Counties of Wisconsin | |
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Location | State of Wisconsin |
Number | 72 |
Populations | 4,197 (Menominee) – 918,661 (Milwaukee) |
Areas | 231.98 square miles (600.8 km2) (Pepin) – 1,544.91 square miles (4,001.3 km2) (Marathon) |
Government | |
Subdivisions |
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There are 72 counties in the U.S. State of Wisconsin. The land that eventually became Wisconsin was transferred from British to American control with the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris. [1] It was an unorganized part of the Northwest Territory until 1802 when all of the land from St. Louis north to the Canadian border was organized as St. Clair County. [1] When Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, Wisconsin became part of the Territory of Michigan and divided into two counties: Brown County in the northeast along Lake Michigan and Crawford County in the southwest along the Mississippi River. [1] Iowa County was formed in 1829 from the Crawford County land south of the Wisconsin River. [1] Brown County's southern portion was used to form Milwaukee County in 1834. [1] The state of Wisconsin was created from Wisconsin Territory on May 29, 1848, with 28 counties.
The most populous county in the state is Milwaukee County at 918,661 people at the 2022 Census estimate. [2] The county with the least population is Menominee County with 4,197 residents; the Menominee Indian Reservation is co-extensive with the county. [2] Pepin County is the smallest in area, with 231.98 square miles (600.8 km2); Marathon is the largest, having 1,544.91 square miles (4,001.3 km2). [2]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. [3] Wisconsin's code is 55, which when combined with any county code would be written as 55XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county. [4]
Each county has a county seat, often a populous or centrally located community, where the county's governmental offices are located. Some of the services provided by the county include: law enforcement, circuit courts, social services, vital records and deed registration, road maintenance, and snow removal. County officials include sheriffs, district attorneys, clerks, treasurers, coroners, surveyors, registers of deeds, and clerks of circuit court; these officers are elected for four-year terms. In most counties, elected coroners have been replaced by appointed medical examiners. State law permits counties to appoint a registered land surveyor in place of electing a surveyor.
Counties in Wisconsin are governed by county boards, headed by a chairperson. Counties with a population of 500,000 or more must also have a county executive. Smaller counties may have either a county executive or a county administrator. [5] As of 2011, 13 counties had elected county executives: Brown, Chippewa, Dane, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Sawyer, Waukesha, and Winnebago. 23 had an appointed county administrator, 34 had an appointed administrative coordinator, and 2 had neither an executive nor an administrator. Waukesha County had both an executive and an administrator. [6]
County | FIPS code [4] | County seat [7] | Est. [8] | Formed from [9] | Etymology [9] | Population [2] | Area [2] | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AdamsCounty | 001 | Friendship | 1848 | Portage County | John Quincy Adams (1767–1848), President of the United States (1825–29) | 21,226 | 645.65 sq mi (1,672 km2) | |
AshlandCounty | 003 | Ashland | 1860 | La Pointe County | Ashland, Henry Clay's estate in Kentucky | 16,039 | 1,045.04 sq mi (2,707 km2) | |
BarronCounty | 005 | Barron | 1859 | Polk County | Henry D. Barron, state senator and circuit court judge. | 46,843 | 862.71 sq mi (2,234 km2) | |
BayfieldCounty | 007 | Washburn | 1845 | St. Croix County | Henry Bayfield, Royal naval officer and first to survey Great Lakes area | 16,608 | 1,477.86 sq mi (3,828 km2) | |
