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La Crosse, WI

La Crosse
City
City of La Crosse
Downtown La Crosse
Downtown La Crosse
Official seal of La Crosse
Seal
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°48′48″N 91°13′59″W / 43.81333°N 91.23306°W / 43.81333; -91.23306Coordinates: 43°48′48″N 91°13′59″W / 43.81333°N 91.23306°W / 43.81333; -91.23306
Country United States
State Wisconsin
County La Crosse
Government
 • Mayor Tim Kabat (D)
Area
 • City 22.54 sq mi (58.38 km2)
 • Land 20.52 sq mi (53.15 km2)
 • Water 2.02 sq mi (5.23 km2)
Elevation 669 ft (204 m)
Population (2010)
 • City 51,320
 • Estimate (2014) 52,440
 • Rank US: 709th
 • Density 2,501.0/sq mi (965.6/km2)
 • Urban 100,868 (US: 298th)
 • Metro 136,749 (US: 294th)
Demonym(s) LAXian
Time zone Central (UTC−6)
 • Summer (DST) Central (UTC−5)
Zip Code 54601, 54602, 54603
Area code 608
FIPS code 55-40775
GNIS feature ID 1567672
Airports La Crosse Regional Airport
Interstate I-90
Website cityoflacrosse.org

La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Lying alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border.

The city's estimated population in 2014 was 52,440. The city forms the core of and is the principal city in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, with a combined population of 135,298. La Crosse is home to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College. A regional technology and medical hub, La Crosse has received high rankings from some magazines in health, well-being, quality of life, and education.

The first Europeans to see the site of La Crosse were French fur traders who traveled the Mississippi River in the late 17th century. There is no written record, however, of any visit to the site until 1805, when Lt. Zebulon Pike mounted an expedition up the Mississippi River for the United States. Pike recorded the location's name as "Prairie La Crosse." The name originated from the game with sticks that resembled a bishop's crozier or la crosse in French, which was played by Native Americans there.

The first white settlement at La Crosse occurred in 1841 when Nathan Myrick, a New York native, moved to the village at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to work in the fur trade. Myrick was disappointed to find that because many fur traders were already well-entrenched there, there were no openings for him in the trade. As a result, he decided to establish a trading post upriver at the then still unsettled site of Prairie La Crosse. In 1841, he built a temporary trading post on Barron Island (now called Pettibone Park), which lies just west of La Crosse's present downtown. The following year, Myrick relocated the post to the mainland prairie, partnering with H. J. B. Miller to run the outfit.


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