Lafayette County, sometimes spelled La Fayette County, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. It was part of the Wisconsin Territory at the time of its founding. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,611. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Darlington. The county was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who rendered assistance to the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The county is considered a high-farming concentration county by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning at least 20 percent of its earnings came from agriculture. The courthouse scenes from the 2009 film Public Enemies were filmed at the Lafayette County Courthouse in Darlington.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 151 * Highway 11 (Wisconsin) * Highway 23 (Wisconsin) * Highway 78 (Wisconsin) * Highway 81 (Wisconsin) * Highway 126 (Wisconsin)

Buses

Adjacent counties

* Grant County - west * Iowa County - north * Green County - east *

Stephenson County, Illinois Stephenson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 44,630. Its county seat is Freeport. Stephenson County is included in the Freeport, IL Micropolitan Sta ...

- southeast *

Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 22,035. Its county seat is Galena, Illinois, Galena. Jo ...

- south

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 16,611. 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 7,156 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.7%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2%

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 ...

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 ...

, 3.7% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 6.6%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 16,137 people, 6,211 households, and 4,378 families residing in the county. The

was . There were 6,674 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 99.03%

, 0.11%

, 0.11% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.14% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 33.8% were of German, 17.5% Norwegian, 13.6% Irish, 11.9% English, 6.8%

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

and 6.0% American ancestry. There were 6,211 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% 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, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.10. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.20% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

Communities

Cities

* Cuba City (mostly in Grant County) * Darlington (county seat) * Shullsburg

Villages

* Argyle * Belmont * Benton * Blanchardville (partly in Iowa County) * Gratiot * Hazel Green (mostly in Grant County) * South Wayne

Towns

* Argyle * Belmont * Benton * Blanchard * Darlington * Elk Grove * Fayette * Gratiot * Kendall * Lamont * Monticello * New Diggings * Seymour * Shullsburg * Wayne * White Oak Springs * Willow Springs * Wiota

Census-designated places

* Wiota * Woodford

Other unincorporated communities

* Avon *

Calamine Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine (mineral), calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivy, poiso ...

* Elk Grove * Etna * Fayette * Five Corners *

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

* Jenkinsville * Lamont * Leadmine * Leslie * Meekers Grove * New Diggings * Red Rock * Riverside * Seymour Corners * Slateford * Strawbridge * Truman * White Oak *

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

Politics

Lafayette County has been a reliably Republican county at the federal level for most of its existence. Starting in 1992 however, it voted for the Democratic presidential nominees six elections in a row before shifting back to the GOP in 2016.

References

External links

Lafayette County government website

Lafayette County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Lafayette Development Corporation
{{authority control 1846 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1846