Benton is a village in Lafayette County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 946 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Benton.

History

Benton was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. senator from Missouri. Up until that point, the community was known as Swindler's Ridge. The pioneer priest Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the village's Catholic parish, Saint Patrick's Church. Father Mazzuchelli is buried in Saint Patrick's cemetery. He was declared

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1993, and the case for his

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is still pending.

Geography

Benton is located at (42.570836, -90.38437). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 973 people, 398 households, and 264 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 426 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races.

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or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population. There were 398 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the village was 39.6 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 29.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 976 people, 393 households, and 260 families residing in the village. The

was 1,170.2 people per square mile (454.0/km²). There were 417 housing units at an average density of 500.0 per square mile (194.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.36%

, 0.10%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.10% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.10% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 393 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.09. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the village was $30,313, and the median income for a family was $41,518. Males had a median income of $28,882 versus $21,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $15,702. About 4.5% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Benton School District operates public schools.

Notable people

* Walter B. Calvert - Wisconsin State Representative * Charlie Emery - game designer * Jacob Fawcett - Chief Justice of the

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Supreme Court * Thomas K. Gibson - Wisconsin State Senator *

Samuel Mazzuchelli Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, Order of Preachers, OP (November 4, 1806 – February 23, 1864) was a pioneer Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic missionary priest who helped bring the Church to the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-stat ...

O.P. (1806–1864) a pioneer Italian Catholic missionary priest * Dennis Murphy - Wisconsin State Senator

References

External links

Official website of Benton, Wisconsin
{{authority control Villages in Lafayette County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin