Vernon County, Wisconsin

Not to be confused with Vernon, Wisconsin.

Vernon County
County
Vernon County Courthouse in October 2015
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°35′N90°50′W / 43.59°N 90.83°W / 43.59; -90.83
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1851
Named for	Mount Vernon
Seat	Viroqua
Largest city	Viroqua
Area
• Total	816 sq mi (2,110 km2)
• Land	792 sq mi (2,050 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  3.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	30,714
• Estimate  (2023) [1]	31,170
• Density	38/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.vernoncounty.org

Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,714. ^[2] Its county seat is Viroqua. ^[3]

History

Vernon County was renamed from Bad Ax County on March 22, 1862. Bad Ax County had been created on March 1, 1851, from territory that had been part of Richland and Crawford counties. ^{[4] [5]} The name Vernon was chosen to reflect the county's green fields of wheat and to evoke Mount Vernon. ^[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 816 square miles (2,110 km²), of which 792 square miles (2,050 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (3.0%) is water. ^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 61
• Highway 27 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 33 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 35 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 56 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 80 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 82 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 131 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 162 (Wisconsin)

Railroads

• BNSF

Buses

• Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit

Airports

• Viroqua Municipal Airport (Y51) serves the county and surrounding communities.
• The Joshua Sanford Field airport (KHBW) closed on November 10, 2016.

Adjacent counties

• La Crosse County  –northwest
• Monroe County  –north
• Juneau County  –northeast
• Sauk County  –east
• Richland County  –southeast
• Crawford County  –south
• Allamakee County, Iowa  –southwest
• Houston County, Minnesota  –west

Demographics and religion statistics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	11,007		—
1870	18,645		69.4%
1880	23,235		24.6%
1890	25,111		8.1%
1900	28,351		12.9%
1910	28,116		−0.8%
1920	29,252		4.0%
1930	28,537		−2.4%
1940	29,940		4.9%
1950	27,906		−6.8%
1960	25,663		−8.0%
1970	24,557		−4.3%
1980	25,642		4.4%
1990	25,617		−0.1%
2000	28,056		9.5%
2010	29,773		6.1%
2020	30,714		3.2%
2023 (est.)	31,170	[1]	1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790–1960 [9] 1900–1990 [10] 1990–2000 [11] 2010–2020 [12]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, ^[13] the population was 30,714. The population density was 38.8 people per square mile (15.0 people/km²). There were 13,813 housing units at an average density of 17.5 units per square mile (6.8 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Vernon County

As of the census ^[14] of 2000, there were 28,056 people, 10,825 households, and 7,501 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile (14 people/km²). There were 12,416 housing units at an average density of 16 units per square mile (6.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.81% White, 0.06% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.3% were of Norwegian, 26.9% German, 6.4% Irish and 6.1% English ancestry. 90.9% spoke English, 3.5% German, 1.8% Norwegian, 1.2% Pennsylvania Dutch and 1.0% Spanish as their first language.

There were 10,825 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.40% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 17.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males.

In 2017, there were 434 births, giving a general fertility rate of 90.5 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the fourth highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these births, 123 occurred at home, second only to Clark County which had 184 home births. ^[15]

In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents were ELCA Lutheran at 6,735 adherents, Catholic at 3,060 adherents, Amish at 2,786 adherents, United Methodist at 1,533 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 1,402 adherents, and Non-denominational Christian at 766 adherents. ^[16]

Religion

Religion in Vernon County,according to ARDA (2020) ^[17]

  Mainline Protestant Churches (21%)

  Evangelical Churches (14.7%)

  Anabaptist Churches (Amish and Mennonite) (11.8%)

  Catholic Church (6.8%)

  Others (1.1%)

  None (44.6%)

Economy

The county is home to the headquarters of Organic Valley, the world's largest cooperative of family farmers. ^{[18] [19]}

Parks

Vernon County is home to multiple county and state parks. ^[20] The Kickapoo Valley Reserve, an 8600-acre natural reserve, is between the villages of La Farge and Ontario. Wildcat Mountain State Park is also in the county.

County Parks and Forests

• Blackhawk Park
• Duck Egg County Forest
• Esofea/Rentz Memorial Park
• Jersey Valley Park
• Kooyumjian - Lost Creek County Forest
• Runge Hollow Recreation Area
• Sidie Hollow Park
• Wayside Park & Coon Prairie Trail

Communities

Cities

• Hillsboro
• Viroqua (county seat)
• Westby

Villages

• Chaseburg
• Coon Valley
• De Soto (partly in Crawford County)
• Genoa
• La Farge
• Ontario
• Readstown
• Stoddard
• Viola (mostly in Richland County)

Towns

• Bergen
• Christiana
• Clinton
• Coon
• Forest
• Franklin
• Genoa
• Greenwood
• Hamburg
• Harmony
• Hillsboro
• Jefferson
• Kickapoo
• Liberty
• Stark
• Sterling
• Union
• Viroqua
• Webster
• Wheatland
• Whitestown