BrownCounty | 009 | Green Bay | 1818 | unorganized territory | Major General Jacob Brown (1775–1828), commanding general of the United States Army during the War of 1812 | 270,036 | 529.71 sq mi (1,372 km2) | |
BuffaloCounty | 011 | Alma | 1853 | Trempealeau County | The Buffalo River, which flows through the county. | 13,391 | 671.64 sq mi (1,740 km2) | |
BurnettCounty | 013 | Siren | 1856 | Polk County | Thomas P. Burnett, state legislator | 17,036 | 821.85 sq mi (2,129 km2) | |
CalumetCounty | 015 | Chilton | 1836 | Brown County, Wisconsin | The French word for a Menominee Ceremonial pipe. | 52,718 | 318.24 sq mi (824 km2) | |
ChippewaCounty | 017 | Chippewa Falls | 1845 | Crawford County | Chippewa Indians | 66,807 | 1,008.37 sq mi (2,612 km2) | |
ClarkCounty | 019 | Neillsville | 1853 | Crawford County | George Rogers Clark (1752–1812), Revolutionary War general | 34,691 | 1,209.82 sq mi (3,133 km2) | |
ColumbiaCounty | 021 | Portage | 1846 | Portage County | Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), navigator and explorer | 58,193 | 765.53 sq mi (1,983 km2) | |
CrawfordCounty | 023 | Prairie du Chien | 1818 | unorganized territory | William Harris Crawford (1772–1834), United States Senator from Georgia (1807–13) and Secretary of the Treasury (1816–25) | 16,007 | 570.66 sq mi (1,478 km2) | |
DaneCounty | 025 | Madison | 1836 | Crawford, Iowa, and Milwaukee Countes | Nathan Dane (1752–1835), delegate to the First Continental Congress (1785–88) | 568,203 | 1,197.24 sq mi (3,101 km2) | |
DodgeCounty | 027 | Juneau | 1836 | Brown and Milwaukee Counties | Henry Dodge (1782–1867), Territorial Governor of Wisconsin (1845–48) | 88,282 | 875.63 sq mi (2,268 km2) | |
DoorCounty | 029 | Sturgeon Bay | 1851 | Brown County | A dangerous water passage near Door Peninsula known as Porte des Morts or "door of the dead" in French | 30,526 | 481.98 sq mi (1,248 km2) | |
DouglasCounty | 031 | Superior | 1854 | La Pointe County | Stephen Douglas (1813–61), United States Senator from Illinois (1847–61) | 44,144 | 1,304.14 sq mi (3,378 km2) | |
DunnCounty | 033 | Menomonie | 1854 | Chippewa County | Charles Dunn, state senator and chief justice of Wisconsin Territory | 45,651 | 850.11 sq mi (2,202 km2) | |
Eau ClaireCounty | 035 | Eau Claire | 1856 | Chippewa County | City of Eau Claire French for "clear water" | 106,837 | 637.98 sq mi (1,652 km2) | |
FlorenceCounty | 037 | Florence | 1881 | Marinette and Oconto Counties | Florence Hulst, the first white woman to settle in the area | 4,688 | 488.20 sq mi (1,264 km2) | |
Fond du LacCounty | 039 | Fond du Lac | 1836 | Brown County | French for "bottom of the lake" | 103,836 | 719.55 sq mi (1,864 km2) | |
ForestCounty | 041 | Crandon | 1885 | Langlade and Oconto Counties | Forest which covered the area when it was settled | 9,381 | 1,014.07 sq mi (2,626 km2) | |
GrantCounty | 043 | Lancaster | 1837 | Iowa County | Probably a trader named Grant who made contact with area natives in 1810 but about whom little else is known | 51,276 | 1,146.85 sq mi (2,970 km2) | |
GreenCounty | 045 | Monroe | 1837 | Iowa County and unorganized territory | Nathanael Greene (1742–86), quartermaster general during the American Revolutionary War | 36,816 | 583.96 sq mi (1,512 km2) | |
Green LakeCounty | 047 | Green Lake | 1858 | Marquette County | Green Lake located within the county | 19,220 | 349.44 sq mi (905 km2) | |
IowaCounty | 049 | Dodgeville | 1829 | Crawford County | Iowa tribe of Indians | 23,865 | 762.58 sq mi (1,975 km2) | |
IronCounty | 051 | Hurley | 1893 | Ashland and Oneida Counties | Local iron deposits | 6,224 | 758.17 sq mi (1,964 km2) | |
JacksonCounty | 053 | Black River Falls | 1853 | La Crosse County | Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), President of the United States (1829–37) | 20,836 | 987.72 sq mi (2,558 km2) | |
