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Viroqua, Wisconsin

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Viroqua City. It lies in ZIP code area 54665. The Survey maps it on the Viroqua quadrangle. 4,504 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Research this city

Viroqua within Vernon County

On record in Viroqua

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 5 records

Population over time

2 figures

Viroqua grew from 4,362 to 4,504 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.

YearPeople Change
20104,362
20204,504+142 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched 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.

In the county-history sources

15,470 words on this township

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Viroqua City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The town of Viroqua embraces all of congressional township 13, range 4 west, the two northern tiers of sections, and sections 13,14, 23 and 24 of township 12, range 4 west. It is bounded on the north by the town of Christiana; on the east by Webster and Liberty ; on the south by Kickapoo and Franklin ; and on the west by Franklin and Jefferson. The surface of this town is generally broken and hilly yet it contains some of the finest agricultural lands in the county. The eastern and northeastern parts of the town are made up of rolling prairie, interspersed, here and there, with small gi'oves. The balance of the town was originally covered with heavy timber; but much, if not the greater part of this, has been cleared away by the thrifty and enterprising settlers, and there are now valuable farms in all parts of the town.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

Clemmetson, C. A. Morterud, Anders Jenson Peder Halvorson, Edward Theige, Nils T. Nilson, Lars Hovde and Ole G. Hanson, trustees. The Metliodist Episcopal society was organized in 1854, by the Reverend Bishop, with twenty-two members. Philip Adams was class leader. The memhersliip was afterwards increased to sixty. A log church was erected in 1860, on section 22, which is still in use. The Church is not at present in a very flourishing condition, as many of the members have gone elsewhere, while others attend Church at Viroqua. The following are among the pastors who have filled the pulpit for the society at different times: Revs. Bishop, Purdun, Cooley, Fitch and Hartshorn.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

The name of the town of Viroqua was formerly Farwell. As a general chapter is devoted to the creation and changes of name and boundaries of towns, it is unnecessary to here refer to the various changes through which the town of Viroqua has passed in assuming its present limits.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Viroqua City - it names this place 76 more 76 times.

Fires near this place

11 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Viroqua between 2018 and 2020, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. None was 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources18180
5 July 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19144
13 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20079
12 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20073
26 April 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources18053
30 March 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources19063
17 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20041
17 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20042

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Vernon County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Viroqua: 3 producers, 3 past producers, 1 unknown. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Own CrewsStoneUnknown
Brooksville QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Cook QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Ellefson Brothers QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Liberty QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Newton QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Rumdee QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Vernon County

Storms near this place

52 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Viroqua in 52 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 27 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 6 heavy rain, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2007FloodViroqua$3,500,000Flooding continued along many creeks, streams and rivers. Law enforcement officials reported numerous roads and bridges were either washed out or still under water. All or portions of highways still closed included Highway 35 from Stoddard northward, as well as Highway 131 from Viola to La Farge and from the intersection of Highway 56 and 82 to Viola.
June 1998HailViroqua$40,000no account filed
August 1997HailViroqua$40,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindViroqua$35,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindViroqua$30,000no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindViroqua$25,000no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindViroqua$15,000no account filed
June 1998Flash FloodViroqua$12,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindViroqua$10,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindViroqua$10,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindViroqua$7,500no account filed
July 2017Thunderstorm WindViroqua$5,000The roof of a metal building was damaged from wind gusts.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindViroqua$5,000Several trees were blown down in and around Viroqua. Numerous power lines were also downed.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindViroqua$5,000no account filed
May 2013Thunderstorm WindViroqua$4,000Buildings and trees were damaged along County Road SS southeast of Viroqua. Another shed near Viroqua was also damaged.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindViroqua$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down in Viroqua. The automated weather observing equipment at the airport on the north side of town, measured a wind gust of 54 mph. However, radar data indicates a small corridor of stronger winds went across the western sections of the city.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindViroqua$2,500Law enforcement reported trees blown down from Viroqua to near Hillsboro.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindViroqua$2,500Trees and power lines blown down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindViroqua$2,500no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindViroqua$2,000no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindViroqua$2,000no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindViroqua$1,500Power lines were knocked down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 2006HailViroqua$1,500no account filed
August 2006HailViroqua$1,500no account filed
May 2004HailViroqua$1,250no account filed
June 2019Thunderstorm WindViroqua$1,000A large tree was blown down in Viroqua.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindViroqua$1,000A couple of trees were blown down in Viroqua.
June 2011Flash FloodViroqua$1,000State Highway 56 was closed east of Viroqua due to flash flooding along Cook Creek. The flooding turned parts of the road into a lake and moved a log onto the road.
July 2006HailViroqua$1,000no account filed
June 2001Thunderstorm WindViroqua$1,000no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindViroqua$500no account filed
December 2021Thunderstorm WindViroqua-The automated weather observing equipment at the Viroqua airport measured a 69 mph wind gust.
September 2018Heavy RainViroqua-The COOP observer in Viroqua measured 2.81 inches of rain.
September 2016Heavy RainViroqua-Just southeast of Viroqua, 5.6 inches of rain fell.
December 2015Heavy RainViroqua-Over a two day period, 6.27 inches of rain fell. Other totals from around the county included 6.14 inches in Viroqua, 4.27 inches near Westby, and 4.26 inches at Readstown.
April 2015HailViroqua-Quarter sized hail fell in Viroqua.
June 2014Heavy RainViroqua-The automated weather observing equipment at the Viroqua airport measured 3.72 inches of rain.
April 2014HailViroqua-Up to quarter sized hail was reported in Viroqua.
April 2014HailViroqua-Golf ball sized hail fell just south of Viroqua along U.S. Highway 14.
April 2013Heavy RainViroqua-The COOP observer near Viroqua reported 2.76 inches of rain.
June 2011FloodViroqua-Slow moving thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain that created some flooded intersections in Viroqua.
June 2011Heavy RainViroqua-A total of 5.32 inches of rain fell in the 24 hour period.
July 2013HailViroqua-no account filed
July 2006HailViroqua-no account filed
July 2006HailViroqua-no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindViroqua-no account filed
April 2001HailViroqua-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindViroqua-no account filed
August 1998HailViroqua-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindViroqua-no account filed
July 1997HailViroqua-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindViroqua-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Vernon County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Springville3.3 miles14
Brookville3.8 miles14
Liberty Pole4.7 miles10
Bud5.3 miles14
Esofea6.5 miles14
Avalanche6.5 miles14
Westby7.1 miles14
Ross7.3 miles14

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 ViroquaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1569775The 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 1576119. 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.