BlockLa Farge, Wisconsin
12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1926 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Stark town. It lies in ZIP code area 54639. It stands on Otter Creek. The Survey maps it on the La Farge quadrangle. 730 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 797 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresLa Farge fell from 746 to 730 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 746 | |
| 2020 | 730 | -16 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 12 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1926 USGS La Farge quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS La Farge quadrangle1:62500
- 1976 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS La Farge quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Sparta quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
9,607 words on this townshipHistory of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.
The chapter on Stark Town covers the township.
Read the chapter on Stark Town - 9,607 words.
Fires near this place
21 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 21 fires within 5 miles of La Farge between 1995 and 2020, burning about 82 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2000035 |
| 31 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.4 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | ROUND BALER |
| 21 June 2000 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 May 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | RIVER ROAD |
| 4 April 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 25 April 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.3 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of La Farge: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Lawton Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Masters Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Melvin Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
35 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names La Farge in 35 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 14 flood, 8 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2018 | Flood | La Farge | $1,200,000 | Runoff from heavy rain created historic flooding along the Kickapoo River in La Farge. The river established a new crest of record that was estimated to be 19.42 feet, which was over 7 feet above the flood stage. |
| June 2008 | Flood | La Farge | $1,200,000 | The lower third of the town of La Farge was evacuated and Highway 82 west of town was impassable. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | La Farge | $750,000 | Highway 131 was closed between La Farge and Ontario due to flash flooding and mudslides. |
| June 2008 | Flood | La Farge | $600,000 | The Kickapoo River at La Farge reached a record crest of 15.88 feet around midnight on June 9. The previous record crest of 14.92 feet occurred on July 1, 1978. Flood stage is 12.0 feet. Unofficially La Farge picked up 6.39 inches of rain over the weekend. The southern and eastern parts of town were hardest hit. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | La Farge | $500,000 | A mud slide was reported on Munson Road. |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | La Farge | $300,000 | An EF1 tornado developed east of La Farge and moved northeast along State Highway 82 before dissipating north of White City. A house, farm outbuildings and a couple of campers were damaged along with numerous trees. |
| May 1998 | Hail | La Farge | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $10,000 | Several trees were blown down or snapped off east of La Farge. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $10,000 | The frame for a pole shed was knocked over near La Farge. |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down near La Farge. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $4,000 | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $3,000 | Trees were knocked down near County Road D and the Richland County line. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | $2,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were blown down east of La Farge at the intersection of State Highway 82 and County Road D. |
| August 2007 | Flash Flood | La Farge | $1,000 | Emergency manager reported the Kickapoo River rising and flooding into nearby yards. |
| June 2006 | Hail | La Farge | $1,000 | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Hail | La Farge | - | The public reported half dollar sized hail 2 miles east of La Farge. The report was relayed via social media. |
| August 2021 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rains pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested crested less than a foot above the flood stage at 12.7 feet on the 8th. |
| March 2019 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from melting snow caused flooding to occur along the Kickapoo River and other smaller streams. State Highway 131 between the Richland County line and La Farge, State Highway 82 between State Highway 131 in La Farge and Slayback Road west of La Farge and State Highway 162 in Chaseburg were closed because of this flooding. |
| March 2019 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from rain and melting snow pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested over a foot above the flood stage at 13.26 feet on March 15th. |
| July 2019 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested just over a foot above the flood stage at 13.06 feet on the 19th. |
| September 2019 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in LaFarge. The river crested less than a half foot above the flood stage at 12.19 feet. |
| September 2018 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rains pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested over a foot above the flood stage at 13.29 feet on September 4th. |
| July 2017 | Hail | La Farge | - | Ping pong ball sized hail fell northwest of La Farge. |
| March 2017 | Hail | La Farge | - | Golfball sized hail fell in La Farge. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | La Farge | - | An estimated 60 mph wind gust occurred in La Farge. |
| July 2017 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rains pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested over three above the flood stage at 15.16 feet. |
| September 2016 | Flood | La Farge | - | Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge. The river crested just over two feet above the flood stage at 14.1 feet. |
| April 2013 | Heavy Rain | La Farge | - | The COOP observer near La Farge reported 2.79 inches of rain. |
| July 2012 | Heavy Rain | La Farge | - | In about an hour and a half, 2.68 inches of rain fell in La Farge. |
| August 2010 | Flood | La Farge | - | Tunnelville Road was underwater after heavy rains fell in the area. |
| August 2010 | Flood | La Farge | - | Locally heavy rains pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks in La Farge on August 13th and 14th. The river exceeded the flood stage by a half foot, cresting at 12.54 feet. |
| July 2010 | Flood | La Farge | - | Locally heavy rains pushed the Kickapoo River out of its banks at La Farge on July 15th. The river exceeded the flood stage by less than a half foot cresting at 12.16 feet. |
| July 2015 | Hail | La Farge | - | no account filed |
| April 2014 | Hail | La Farge | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockton | 5.0 miles | 12 | |
| Liberty | 6.4 miles | 12 | |
| Ross | 6.4 miles | 14 | |
| Valley | 7.0 miles | 12 | |
| Avalanche | 7.7 miles | 14 | |
| Bloomingdale | 8.7 miles | 14 | |
| White City | 10.4 miles | 11 | |
| Sugar Grove | 10.5 miles | 10 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on La Farge | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3301326 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1567689. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.