Washington County, Wisconsin

Washington County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: West Bend
Year Organized: 1836
Square Miles: 431

Court House:

432 E. Washington Street, PO Box 1986
County Courthouse
West Bend, WI 53095-7986

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for the first president of the United States - Wis. Hist. Colls, i, p. 113.

[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

Washington County, created in 1836 as a territorial county, is named after George Washington. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the county seat is West Bend.

Description from John W. Hunt's 1853 Wisconsin Gazetteer: "WASHINGTON, County, is bounded on the north by Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, on the east by the State line in Lake Michigan, on the south by Milwaukee and Waukesha, and on the west by Dodge. It was set off from Milwaukee December 7, 1836... By an act of the legislature, approved in 1853, the portion of the county east of range 20, was set off and organized into a new county, by the name of Ozaukee, and the county seat of the new county was fixed at Ozaukee (Port Washington), and that of Washington county, at West Bend, near the centre of the county. The surface is rolling, and abounds in living springs and streams of water, and is heavily timbered with oak, beech, maple, ash, &c. A large majority of the farmers are hardy Gerrmans, who cultivate thoroughly. Wheat has been a surer crop for the last few years in this than in any other county in the State. The soil is well adapted to the raising of the grape and to tillage. The principal streams are the Milwaukee river and Oconomowoc creek. Population in 1838, 64; 1840, 343; 1842, 965; 1846, 7,473; 1847, 15,447; 1850, 19,476. There are 1,636 farms, 381 buildings, and 7 manufactories."

WASHINGTON.--Population 18,897.
From: Handbook of Wisconsin by S. Silas, 1855
pg. 104

Washington lies a short distance from Lake Michigan, Ozaukee being between. It was originally heavily timbered with oak, maple, beach, hickory, &c., but much of it has been cleared. It is an agricultural County exclusively, and the farms are small, as they are mostly in all the heavily timbered Counties. Its progress has been rapid, and many of the original German settlers have become wealthy. Many, during the past year, have become uneasy, and in the true spirit of "breaking up," have sold their farms and "gone west.". Their places have been quickly taken, and the change has brought in a more intelligent and enterprising people. The population consists principally of German and Irish immigrants.

West Bend is the County Seat. Barton, about one mile from West Bend, on the Milwaukee River, has an excellent water power, and mills.

The Lac Crosse and Milwaukee R. R. passes through the south western part.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 436 square miles (1,129 km²), of which, 431 square miles (1,116 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (13 km²) of it (1.16%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Fond du Lac County - northwest
Sheboygan County - northeast
Ozaukee County - east
Milwaukee County - southeast
Waukesha County - south
Dodge County - west

Cities and Towns:

- Addison	town
- Barton	town
- Germantown	village	Incorporated Area
- Hartford	city	Incorporated Area
- Jackson	village	Incorporated Area
- Kewaskum	village	Incorporated Area
- Newburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Polk	town
- Richfield	town
- Slinger	village	Incorporated Area
- Wayne	town
- West Bend (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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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