La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in
La Crosse County, Wisconsin. The population was 51,818 at the 2000 census. Together with surrounding communities, the La Crosse
metropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 96,592 people. The city forms the core of, and is the principal city within the
United States Census Bureau's La Crosse
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of La Crosse County in Wisconsin and
Houston County, Minnesota (composite 2000 population: 126,838).
La Crosse is the
county seat of
La Crosse County. La Crosse is located in western Wisconsin, on the
Mississippi River at the
confluence of the
Black and
La Crosse Rivers. It was the site of an 18th century
fur trading post and medical stop for traders traveling down the Mississippi River. At the time it was called Prairie La Crosse.
Colleges:
*
Western Technical College *
Viterbo University *
University of Wisconsin-La CrosseThe area is served by the
School District of La Crosse. [
1]
Public high schools:
*
La Crosse Central High School*
Logan High School*
Lacrosseroads Charter SchoolLa Crosse is also home to
Aquinas High School, the city's only
Roman Catholic high school.
La Crosse is also the original home and international headquarters of the
Trane air conditioning company, the
City Brewing Company, and the Company Store.
The
La Crosse Tribune is the city's newspaper.
The Second Supper, a satirical newspaper is also published in La Crosse.
The two major clinics are
Gundersen Lutheran and
Franciscan Skemp, which is part of the
Mayo Clinic.
* La Crosse is the
episcopal see for the
Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse. The
Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman is the mother church of the Diocese.
* The mother house of the
Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration is in La Crosse.
* The
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is in La Crosse.
*
Christ Church of La Crosse is the city's
Episcopal church.
*
John Toland, writer
*
Joseph Losey, film producer
*
Ford Sterling, actor
*
Charles Dierkop, actor
*
Patrick Lucey, Governor of Wisconsin
*
Ed Gein, Notorious murderer
*
John Joseph Paul, Roman Catholic Bishop
*
Walter Ristow, notable librarian
*
James Cameron, civil rights activist
*
Robert E. Kreutz, American composer
*
Arthur Kreutz, American composer
*
Damian Miller, baseball player
*
Jarrod Washburn, baseball player
*
Ed Konetchy, baseball player
|
Grandad Bluff from La Crosse |
The area around La Crosse is often referred to as "God's Country" because it was unspoiled by
glaciers that flattened much of the rest of the upper
Midwestern United States. La Crosse is surrounded by towering
bluffs, the most prominent of which is Grandad's Bluff (mentioned in
Life on the Mississippi by
Mark Twain). (
For more, see Driftless Zone.)
Across the Mississippi River from La Crosse is
La Crescent, Minnesota. There are several other communities that surround La Crosse and offer many commercial venues, including
Onalaska, Wisconsin,
Holmen, Wisconsin, and
West Salem, Wisconsin.
 |
Location of La Crosse, Wisconsin |
La Crosse is located at (43.813216, -91.233110).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.4
km² (22.2
mi²). 52.2 km² (20.1 mi²) of it is land and 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²) of it (9.12%) is water.
The city is served by several major highways, including
Interstate 90,
U.S. Highway 14, and
Wisconsin State Highway 16.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 51,818 people, 21,110 households, and 10,217 families residing in the city. The
population density was 993.4/km² (2,573.4/mi²). There were 22,233 housing units at an average density of 426.2/km² (1,104.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.58%
White, 1.56%
African American, 0.51%
Native American, 4.65%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.36% from
other races, and 1.31% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 21,110 households out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were
married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,103, and the median income for a family was $43,047. Males had a median income of $30,996 versus $22,076 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,650. About 7.8% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
In spite of its small population and distant locale in far western Wisconsin, La Crosse has supported numerous other sports teams, such as the
Catbirds of the
CBA, the
Bobcats of the
CBA, the
Night Train of the
NIFL, and currently the
Loggers of the
Northwoods League. La Crosse is also home to the two-time Stagg Bowl winning
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles, where
NFL great
Bill Schroeder played his college ball.
*
City Brewing Company*
Old Style Beer*
G. Heileman Brewing Company*
La Crosse area radio stations*
La Crosse area television stations*
City of La Crosse website*
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse*
La Crosse Library*
LaCrosseWisconsin.com*
Historic Downtown La Crosse, Downtown Mainstreet Inc.
*
La Crosse Wisconsin Weather with Downtown Roof Cam
