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Wisconsin · Fox Cities · #336 Most Populous County in the US
Outagamie County, Wisconsin
The Fox Cities' western anchor - from Appleton's vibrant downtown on the Fox River and Lawrence University's liberal arts campus to Kaukauna's historic locks and paper mills, the Houdini connection, and the thriving manufacturing and healthcare economy of northeastern Wisconsin's most dynamic metro. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Outagamie County residents.
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Outagamie County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Outagamie County Emergency Management – 320 S Walnut St, Appleton, WI 54911 | (920) 832-6361 | Email: [email protected] | Director: Paula Van De Leygraaf
Roads: US-41 and WI-441/WI-15 serve Appleton, the county seat, on the Fox River; Appleton International Airport (ATW) serves the region
Transit: Valley Transit provides local bus service in Appleton and surrounding communities
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Outagamie County Building Permits – for UNINCORPORATED areas only; Zoning Administrator Isaac Uitenbroek
Services: Land use, sanitary, and zoning permits for unincorporated Outagamie County
Notes: IMPORTANT – Outagamie County issues building permits ONLY for properties in unincorporated areas. If your property is inside an incorporated city (Appleton, Kaukauna, Little Chute, Combined Locks, Kimberly, Seymour, New London, Hortonville, etc.), that city’s own building department handles permits, not the county. City of Appleton Building Inspections – (920) 832-6411, in-office hours Mon–Fri 8-9:30 AM.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Outagamie County Veterans Service Office – Appleton, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Appleton Public Library – 225 North Oneida Street (also cited as 200 N. Appleton St.), Appleton, WI 54911 | (920) 832-6170 | Director: Colleen Rortvedt | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–9 PM, Fri 9 AM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–5 PM, Sun 12–5 PM
Services: A member of the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS), allied with the Nicolet Federated Library System, sharing the InfoSoup catalog; holds 260,000+ volumes and circulates roughly 1.4 million items annually; was the FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY IN WISCONSIN WITH A WEBSITE; offers genealogy help, small business assistance, technology help, and curbside pickup
Related: Additional Outagamie County libraries include the Muehl Public Library (Seymour, established 1901) and others across the county’s cities and villages
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Outagamie County’s seat, APPLETON, holds a genuinely extraordinary place in American technological history – on September 30, 1882, the VULCAN STREET PLANT on the Fox River became the FIRST HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT IN THE UNITED STATES, conceived by H.J. Rogers, president of the Appleton Paper and Pulp Co.; the plant generated about 12.5 kilowatts, powering two paper mills and Rogers’ own home, the HEARTHSTONE HOUSE, which became the FIRST RESIDENCE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system – the Hearthstone Historic House Museum survives today and is one of the few remaining examples of wiring and lighting fixtures from the dawn of the electrical age; Appleton also hosted the nation’s first successful, long-lasting commercial ELECTRIC STREETCAR line (1886), the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent lights installed outside the U.S. East Coast; separately, Appleton is genuinely the boyhood hometown of famed magician HARRY HOUDINI, whose Hungarian immigrant family settled in the city in 1878 when he was four years old – the site is now downtown’s “Houdini Plaza,” and the History Museum at the Castle maintains a permanent Houdini exhibit alongside one honoring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edna Ferber, whose family also lived in Appleton; the city was originally named Grand Chute before being renamed for Samuel Appleton, an early donor to Lawrence University (chartered 1847), Wisconsin’s first co-educational institution of higher learning
Notes: Appleton’s genuine, well-documented status as the birthplace of the nation’s first hydroelectric plant, combined with its real connection to Harry Houdini’s childhood, are extraordinary and verifiable pieces of American history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Outagamie County GIS – accessible via outagamie.gov
Parcel Search: Outagamie County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Outagamie County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Fox Valley Humane Association (FVHA) – Appleton, WI
Services: Founded as the Appleton Humane Society on December 26, 1891, making it the SECOND-OLDEST HUMANE SOCIETY IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN; a full-service, 501(c)(3) animal shelter and resource center caring for over 6,000 pets annually, working 24/7 to meet animal needs across the Fox Valley; a partner organization with the Appleton International Airport; provides adoption services, animal control support, lost pet reunification, and owner relinquishment services; operates by appointment for adoptions, with walk-ins accommodated when an Adoption Specialist is available
Notes: Genuine, well-established, deep community roots dating back over 130 years.