Unincorporated communities

• Avalanche
• Bloomingdale
• Bud
• Dell
• Dilly
• Esofea
• Fargo
• Folsom
• Greenwood
• Kickapoo Center
• Liberty
• Liberty Pole
• Mount Tabor
• Newry
• Newton
• Pleasant Valley
• Purdy
• Red Mound
• Retreat
• Rockton
• Romance
• Ross
• Springville
• Sugar Grove
• Trippville
• Tunnelville (partial)
• Valley
• Victory
• West Prairie
• White City

Gallery

• 
  Round barn near Hillsboro
• 
  Farm and countryside near Hillsboro, along Wisconsin Highway 80
• 
  Vernon County jail in Viroqua, Wisconsin

Politics

Vernon County had been a Democratic-leaning county since the 1988 presidential election, but Republican Donald Trump won a plurality of the vote in 2016 and a majority of the vote in 2020 and 2024.

United States presidential election results for Vernon County, Wisconsin ^{[21] [22]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	8,807	53.03%	7,514	45.24%	288	1.73%
2020	8,218	51.61%	7,457	46.83%	248	1.56%
2016	7,004	49.06%	6,371	44.63%	900	6.30%
2012	5,942	41.64%	8,044	56.37%	283	1.98%
2008	5,367	38.13%	8,463	60.13%	245	1.74%
2004	6,774	45.63%	7,924	53.38%	147	0.99%
2000	5,684	43.58%	6,577	50.42%	783	6.00%
1996	3,796	33.81%	5,572	49.63%	1,858	16.55%
1992	4,072	32.02%	5,673	44.61%	2,971	23.36%
1988	5,226	47.17%	5,754	51.94%	98	0.88%
1984	6,469	55.75%	5,051	43.53%	83	0.72%
1980	6,528	51.11%	5,501	43.07%	744	5.82%
1976	6,132	51.56%	5,534	46.54%	226	1.90%
1972	6,836	65.83%	3,407	32.81%	142	1.37%
1968	5,824	55.18%	3,666	34.73%	1,065	10.09%
1964	4,640	42.58%	6,242	57.28%	16	0.15%
1960	6,909	58.75%	4,836	41.12%	15	0.13%
1956	6,200	55.66%	4,923	44.19%	17	0.15%
1952	7,619	65.33%	4,032	34.57%	12	0.10%
1948	4,139	43.71%	5,226	55.18%	105	1.11%
1944	5,676	51.04%	5,409	48.64%	36	0.32%
1940	6,614	52.95%	5,776	46.24%	102	0.82%
1936	4,811	42.36%	6,044	53.22%	502	4.42%
1932	2,979	32.89%	5,939	65.57%	139	1.53%
1928	6,596	71.28%	2,559	27.65%	99	1.07%
1924	2,670	30.41%	406	4.62%	5,703	64.96%
1920	5,694	86.03%	627	9.47%	298	4.50%
1916	2,912	58.63%	1,830	36.84%	225	4.53%
1912	2,663	57.68%	1,253	27.14%	701	15.18%
1908	4,114	69.71%	1,561	26.45%	227	3.85%
1904	4,744	82.35%	762	13.23%	255	4.43%
1900	4,463	75.59%	1,268	21.48%	173	2.93%
1896	4,393	71.35%	1,627	26.43%	137	2.23%
1892	3,106	59.95%	1,440	27.79%	635	12.26%

See also

• Blackhawk Park
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Vernon County, Wisconsin
• Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

References

1. "QuickFacts: Vernon County, Wisconsin". Census.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
2. "County Population Totals: 2010-2020" . Retrieved June 20, 2021.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Bad Axe (county). Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
5. Vernon County [origin of place name]. Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
6. "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent. December 28, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2014– via Newspapers.com.
7. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
13. "2020 Decennial Census: Vernon County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
14. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
15. "Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables". Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
16. thearda.com County Membership Report for Vernon County
17. "Vernon County, Ohio - County Membership Report (2020)". The Association of Religion Data Archives.
18. "Food & Farming - Driftless Wisconsin Region Guide". Driftless Wisconsin Region Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
19. "Why Organic Valley? | Leaders in Organic". www.organicvalley.coop. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
20. "Land and Water Resources". Vernon County. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
22. https://elections.wi.gov/elections/election-results

Further reading

• History of Vernon County, Wisconsin . Springfield, Ill.: Union Publishing Company, 1884.
• Rogers, Earl M. (ed.) Memoirs of Vernon County . Madison, Wis.: Western Historical Association, 1907.

External links

• Vernon County
• Vernon County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Vernon County Health and Demographic Data
• Vernon County Broadcaster

43°35′N90°50′W / 43.59°N 90.83°W / 43.59; -90.83