La Crosse, Kansas

**La Crosse** is a city in Rush County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Rush County. In 2020, 1,266 people lived there. La Crosse calls itself the "Barbed Wire capital of the world."

## History

La Crosse was created in 1876. It was named after the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. La Crosse subsequently became the intended county seat, and county records were transferred there from the temporary county seat, nearby Rush Center. A county seat war ensued between the two communities, lasting until La Crosse was declared the permanent county seat and the construction of the county courthouse in 1888.

In the 1960s, La Crosse became a regional center of barbed wire collecting, leading to the establishment of the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum and the nicknaming of the city as "The Barbed Wire Capital of the World".

### Tornado of 2012

On May 25, 2012, an EF-1 tornado caused about four blocks of a lot of damage, and two businesses were destroyed. A third of the businesses had very bad damage. There were no injuries.

## Geography

La Crosse is at  (38.532014, -99.308614). It has an elevation of 2,057 feet (627 m). It is in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. It is about  south of the Smoky Hill River and  north of Walnut Creek, which is a tributary of the Arkansas River. Sand Creek, a tributary of Walnut Creek, goes southeast around the southwestern and southern parts of the city. Mule Creek, a small tributary of Sand Creek, flows southeast through the city. It is in west-central Kansas at the intersection of U.S. Route 183 and K-4. La Crosse is  northwest of Wichita,  west-southwest of Kansas City, and  east-southeast of Denver.

The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.

### Weather

On average in La Crosse, July is the hottest month, January is the coldest month, and May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature ever in La Crosse was 115 °F (46 °C) in 1954; the coldest temperature ever was -24 °F (-31 °C) in 1989.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 1,266 people, 547 households, and 318 families living in La Crosse. Of the households, 73.5% owned their home and 26.5% rented their home.

The median age was 45.6 years. Of the people, 94.8% were White, 0.3% were Black, 0.3% were Asian, 0.1% were Native American, 0.7% were from some other race, and 3.8% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 1,342 people, 606 households, and 350 families living in La Crosse.

## Education

La Crosse Public Schools (USD 395) controls three schools in the city.

### Transportation

Rush County Airport is northeast of the city. It is on the north side of K-4. It is publicly owned. It has one runway. It is used for general aviation.

A railroad of the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad goes southeast-northwest through La Crosse.

## Media

_The Rush County News_ is the local newspaper. It is published once per week in La Crosse.

La Crosse is in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market.

## Other websites

- City
- City of La Crosse
- La Crosse - Directory of Public Officials
- Schools
- USD 395, local school district
- Historical
- History of Cities in Rush County
- La Crosse Info, Legends of Kansas
- Maps
- La Crosse City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: La Crosse, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **image skyline**: Welcome Sign La Crosse Kansas 5-5-2010.jpg
- **image caption**: Welcome Sign (2010)
- **image map**: Rush_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_La_Crosse_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Rush County, Kansas, Rush County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Rush Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Rush County, Kansas, Rush County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, County
- **subdivision name2**: Rush County, Kansas, Rush
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1876
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1886
- **named for**: La Crosse, Wisconsin
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **area total sq mi**: 1.04
- **area land sq mi**: 1.04
- **area water sq mi**: 0.00
- **area total km2**: 2.68
- **area land km2**: 2.68
- **area water km2**: 0.00
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 2057
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 1266
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 67548, 67553
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 785, 785
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 20-37500
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 2395563