Benton is a village in Lafayette County,

Wisconsin 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 M ...

, United States. The population was 973 at the 2010 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 (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1993, and the case for his

Sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

is still pending.

Geography

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

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

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

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

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 hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 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 which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, 0.10% Native American, 1.23%

, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

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

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 married couples 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 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 total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

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 t ...

, 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 Walter B. Calvert (1904-1987) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Calvert was born on December 23, 1904, in Benton, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Calvert died ...

- Wisconsin State Representative * Charlie Emery - game designer *

Jacob Fawcett Jacob Fawcett (April 9, 1847April 19, 1928) was an American lawyer and jurist, who served eight years on the Nebraska Supreme Court (1909–1917), and was acting chief justice in 1915. Biography Fawcett was born on April 9, 1847, to Joshua a ...

- Chief Justice of the

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

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

Samuel Mazzuchelli Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, O.P. (November 4, 1806 – February 23, 1864) was a pioneer Italian Dominican friar and Catholic missionary priest who helped bring the church to the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-state area. He founded several parishes ...

O.P. (1806–1864) a pioneer Italian Catholic missionary priest *

Dennis Murphy Dennis Murphy may refer to: *Dennis Murphy (Canadian politician) (1842–1917), Canadian businessman and political figure from Ontario *Dennis Murphy (equestrian) (born 1944), American Olympic equestrian *Dennis Murphy (journalist) (born 1946 or 19 ...

- Wisconsin State Senator

References

External links

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