Trempealeau County, Wisconsin

Trempealeau County, Wisconsin
Trempealeau County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,760. Its county seat is Whitehall. Many people of Polish, Norwegian and German descent live in this area.
History
Patches of woodland are all that remain of the brush and light forest that once covered the county. In ancient times, the woodlands contained a great deal of timber, but Native Americans burned them periodically to encourage the growth of berries. They did little cultivation and had been almost completely removed from the area by 1837. The area was ceded by the Dakota in the 1837 Treaty of Washington (7 Stat. 538).
French fur traders were the first Europeans to enter this land, traveling by river across the county. At the mouth of the Trempealeau River at its confluence with the Mississippi River, they found a bluff surrounded by water and called it La Montagne qui trempe à l’eau ("mountain steeped in water"). It is now known as Trempealeau Mountain. The name was later shortened to Trempealeau. Created in 1854 and organized in 1855, the county is named after the river.
During the 19th and 20th century large numbers of Norwegian immigrants settled in the area in pursuit of cheap land, a better life and more opportunities. Much of the population is still of Norwegian descent and celebrate their ancestry by making foods native to Norway and participating in Norwegian Constitution Day events.
In the late 1850s, Trempealeau became a destination for Polish Prussian settlers from Upper Silesia seeking to escape German persecution and poverty in their homeland. They built churches, schools, and communities to develop what became the nation's second-largest Polish settlement. Their settlements were especially focused around Independence, Arcadia, Whitehall, and Pine Creek. Trempealeau has a large population of Silesian Polish descent to this day.
The county again became an immigrant destination in the first decades of the 21st century, gaining a significant Hispanic and Latino population.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. It is part of the Driftless Zone.
Adjacent counties
Buffalo County - west
Eau Claire County - north
Jackson County - east
La Crosse County - southeast
Winona County, Minnesota - southwest
Major highways
Railroads
BNSF
Canadian National
Buses
List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin
National protected areas
Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, the population was 30,760. The population density was . There were 13,270 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 85.5% White, 1.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% Black or African American, 7.9% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 12.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,010 people, 10,747 households, and 7,243 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 11,482 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.81% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.5% were of Norwegian, 24.6% German and 17.0% Polish ancestry. 94.9% spoke English, 1.6% Norwegian and 1.6% Spanish as their first language.
There were 10,747 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.80 males.
In 2017, there were 450 births, giving a general fertility rate of 93.1 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the third highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.
Gallery
Communities
Cities
Arcadia
Blair
Galesville
Independence
Osseo
Whitehall (county seat)
Villages
Eleva
Ettrick
Pigeon Falls
Strum
Trempealeau
Towns
Albion
Arcadia
Burnside
Caledonia
Chimney Rock
Dodge
Ettrick
Gale
Hale
Lincoln
Pigeon
Preston
Sumner
Trempealeau
Unity
Census-designated place
Dodge
Unincorporated communities
Beaches Corners
Butman Corners
Chapultepee
Centerville
Coral City
Dewey Corners
Elk Creek
Frenchville
Hale
Hegg
Iduna
North Creek
Pine Creek
Pleasantville
Russell
Tamarack
Upper French Creek
West Prairie
Wrights Corners
Ghost towns/neighborhoods
Cortland
New City
Williamsburg
Politics
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin
References
Further reading
Biographical History of La Crosse, Trempealeau and Buffalo Counties, Wisconsin.. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1892.
Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn (comp.). History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin. Chicago: H. C. Cooper Jr. 1917.
External links
Trempealeau County
Trempealeau County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Trempealeau County Health and Demographic Data
1855 establishments in Wisconsin
Populated places established in 1855
Wisconsin counties on the Mississippi River