WALWORTH COUNTY, situated on the south boundary of Wisconsin, with Geneva lake at the south. Area, 675 square miles. Face of the country, undulating; soil, rich. Seat of justice, Elkhorn. Pop. in 1840, 2,611; in 1850, 17,862. (Fanning's, 1853)
WALWORTH, a county in the S. S. E. part of Wisconsin, bordering on Illinois, has an area of 576 square.miles. It is drained by Honey, Sugar, and Geneva creeks, affluents of Pishtaka river, and by Turtle and Whitewater creeks, affluents of Rock river. Lake Geneva, in the S. part of the county, is 8 miles long, besides which there are 23 smaller lakes. The surface is undulating and diversified with forests, prairies, and "oak openings." There are no steep hills, and but little waste land in the county. The soil is of limestone formation, highly productive, and well watered. Wheat, Indian corn, oats, barley, hay, potatoes, butter, cattle, and swine are the staples. By the census of 1850, Walworth county produced more hay than any other county in the state, and more wheat, corn, and butter than any other excepting Rock county, and more barley than any county in the United States except Waukesha county, Wisconsin. There were raised in that year 655,704 bushels of wheat; 215,242 of corn; 378,059 of oats; 31,599 of barley; 27,193 tons of hay, and 383,012 pounds of butter. It contained 22 churches, 1 newspaper office, and 5140 pupils attending public schools. This county is liberally supplied with waterpower. It is intersected by the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad, by the Racine and Janesville railroad, and has plank-roads leading to Milwaukee and Racine. Capital, Elkhorn. Population, 17,862. (Baldwin's New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States..., 1854)
WALWORTH, County, is bounded north by Jefferson and Waukesha, east by Racine and Kenosha, south by the State of Illinois, and west by Rock. It was set off Dec. 7, 1836, from Milwaukee, to which it was attached for judicial purposes, and was fully organized January 17, 1838. The county seat is at Elkhorn, the centre of the county. The surface is for the most part undulating, but through its whole extent there are small bodies of level prairie or meadow land, and abrupt and irregular hills or knobs. A chain of these enters the county, about the middle of the northern line, and runs through the northwestern corner. The greater portion of the county consists of oak openings. There are some 12 or more prairies of limited size, exclusive of low lands and marshes. There are also a few small bodies of heavy timber. Of soil, there are many varieties. The prairie—high and low; the openings— of white, black, and burr oak; all have their peculiarities of soil, and are all fitted in a high degree to the different productions of the country. The most considerable streams are the Geneva Outlet, Sugar and Honey Creeks, running eastward into Fox river and Turtle and Whitewater creeks, running westward into Rock river. These all head in the county, and are fed by springs. The population of the county consists mainly of people from the New England and other Eastern States. It ranks among the very first counties of the State for its intelligence, enterprize, fertility and wealth. The principal villages are Geneva, Delavan, Whitewater, Elkhorn and East Troy. Population in 1838, 1,019; 1840, 2,611; 1842, 4,618; 1846, 13,439; 1847, 15,039; 1850, 17,866; with 1,960 farms, 3,092 dwellings, and 82 manufactories. It belongs to the first judicial circuit, the first congressional district, forms the twelfth senate district, and sends five members to the assembly, as follows: 1. Towns of Whitewater, Kichmond and La 'Grange. 2. Towns of Sugar Creek, Lafayette and Troy. 3. Towns of East Troy and Spring Prairie. 4. Elkhorn, Geneva and Hudson. 5. Delavan, Darien and Sharon. 6. Walworth, Linn, and Bloomfield. County Officers: Judge, William C. Allen; Sheriff, J. C. Crum; Clerk of Court, Wm. H. Pettit; Register, John Perry. (John Warren Hunt, Wisconsin Gazetteer..., Madison, 1853)