Green County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,093.^[1] Its county seat is Monroe.^[2] Green County is included in the Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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Green County
County
Green County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°41′N 89°36′W
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1837
Named for	Nathanael Greene
Seat	Monroe
Largest city	Monroe
Area
• Total	584 sq mi (1,510 km2)
• Land	584 sq mi (1,510 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2)  0.09%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	37,093
• Density	63.5/sq mi (24.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.co.green.wi.gov

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The land of Green County had long been settled by Native Americans. In 1632, Samuel de Champlain included this area in the region belonging to the Illinois, and in the 18th century the Sauk mined lead within the present county limits. By the time the first white settlers arrived there, all of Green County was the property of the Ho-Chunk, who referred to the mines as the "Sac Diggings." The federal government recognized Indian title to frontier land, and generally forbade the private sale of Indian land to individuals, but as squatters continued to work the mines in southwestern Wisconsin, conflict arose between them and the Ho-Chunk, as well as the Sauk and Meskwaki, all of whom mined and sold lead. In 1832, Black Hawk attempted to bring his people back into their former Illinois lands, they were pursued across the border into Wisconsin, then known as western Michigan Territory. The Ho-Chunk were divided in the Black Hawk War, with many warriors siding with the Sauk, and others taking personal revenge on frontier settlers in the lead mining district. Although many other Ho-Chunk aided the US army in pursuing the Sauk, they were coerced into selling their lands south of the Wisconsin River in a treaty signed in September, one month after Black Hawk's surrender. Although other towns had been founded in the lead region of Wisconsin prior to the land cession, Monroe, Wisconsin was one of the many communities founded in the mid-1830s after this land became legally open to settlement.^[3][4][5]

The county was created in 1837 from the Wisconsin Territory.^[6] When in December 1837, a new county was to be split off from the over-large Iowa County, William Boyles of Monroe, as the Representative of the area, was allowed to choose a name. He chose Green County, after the verdant color of the vegetation there. Another member suggested that it be modified to "Greene" after General Nathanael Greene, who commanded the Southern Campaign in the American Revolutionary War but Boyles insisted on his original choice.^[7] The story that it was named for General Greene still persists in some circles.^[8]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 584 square miles (1,510 km²), of which 584 square miles (1,510 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (0.09%) is water.^[9]

Until the 1992 presidential election, Green County voters primarily backed the Republican Party candidate in national elections. Prior to that year, the only times they failed to win the county were in the midst of a divided party vote in 1912, the presence of Wisconsinite Robert La Follette on the ballot in 1924, & national Democratic Party landslides in 1932, 1936, & 1964. From 1992 onward, the county has backed the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, though their margins of victory have been often relatively narrow.

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