La Crosse County history

As early as 1854 a seven-person committee was formed to draft a charter for applying for city status, skipping over the village status.

On November 18, 1870, La Crosse formally celebrated the completion of the Southern Minnesota Railroad from Wells, Minnesota, to the Mississippi River, thus connecting La Crosse with the west.

Beginning as Western Wisconsin’s first hospital in 1883, Mayo Clinic Health System – Franciscan Healthcare continues to put the needs of its patients first through the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care across the 7 Rivers Region.

A swing bridge for both wagon and foot traffic was completed from Mount Vernon street to Barron's Island (later renamed Pettibone Island) in 1891, and this connection to Minnesota essentially put an end to the ferry business.

George Coleman Pogue, who participated in the Olympic Games of 1904, and George Edwin Taylor, the first African American to run for president in 1904, are two of the most well-known historical African American figures from the area.

The first permanent establishment was built by Nathan Myrick in 1941 and European Americans began settling in Prairie La Crosse, now known as La Crosse.

Kwik Trip began in 1965 and is a family-owned company.

In 2003, the La Crosse Public Library and the City of La Crosse Planning Department worked together to create a historic comparison of intersections in the city of La Crosse.