Notes: Contact Outagamie County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Outagamie County’s Appleton holds a genuinely extraordinary place in American technological history as home to the nation’s first hydroelectric power plant (1882) and the first residence in the world lit by centralized hydroelectric power – alongside its real distinction as the boyhood home of Harry Houdini. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Outagamie County
Outagamie County is Wisconsin’s seventh most populous county and the 336th most populous in the United States, covering 640 square miles of the Fox River valley anchored by Appleton.
Appleton (population ~76,000, the county seat) is the Fox Cities metro’s largest city and one of Wisconsin’s most consistently cited quality-of-life communities. Appleton is Harry Houdini’s adopted hometown – though born in Budapest, Houdini grew up in Appleton and the city claims him as its own, with the Houdini Museum and annual Houdini Days festival celebrating his legacy. Appleton’s College Avenue downtown is one of Wisconsin’s most vibrant urban commercial streets – restaurants, independent retailers, and entertainment venues reflecting a university town culture shaped by Lawrence University (a nationally recognized liberal arts college and conservatory of music, enrollment ~1,500).
The Fox River runs through Appleton, powering the historic paper mills that defined the region’s economy for a century and now providing recreational and aesthetic value as the mill era transitions. The Fox Cities Paper company operations have largely been replaced by healthcare, manufacturing technology, and financial services employment.
ThedaCare (a major regional health system) and Ascension Wisconsin are the county’s two primary healthcare employers and together one of the largest employer clusters in northeastern Wisconsin.
Kaukauna (population ~16,000) anchors the county’s southeastern industrial communities along the Fox River – a historic paper mill city with the Fox River’s significant locks system (enabling navigation between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay) running through its center.
Little Chute and Kimberly are Dutch-heritage communities along the Fox River with strong community traditions including the Wisconsin Cheese Curd Festival in Little Chute.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wisconsin municipalities assess at full value (100%). Appeal to your local municipality’s Board of Review between the first Monday in May and adjournment. If dissatisfied, appeal to the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission or Circuit Court. No WI estate or inheritance tax.
OWNWELL CTA: Outagamie County municipality Board of Review: first Monday in May. Appleton Fox Cities appreciation consistent. No WI estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Outagamie County municipality Board of Review: first Monday in May. Appleton Fox Cities appreciation consistent. No WI estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Circuit Court (Probate): The Outagamie County Circuit Court at 320 S. Walnut Street, Appleton, WI 54911, phone 920-832-5131, handles probate, estate administration, and all civil and criminal matters.
Register of Deeds: The Outagamie County Register of Deeds at 410 S. Walnut Street, Appleton, phone 920-832-5077, maintains real property records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Outagamie County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) at 401 S. Elm Street, Appleton, WI 54911, phone 920-832-5178, serves the county’s senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, and transportation. ThedaCare and Ascension Wisconsin provide significant geriatric care.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Outagamie County - from Appleton to Kaukauna, Little Chute, Kimberly, and the Fox River communities.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
410 S Walnut St, Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 832-5077
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Outagamie County Register in Probate, Appleton (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Outagamie County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Outagamie County Register in Probate Outagamie County Justice Center, 320 South Walnut Street, Appleton, WI 54911 (920) 832-5601
Outagamie County is in Northeast Wisconsin, home to the city of Appleton. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative. E-filing is mandatory for most probate cases in Wisconsin circuit courts, including Outagamie County.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Outagamie County Register in Probate, at the Outagamie County Justice Center.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county (typically The Appleton Post-Crescent) for three successive weeks.
At the hearing, the judge or court commissioner reviews the petition and, if approved, issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (Form PR-1810).
After receiving Letters, the personal representative notifies creditors (claims deadline typically 3-4 months from the date of the court order), inventories and appraises all estate assets within 6 months, pays valid claims and expenses, and files any needed federal and state tax returns.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
The filing fee for a Petition for Administration in Wisconsin is generally 0.2% of the estate’s inventory value, with a minimum of $20.
What it costs
Filing fee: approximately 0.2% of the estate’s inventory value, minimum $20.
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
320 S Walnut St, Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 832-5000
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(920) 832-5077
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health & Human Services
Outagamie County Health and Human Services, 320 S Walnut St, Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 832-5100
Economic Support
Outagamie County Economic Support, 320 S Walnut St, Appleton, WI 54911
(920) 832-5100
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Outagamie County Health Department – Appleton, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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