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Vernon County, Wisconsin
CourthouseVernonCountyWI
Vernon County Courthouse in October 2015
Map of Wisconsin highlighting Vernon County
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Map of the U.S
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded 1851
Named for Mount Vernon
Seat Viroqua
Largest city Viroqua
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

816 sq mi (2,113 km²)
792 sq mi (2,051 km²)
25 sq mi (65 km²), 3.0%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

30,714
Congressional district 3rd
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website http://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.[1] Its county seat is Viroqua.[2]

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.[3][4] The name Vernon was chosen to reflect the county's green fields of wheat and to evoke Mount Vernon.[5]

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.[6]

Major highways[]

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

Railroads[]

  • BNSF

Buses[]

  • Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit
  • List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

Airports[]

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

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics and religion statistics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
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%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9]
1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1]
USA Vernon County, Wisconsin age pyramid

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Vernon County

As of the census[11] 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/km2). There were 12,416 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/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.[12]

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.[13]

Economy[]

The county is home to the headquarters of Organic Valley, the world's largest cooperative of family farmers.[14][15]

Parks[]

Vernon County is home to multiple county and state parks.[16] 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[]

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
  • 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[]

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.

United States presidential election results for Vernon County, Wisconsin[17]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
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. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55123.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Bad Axe (county). Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  4. ^ Vernon County [origin of place name]. Wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved on July 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent: p. 14. December 28, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/915335/wisconsin_county_names/.  open access
  6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_55.txt. 
  7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  9. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wi190090.txt. 
  10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  12. ^ "Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables". https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx. 
  13. ^ thearda.com County Membership Report for Vernon County
  14. ^ "Food & Farming - Driftless Wisconsin Region Guide" (in en-US). Driftless Wisconsin Region Guide. http://driftlesswisconsin.com/explore/food-and-farming/. 
  15. ^ "Why Organic Valley? | Leaders in Organic" (in en). http://www.organicvalley.coop/about-us/overview/our-history/. 
  16. ^ "Land and Water Resources". Vernon County. http://www.vernoncounty.org/LWCD/index.htm. 
  17. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Further reading[]

External links[]

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Template:Vernon County, Wisconsin

Coordinates: 43°35′N 90°50′W / 43.59, -90.83

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Vernon County, Wisconsin. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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