JeffersonCounty | 055 | Jefferson | 1836 | Milwaukee County | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), President of the United States (1801–09) | 85,784 | 556.47 sq mi (1,441 km2) | |
JuneauCounty | 057 | Mauston | 1856 | Adams County | Solomon Juneau (1793–1856), founder of what would become Milwaukee | 26,866 | 766.93 sq mi (1,986 km2) | |
KenoshaCounty | 059 | Kenosha | 1850 | Racine County | Indian word meaning "place of the pike" | 167,817 | 271.99 sq mi (704 km2) | |
KewauneeCounty | 061 | Kewaunee | 1852 | Door County | Either a Potawatomi word meaning "river of the lost" or an Ojibwe word meaning "prairie hen" "wild duck" or "to go around" | 20,623 | 342.52 sq mi (887 km2) | |
La CrosseCounty | 063 | La Crosse | 1851 | Crawford County | Indian game of lacrosse | 120,294 | 451.69 sq mi (1,170 km2) | |
LafayetteCounty | 065 | Darlington | 1846 | Iowa County | Gilbert du Motier marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), a French general in the American Revolutionary War | 16,877 | 633.59 sq mi (1,641 km2) | |
LangladeCounty | 067 | Antigo | 1879 | Oconto County | Charles de Langlade (1729 – c.1800), American Revolutionary War veteran and United States Indian Agent in Green Bay | 19,559 | 870.64 sq mi (2,255 km2) | |
LincolnCounty | 069 | Merrill | 1874 | Marathon County | Abraham Lincoln (1809–65), President of the United States (1861–65) | 28,376 | 878.97 sq mi (2,277 km2) | |
ManitowocCounty | 071 | Manitowoc | 1836 | Brown County | Munedoo-owk, an Ojibwe word meaning "the place of the good spirit" | 81,172 | 589.08 sq mi (1,526 km2) | |
MarathonCounty | 073 | Wausau | 1850 | Portage County | Marathon, Greece | 137,958 | 1,544.98 sq mi (4,001 km2) | |
MarinetteCounty | 075 | Marinette | 1879 | Oconto County | Marie Antoinette Chevalier, Indian wife of an early fur trapper | 41,988 | 1,399.35 sq mi (3,624 km2) | |
MarquetteCounty | 077 | Montello | 1836 | Brown County | Jacques Marquette (1637–75), missionary and explorer | 15,779 | 455.60 sq mi (1,180 km2) | |
MenomineeCounty | 078 | Keshena | 1959 | Menominee Indian Reservation, Shawano, and Oconto Counties | Menominee Indians | 4,197 | 357.61 sq mi (926 km2) | |
MilwaukeeCounty | 079 | Milwaukee | 1834 | Brown County | Mahnawaukee-Seepe, an Indian word meaning "gathering place by the river" | 918,661 | 241.40 sq mi (625 km2) | |
MonroeCounty | 081 | Sparta | 1854 | La Crosse County | James Monroe (1758–1831), President of the United States (1817–25) | 46,109 | 900.78 sq mi (2,333 km2) | |
OcontoCounty | 083 | Oconto | 1851 | Brown County | An Indian settlement and the Oconto River, whose name means "plentiful with fish" | 39,633 | 997.99 sq mi (2,585 km2) | |
OneidaCounty | 085 | Rhinelander | 1885 | Lincoln County | Oneida Indians | 38,212 | 1,112.97 sq mi (2,883 km2) | |
OutagamieCounty | 087 | Appleton | 1851 | Brown County | Outagamie Indians | 192,127 | 637.52 sq mi (1,651 km2) | |
OzaukeeCounty | 089 | Port Washington | 1853 | Washington County | The Ojibwe word for the Sauk nation | 93,009 | 233.08 sq mi (604 km2) | |
PepinCounty | 091 | Durand | 1858 | Dunn County | Pierre and Jean Pepin du Chardonnets, explorers | 7,410 | 231.98 sq mi (601 km2) | |
PierceCounty | 093 | Ellsworth | 1853 | Saint Croix County | Franklin Pierce (1804–69), President of the United States (1853–57) | 42,532 | 573.75 sq mi (1,486 km2) | |
PolkCounty | 095 | Balsam Lake | 1853 | Saint Croix County | James Polk (1795–1849), President of the United States (1845–49) | 45,709 | 913.96 sq mi (2,367 km2) | |
PortageCounty | 097 | Stevens Point | 1836 | Brown, Crawford, Iowa, and Milwaukee Counties | Passage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers | 70,718 | 800.68 sq mi (2,074 km2) | |
PriceCounty | 099 | Phillips | 1879 | Chippewa and Lincoln Counties | William T. Price (1824–86), Representative from Wisconsin (1883–86) | 14,179 | 1,254.38 sq mi (3,249 km2) | |
