Washington County, Wisconsin Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Washington County
U.S. county
Old Washington County courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1836
Named for	George Washington
Seat	West Bend
Largest city	West Bend
Area
• Total	436 sq mi (1,130 km²)
• Land	431 sq mi (1,120 km²)
• Water	5.0 sq mi (13 km²) 1.2%%
Population
• Total	136,761
• Estimate (2023)	138,168
• Density	313.7/sq mi (121.11/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th

Washington County is a place in the state of Wisconsin, USA. It's like a big neighborhood or district. As of 2020, about 136,761 people lived here. The main town, or county seat, is West Bend.

The county was created in 1836 when Wisconsin was still a territory. It was officially set up in 1845. The county is named after the first U.S. President, George Washington. Washington County is also part of the larger Milwaukee area.

History of Washington County
- Choosing the County Seat
Geography and Landscape
Population and People
- 2020 Census Information
Cities, Towns, and Villages
Public High Schools
See also

History of Washington County

Washington County was formed on December 7, 1836. This was done by the government of the Wisconsin Territory. At first, Port Washington was chosen as the main town.

The county was managed by Milwaukee County until 1840. Then, a new law allowed Washington County to govern itself. The main town was moved to Grafton, which was called Hamburg back then.

Choosing the County Seat

This new arrangement didn't work very well. Four towns wanted to be the county seat: Port Washington, Grafton, Cedarburg, and West Bend. People voted many times between 1848 and 1852. But the results were often messy and unclear. There were even claims of unfair play during the elections.

In 1852, the state government tried to split the county in two. The northern part would stay Washington County. The southern part would become Tuskola County. But voters said no to this idea.

So, in 1853, the government tried again. This time, they split the county into a western and an eastern part. The western part remained Washington County, with West Bend as its main town. The eastern part became Ozaukee County, and Port Washington became its main town.

Geography and Landscape

Washington County covers about 436 square miles. Most of this area, about 431 square miles, is land. The rest, about 5 square miles, is water. This means about 1.2% of the county is water. It is the fifth smallest county in Wisconsin by total area.

Major Roads and Highways

Many important roads run through Washington County. These include:

Interstate 41
U.S. Highway 41
U.S. Highway 45
Highway 28 (Wisconsin)
Highway 33 (Wisconsin)
Highway 60 (Wisconsin)
Highway 83 (Wisconsin)
Highway 144 (Wisconsin)
Highway 145 (Wisconsin)
Highway 164 (Wisconsin)
Highway 167 (Wisconsin)
Highway 175 (Wisconsin)

Railroads and Public Transport

Two railroad lines run through the county:

Canadian National
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

Washington County used to have a bus service called the Washington County Commuter Express. This service connected the county to the wider Milwaukee area. However, this bus service stopped in 2023. Now, there are no public bus options linking Washington County to the Milwaukee area. There is still a limited shared taxi service available.

Airports in the Area

There are two local airports that serve the county:

Hartford Municipal Airport (KHXF)
West Bend Municipal Airport (KETB)

For bigger flights, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is the closest commercial airport.

Neighboring Counties

Washington County shares borders with several other counties:

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

Parks and Protected Areas

Washington County has many beautiful parks and protected natural areas, including:

Ackerman's Grove County Park
Allenton Marsh State Wildlife Area
Goeden County Park
Heritage Trails County Park
Isadore and Lorraine Spaeth County Park
Jackson Marsh State Wildlife Area
Kettle Moraine State Forest (part of it)
Leonard J. Yahr County Park
Lizard Mound State Park
Pike Lake State Park
Sandy Knoll County Park
Theresa Marsh State Wildlife Area (part of it)

Population and People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1840	343	—
1850	19,485	5,580.8%
1860	23,622	21.2%
1870	23,919	1.3%
1880	23,442	−2.0%
1890	22,751	−2.9%
1900	23,589	3.7%
1910	23,784	0.8%
1920	25,713	8.1%
1930	26,551	3.3%
1940	28,430	7.1%
1950	33,902	19.2%
1960	46,119	36.0%
1970	63,839	38.4%
1980	84,848	32.9%
1990	95,328	12.4%
2000	117,493	23.3%
2010	131,887	12.3%
2020	136,761	3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 Census Information

In 2020, the county's population was 136,761 people. This means there were about 317.6 people living in each square mile. There were also 58,311 homes, with about 135.4 homes per square mile.

Most people in the county, about 91.7%, identified as White. About 1.4% were Asian, and 1.3% were Black or African American. About 0.3% were Native American. Around 1.1% were from other races, and 4.2% were from two or more races. About 3.5% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Sign on WIS 28 marking the county boundary

Washington County is made up of several different types of communities:

Cities

Hartford (partly in Dodge County)
Milwaukee (a small part is in Washington County, most is in Milwaukee County and Waukesha County)
West Bend (This is the county seat, the main town)

Villages

Towns

Census-Designated Place

Allenton

Smaller Communities

These are smaller, unincorporated communities within the county:

Public High Schools

Washington County has several public high schools:

East High School
Germantown High School
Hartford Union High School
Kewaskum High School
Slinger High School
West High School

The East High School and West High Schools share the same building but are separate schools.

The Slinger High School Owls and the Hartford Union High School Orioles have a friendly rivalry. They play each other every year in the Coaches vs Cancer Game. Even with their rivalry, they have a joint swim team.

Washington County, Wisconsin facts for kids

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