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Wisconsin State...
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Wisconsin Counties
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Wisconsin Counties
There are 72 counties in the state of Wisconsin. |
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Buffalo County, Wisconsin
Buffalo County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Alma
Year Organized: 1853
Square Miles: 684 |
Court House: 407 S. 2nd Street
County Courthouse
Alma, WI 54610
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Buffalo County was named for its chief river, Beef or Buffalo, so designated because of the former
presence of that animal in the vicinity (Gannett, Place Names, p. 55). Buffalo River was named by Father Louis Hennepin
in his voyage up the Mississippi (1680); see Thwaites, Hennepin's New Discovery (Chicago, 1905), p. 222, where the
explorer calls it "River of Wild Bulls" and on the accompanying map, it is designated "River of Oxen." The French
voyageurs called this stream Riviere des Boeufs; hence its present designation, Beef River.
[Source: Kellogg, Louise Phelps. "Derivation of County Names" in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin for 1909, pages 219-231.]
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts
History
Buffalo County is located within the Drift less Area of Western Wisconsin, and was founded in 1853. Buffalo
County is named after the Buffalo River, which was named in 1680 by Father Hennepin. French voyagers called the
river "Riviere des Boeufs," meaning beef or Buffalo. The 42nd largest County in the State, its boundaries on the
south, west , and east are formed by the Mississippi River, and in part, by the Chippewa and Trempealeau Rivers.
Buffalo County presents a diversity of scenery, unsurpassed by any other County in Wisconsin. Buffalo County, also
offers beautiful valleys of unsurpassed fertility, bordered by towering bluffs on all sides, which in the summer
when covered in foliage, offer a view of scenery rarely equaled.
BUFFALO.
From: Handbook of Wisconsin by S. Silas, 1855
pg. 50-51
This County was organized in 1853 from Chippewa. It lies on the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Chippewa,
and is rapidly filling up. It is at present but sparsely populated, and there is much good Government land to be
had. The valleys of the Trempeleau and Buffalo Rivers are extensive and eminently adapted to agriculture--fine
prairies, fine timber, well watered, and as yet almost entirely unoccupied, presenting one of the best openings for
the immigrant to be found in the State of Wisconsin.
Waumandee City is the County Seat of this County, situated on the Mississippi, about 50 miles above La Crosse. It is
a promising point of business, and will probably command the trade of this and the Northern part of Trempeleau
Counties.
Buffalo is in the La Crosse land district, and consequently entries can only be made at the La Crosse office.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 710 square miles (1,838 kmē), of which, 684
square miles (1,773 kmē) of it is land and 25 square miles (65 kmē) of it (3.54%) is water.
Natural Vegetation
Mostly oak savanna (bur oak, white oak and bluestem). Northeast: white, black, and red oaks. Along the
Mississippi River: willows, soft maple, and ash.
Neighboring Counties:
- Pepin County – north
- Eau Claire County – northeast
- Trempealeau County – east
- Winona County, Minnesota – south
- Wabasha County, Minnesota – west
Cities and Towns:
| - Alma (County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Belvidere |
town |
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| - Buffalo |
town |
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| - Buffalo City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Cochrane |
village |
Incorporated Area |
| - Cross |
town |
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| - Dover |
town |
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| - Fountain City |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Gilmanton |
town |
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| - Glencoe |
town |
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| - Lincoln |
town |
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| - Maxville |
town |
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| - Modena |
town |
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| - Mondovi |
city |
Incorporated Area |
| - Montana |
town |
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| - Naples |
town |
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| - Nelson |
village |
Incorporated Area |
| - Waumandee |
town |
County Resources:
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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