Rock County, Wisconsin
Seal
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded	1836
Seat	Janesville
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	726 sq mi (1,880 km²) 720 sq mi (1,865 km²) 6 sq mi (16 km²), 0.79%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	160,331 212/sq mi (82/km²)
Website	www.co.rock.wi.us

Rock County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is included in the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 160,331. Its county seat is Janesville.^[1]

  Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,880 km²), of which 720 square miles (1,900 km²) is land and 6 square miles (16 km²) (0.79%) is water.

  History

Rock County was created in 1836 as a territorial county on December 7, 1836 from Milwaukee County and fully organized Feb. 19, 1839. The county is named for the Rock River, which bisects the county from north to south.^[2]

  Major highways

• Interstate 90
• Interstate 39
• Interstate 43
• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 51
• U.S. Highway 12
• Highway 11 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 26 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 59 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 67 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 81 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 89 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 104 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 140 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 213 (Wisconsin)

  Adjacent counties

• Green County - west
• Dane County - north
• Jefferson County - northeast
• Walworth County - east
• Boone County, Illinois - south
• Winnebago County, Illinois - south

  Demographics

  2000 Census Age Pyramid for Rock County.

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 152,307 people, 58,617 households, and 40,387 families residing in the county. The population density was 211 people per square mile (82/km²). There were 62,187 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.01% White, 4.63% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. 3.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.8% were of German, 13.0% Norwegian, 10.1% Irish, 7.5% English and 5.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 58,617 households out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.50% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.

  Cities, villages, and towns^[4]

  Unincorporated communities

  Ghost towns

• Jefferson Prairie Settlement

  See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Rock County, Wisconsin

  References

  Further reading

• The History of Rock County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879.
• Brown, William F. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History... Vol. 1, Chicago: Cooper, 1908.
• Brown, William F. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History... Vol. 2, Chicago: Cooper, 1908.
• Sayre, David F. "Early Life in Southern Wisconsin", Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 3, no. 4 (June 1920), pp. 420–427.
• Walterman, Thomas. There Stands "Old Rock": Rock County, Wisconsin and the War to Preserve the Union. Friendship, Wis.: New Past Press, 2001. ISBN 0-938627-50-3

  External links

• Rock County
• Rock County Historical Society
• Rock County Genealogical Society
• Beloit Janesville Symphony

		Dane County	Jefferson County
	Green County		Walworth County
		Rock County, Wisconsin
		Winnebago County, Illinois and Boone County, Illinois

Municipalities and communities of Rock County, Wisconsin, United States County seat: Janesville Cities Beloit Brodhead‡ Edgerton‡ Evansville Janesville Milton Villages Clinton Footville Orfordville Towns Avon Beloit Bradford Center Clinton Fulton Harmony Janesville Johnstown La Prairie Lima Magnolia Milton Newark Plymouth Porter Rock Spring Valley Turtle Union CDP Hanover Unincorporated communities Afton Anderson Avalon Avon Belcrest Bergen Cainville Charlie Bluff Cooksville Crestview Emerald Grove Fairfield‡ Foxhollow Fulton Indianford Johnstown Johnstown Center Koshkonong‡ Leyden Lima Center Magnolia Newark Newville Porters Shopiere Tiffany Union Victory Heights Ghost town Jefferson Prairie Settlement Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) Topics History Governors Delegations Sports People Geography Demographics Economy Visitor Attractions Regions Apostle Islands Central Plain Chippewa Valley Door Peninsula Driftless Area Eastern Ridges and Lowlands Fox River Valley Great River Road Lake Superior Lowland Northern Highland Western Upland Major metropolitan areas (pop. over 500,000) Chicago metropolitan area Madison metropolitan area Milwaukee metropolitan area Twin Cities metropolitan area Largest cities (pop. over 50,000) Appleton Eau Claire Green Bay Janesville Kenosha La Crosse Madison Milwaukee Oshkosh Racine Waukesha West Allis Smaller cities (pop. 15,000 to 50,000) Beaver Dam Beloit Brookfield Cudahy De Pere Fitchburg Fond du Lac Franklin Greenfield Hudson Manitowoc Marshfield Menasha Mequon Middleton Muskego Neenah New Berlin Oak Creek Onalaska Sheboygan South Milwaukee Stevens Point Sun Prairie Superior Watertown Wausau Wauwatosa West Bend Wisconsin Rapids Largest villages (pop. over 15,000) Allouez Ashwaubenon Caledonia Germantown Menomonee Falls Mount Pleasant Pleasant Prairie Counties Adams Ashland Barron Bayfield Brown Buffalo Burnett Calumet Chippewa Clark Columbia Crawford Dane Dodge Door Douglas Dunn Eau Claire Florence Fond du Lac Forest Grant Green Green Lake Iowa Iron Jackson Jefferson Juneau Kenosha Kewaunee La Crosse Lafayette Langlade Lincoln Manitowoc Marathon Marinette Marquette Menominee Milwaukee Monroe Oconto Oneida Outagamie Ozaukee Pepin Pierce Polk Portage Price Racine Richland Rock Rusk Sauk Sawyer Shawano Sheboygan St. Croix Taylor Trempealeau Vernon Vilas Walworth Washburn Washington Waukesha Waupaca Waushara Winnebago Wood

Janesville, Wisconsin Buildings Hedberg Public Library Janesville Assembly Janesville Ice Arena Janesville Mall Lincoln-Tallman House Mercy Health System Oakhill Christian School George S. Parker High School TAGOS Leadership Academy Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired Surrounding communities (over 10,000) Beloit° (under 10,000) Beloit* Edgerton° Fulton* Harmony* Janesville* La Prairie* Milton* Milton° Rock* South Beloit, Illinois° Counties Rock County *town °city

Coordinates: 42°40′N 89°04′W / 42.67°N 89.07°W / 42.67; -89.07