RacineCounty | 101 | Racine | 1836 | Milwaukee County | Racine, the French word for "root", after the Root River, which flows through the county | 195,846 | 332.5 sq mi (861 km2) | |
RichlandCounty | 103 | Richland Center | 1842 | Iowa County | The rich soil of the area | 17,090 | 586.15 sq mi (1,518 km2) | |
RockCounty | 105 | Janesville | 1836 | Milwaukee County | Rock River, which flows through the county | 164,060 | 718.14 sq mi (1,860 km2) | |
RuskCounty | 107 | Ladysmith | 1901 | Chippewa County | Jeremiah McLain Rusk (1830–93), Governor of Wisconsin (1882–89) | 14,186 | 913.59 sq mi (2,366 km2) | |
SaukCounty | 111 | Baraboo | 1840 | Crawford, Dane and Portage Counties | Sauk Indians | 65,777 | 830.9 sq mi (2,152 km2) | |
SawyerCounty | 113 | Hayward | 1883 | Ashland and Chippewa Counties | Philetus Sawyer (1816–1900), Representative (1865–75) and Senator (1881–93) from Wisconsin | 18,559 | 1,257.31 sq mi (3,256 km2) | |
ShawanoCounty | 115 | Shawano | 1853 | Oconto County | An Ojibwe word meaning "southern" | 40,886 | 893.06 sq mi (2,313 km2) | |
SheboyganCounty | 117 | Sheboygan | 1836 | Brown County | Shawb-wa-way-kun, an Indian word meaning "great noise underground" | 117,841 | 511.27 sq mi (1,324 km2) | |
St. CroixCounty | 109 | Hudson | 1840 | Crawford County, and unorganized territory | An early French explorer named St. Croix, about whom little is known | 96,017 | 722.33 sq mi (1,871 km2) | |
TaylorCounty | 119 | Medford | 1875 | Clark, Lincoln, Marathon and Chippewa Counties | William Robert Taylor (1820–1909), Governor of Wisconsin 1874–76 | 19,975 | 974.88 sq mi (2,525 km2) | |
TrempealeauCounty | 121 | Whitehall | 1854 | Crawford and La Crosse Counties | Trempealeau Mountain (from the French for "mountain with its foot in the water"), a bluff located in a bend of the Trempealeau River, [10] which flows through the county | 30,899 | 732.97 sq mi (1,898 km2) | |
VernonCounty | 123 | Viroqua | 1851 | Richland and Crawford Counties | Mount Vernon, home of George Washington | 31,060 | 791.58 sq mi (2,050 km2) | |
VilasCounty | 125 | Eagle River | 1893 | Oneida County | William Vilas (1840–1908), officer in the Civil War United States Postmaster General (1885–88) United States Secretary of the Interior (1888–89) and Senator from Wisconsin (1891–97) | 23,763 | 856.60 sq mi (2,219 km2) | |
WalworthCounty | 127 | Elkhorn | 1836 | Milwaukee County | Reuben Hyde Walworth (1788–1867), jurist from New York | 105,380 | 555.13 sq mi (1,438 km2) | |
WashburnCounty | 129 | Shell Lake | 1883 | Burnett County | Cadwallader Washburn (1818–82), Governor (1872–74) and Representative from Wisconsin (1867–71) | 16,911 | 797.11 sq mi (2,065 km2) | |
WashingtonCounty | 131 | West Bend | 1836 | Brown and Milwaukee Counties | George Washington (1732–99), American Revolutionary War leader (1775–83) and first President of the United States (1789–97) | 137,688 | 430.70 sq mi (1,116 km2) | |
WaukeshaCounty | 133 | Waukesha | 1846 | Milwaukee County | Waugooshance, a Pottawatomi word meaning "little foxes" | 410,434 | 549.57 sq mi (1,423 km2) | |
WaupacaCounty | 135 | Waupaca | 1851 | Brown and Winnebago Counties | wau-pa-ka-ho-nak, a Menominee word meaning "white sand bottom" or "brave young hero" | 51,488 | 747.71 sq mi (1,937 km2) | |
WausharaCounty | 137 | Wautoma | 1851 | Marquette County | An Indian word meaning "good earth" | 24,999 | 626.15 sq mi (1,622 km2) | |
WinnebagoCounty | 139 | Oshkosh | 1840 | Brown, Calumet, and Fond du Lac Counties | Winnebago Indians | 170,718 | 434.49 sq mi (1,125 km2) | |
WoodCounty | 141 | Wisconsin Rapids | 1856 | Portage County | Joseph Wood (1809–90), state legislator (1856–58) | 73,993 | 793.12 sq mi (2,054 km2) |
Five counties in Wisconsin have been renamed, but otherwise kept their same borders. [11]
Two proposed counties were ultimately not established.
Wisconsin is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north.
