Crawford County, Wisconsin

Crawford County is a located in southwest,. Its is. Along with, it is one of Wisconsin's original counties, established by the legislature in , and named after , 's  at the time. Originally, it covered the entire western half of Wisconsin's present area. In it was transferred to the newly formed  as  prepared for statehood and has gradually been subdivided into its present area.

As of July 2002, its population was estimated as 16,897, a loss of nearly 350 people from the census figure of 17,243.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,552 (599 ). 1,483 km² (573 sq mi) of it is land and 69 km² (27 sq mi) (4.43%) of it is water, including 77 lakes.

Three rivers run through the county:
 * The, d "the crookedest river in Wisconsin" was carved out by run-off.  It is considered one of the best   rivers in the.
 * The borders the county's southern edge. Although it is the busiest river in the state, its run within the county is tranquil, with high bluff s and sandy islands.
 * The, serves as the county's western border. The steep s are interspersed with bluffs and prairies.

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - south
 * , - southwest
 * , - west

Demographics


As of the of 2000, there were 17,243 people, 6,677 households, and 4,613 families residing in the county. The was 12/km² (30/sq mi). There were 8,480 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (15/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.31%, 1.35% or , 0.21% , 0.26% , 0.01% , 0.17% from , and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were or  of any race. 33.6% were of, 16.0% , 11.4% , 7.2% , 7.2%  and 6.4%  or American ancestry.

There were 6,677 households out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.30 males.