Green County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,093. Green County is included in the Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Green County's land was long settled by Native Americans. In 1632, Samuel de Champlain included the area in the region belonging to the Illinois, and in the 18th century the Sauk mined lead within the present county limits. By the time the first white settlers arrived, all of Green County was the property of the Ho-Chunk, who called the mines the "Sac Diggings." The federal government recognized Indian title to frontier land, and generally forbade the private sale of Indian land to individuals, but as squatters continued to work the mines in southwestern Wisconsin, conflict arose between them and the Ho-Chunk, as well as the Sauk and Meskwaki, all of whom mined and sold lead. In 1832, when Black Hawk attempted to bring his people back to their former Illinois lands, they were pursued into Wisconsin, then known as western Michigan Territory. The Ho-Chunk were divided in the Black Hawk War, with many warriors siding with the Sauk and others taking personal revenge on frontier settlers in the lead mining district. Although many other Ho-Chunk aided the US army in pursuing the Sauk, they were coerced into selling their lands south of the Wisconsin River in a treaty signed in September, one month after Black Hawk's surrender. Other towns had been founded in Wisconsin's lead region before the land cession, but Monroe, Wisconsin, was one of the many founded in the mid-1830s after this land legally opened to settlement.
The county was created in 1837 from the Wisconsin Territory. In December 1837, when a new county was to be split off from the over-large Iowa County, William Boyles of Monroe, as the Representative of the area, was allowed to choose a name. He chose Green County after the verdant color of the vegetation there. Another member suggested that it be modified to "Greene" after General Nathanael Greene, who commanded the Southern Campaign in the American Revolutionary War, but Boyles insisted on his original choice. The story that it was named for General Greene still persists in some circles.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px Highway 11 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 39 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 59 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 69 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 78 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 81 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 92 (Wisconsin)
- 20px Highway 104 (Wisconsin)
Railroads
- Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
Buses
Airport
Monroe Municipal Airport (KEFT) serves the county and surrounding communities.
Adjacent counties
- Dane County - north
- Rock County - east
- Winnebago County, Illinois - southeast
- Stephenson County, Illinois - south
- Lafayette County - west
- Iowa County - northwest