, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
- Circuit court News January 7, 2026 via apg-wi.com paywalled
What the records show
38 of 55 independently verified
Authoritative data
- Population: 3765 (2020 census), 3841 (latest official estimate) via doa.wi.gov
- Area: 56.89 sq mi land, 6.491 sq mi water, at 45.990133, -91.405956 via www2.census.gov
- Sawyer County holds 247 named lakes and flowages via prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com
- Named lakes nearest this town: Phipps Lake, Spring Lake, Christner Lake, Green Lake, Little Round Lake, Round Lake, Osprey Lake, Indian Lake, Lovejoy Lake, Lake Placid, Lake Placid, Mirror Lake, Burns Lake, Clear Lake and 2 more via prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com
Overview
- Name: Town of Hayward via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Type: town (minor civil division) via www2.census.gov
- County: Sawyer County via www2.census.gov
- Coords: 45.990133, -91.405956 via www2.census.gov
- Landarea: 56.89 via www2.census.gov
- Name origin: Anthony Hayward (1855) unverified via nps.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Population and demographics
- 2020: 3765 via doa.wi.gov
- 2025 est: 3841 via doa.wi.gov
- Voting age: 2893 via doa.wi.gov
- Self report: ~3,660 (2019, self-reported) via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Seasonal swing: substantially higher in season via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Income age: None unverified via www2.census.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Government and civic
- Form: elected Town Board via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Chair: John Froemel via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Supervisors: Butterfield, Williamson, Hessel, Hamblin via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Clerk: Bryn Hand via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Treasurer: Samantha Stuhr via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Hall: 15460W State Road 77E, Hayward, WI 54843 via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 9-3, Wed 1-6 via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Site: townofhaywardwi.gov via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Police: Town of Hayward Police Department (Chief Jeffrey T. Johnson) via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Notices: official website (News & Notices) via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Meeting: monthly, 6:00 PM unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Schools
- District: Hayward Community School District via nces.ed.gov
- Enrollment: 1885 via nces.ed.gov
- Site: hayward.k12.wi.us via nces.ed.gov
Economy and employers
- Tourism: tourism-driven via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Town services: town staff (clerk, 3 highway, volunteer FD, treasurer, police) via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Employers: hospital, schools, county government (area) unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Institutions and anchors
- Hospital: Tamarack Health Hayward Medical Center unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Library: Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Postoffice: ZIP 54843 unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Hall of fame: National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame unverified via haywardareachamber.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Business and commerce
- Chamber: Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce via haywardareachamber.com
- Downtown: adjacent City of Hayward via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Vcb: Hayward Lakes Visitor & Convention Bureau unverified via haywardareachamber.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Media
- Record: Sawyer County Record unverified via apg-wi.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Regional: regional Northwoods media unverified via apg-wi.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Recreation and natural assets
- Namekagon: Namekagon River (St. Croix National Scenic Riverway) via nps.gov
- Boat launches: 3 public boat launches via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Forest: Town of Hayward Recreational Forest via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Identity: musky fishing, lakes, trails via haywardareachamber.com
Events and seasonal rhythm
- Seasonal: four-season outdoor rhythm via haywardareachamber.com
- Birkie: American Birkebeiner (February) unverified via haywardareachamber.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Musky festival: Musky Festival (summer) unverified via haywardareachamber.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Lumberjack: Lumberjack World Championships (July) unverified via haywardareachamber.com We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Infrastructure and access
- Highways: WIS 77; US 63; WIS 27 via townofhaywardwi.gov
- Airport: Sawyer County Airport (HYR) via sawyercounty.gov
- Commercial air: Duluth / Rhinelander (nearest commercial) unverified via sawyercounty.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Broadband: None unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
- Hub: City of Hayward (immediate hub) unverified via townofhaywardwi.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Local government
Every figure here traces to a primary public record, linked at the fact. We gather and cite; we do not author. See something off? Tell us.