La Crosse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 120,784. Its county seat is La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 139,627 and is the most populous county on Wisconsin's western border.
Patrick Joseph Lucey was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th Governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977. He was also independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson's running mate in the 1980 presidential election.
The history of Wisconsin encompasses the story not only of the people who have lived in Wisconsin since it became a state of the U.S., but also that of the Native American tribes who made their homeland in Wisconsin, the French and British colonists who were the first Europeans to live there, and the American settlers who lived in Wisconsin when it was a territory.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin is a federal trial court of limited jurisdiction. The court is under the auspices of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, although patent claims and claims against the federal government under the Tucker Act are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Eastern District was established on June 30, 1870.
The administrative divisions of Wisconsin include counties, cities, villages and towns. In Wisconsin, all of these are units of general-purpose local government. There are also a number of special-purpose districts formed to handle regional concerns, such as school districts.
The attorney general of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of attorney general since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, a Democrat.
Herman Louis Ekern was an American attorney and progressive Republican politician who served as the 28th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, the 25th attorney general of Wisconsin, and the 42nd speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was also one of the founders of Lutheran Brotherhood.
Wisconsin, a state in the Midwestern United States, has a vast and diverse geography famous for its landforms created by glaciers during the Wisconsin glaciation 17,000 years ago. The state can be generally divided into five geographic regions—Lake Superior Lowland, Northern Highland, Central Plain, Eastern Ridges & Lowlands, and Western Upland. The southwestern part of the state, which was not covered by glaciers during the most recent ice age, is known as the Driftless Area. The Wisconsin glaciation formed the Wisconsin Dells, Devil's Lake, and the Baraboo Range. A number of areas are protected in the state, including Devil's Lake State Park, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest.
Jeff Stone is an American businessman and former politician. A Republican, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1998 through 2013.
Christopher J. Larson is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing southeast Milwaukee County since 2011. He was Senate Minority Leader from 2013 through 2014, and currently serves as Senate Democratic Caucus Chair.
The 2012 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Wisconsin voters chose 10 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
The Antigo Public Library and Deleglise Cabin comprise a historic site in Antigo, Wisconsin. The library building is a Carnegie library built in 1904. In 1997, the Antigo Public Library left the building; it is now a museum and the headquarters of the Langlade County Historical Society. The Deleglise Cabin, the first home in Antigo, was constructed by George Eckart in 1878 on the Springbrook and inhabited by Francis A. Deleglise. The cabin was moved near the library in 1916. Both buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1978.
There are a variety of schema for dividing Wisconsin into regions.
A recall election in the state of Wisconsin is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended.