Editing Trempealeau County, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
Patches of woodland are all that remain of the brush and light forest that once covered the county. In ancient times, the woodlands contained a great deal of timber, but [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] burned them periodically to encourage the growth of berries. They did little cultivation and had been almost completely removed from the area by 1837.<ref>Gamroth, 1976, p. 5, 87</ref> The area was ceded by the [[Dakota peoples|Dakota]] in the 1837 Treaty of Washington (7 Stat. [https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/7/STATUTE-7-Pg538.pdf 538]).

French [[fur traders]] were the first Europeans to enter this land, traveling by river across the county. At the mouth of the [[Trempealeau River]] at its confluence with the [[Mississippi River]], they found a bluff surrounded by water and called it ''La Montagne qui trempe à l’eau'' ("mountain steeped in water"). It is now known as Trempealeau Mountain.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trempealeau County Marking 100th Anniversary on Sunday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1154088/100th_anniversary_of_trempealeau_county/|newspaper=The Winona Republican-Herald|date=January 23, 1954|page=5|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = October 14, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Judge Gale Led Legislative Drive to Recognize Area|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1154073/origin_of_trempealeau_county/|newspaper=The Winona Republican-Herald|date=January 23, 1954|page=5|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = October 14, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref> The name was later shortened to Trempealeau.<ref>Elkins, 1985, p.1</ref> Created in 1854 and organized in 1855,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/WI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies|website=Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=[[Newberry Library|The Newberry Library]]|date=2007|access-date=August 15, 2015|archive-date=April 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414132220/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/WI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> the county is named after the river.<ref>{{cite news|title=Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/915335/wisconsin_county_names/|newspaper=The Post-Crescent|date=December 28, 1963|page=14|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = August 25, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

During the 19th and 20th century large numbers of [[Norwegian diaspora|Norwegian]] [[Norwegian emigration and emigrant communities|immigrants]] settled in the area in pursuit of cheap land, a better life and more opportunities. Much of the population is still of Norwegian descent and celebrate their ancestry by making foods native to [[Norway]] and participating in [[Norwegian Constitution Day]] events.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In the late 1850s, Trempealeau became a destination for Polish Prussian settlers from Upper Silesia seeking to escape German persecution and poverty in their homeland. They built churches, schools, and communities to develop what became the nation's second-largest Polish settlement. Their settlements were especially focused around Independence, Arcadia, Whitehall, and Pine Creek. Trempealeau has a large population of Silesian Polish descent to this day.

The county again became an immigrant destination in the first decades of the 21st century, gaining a significant [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino]] population.<ref name="Emerson">{{cite news |last1=Emerson |first1=Julian |title=As Latino Populations Grow, State Also Seeing More Small Businesses |url=https://upnorthnewswi.com/2021/10/19/as-latino-populations-increase-communities-are-also-seeing-a-growth-in-latino-owned-businesses/ |access-date=July 5, 2022 |work=Up North News |date=October 20, 2021}}</ref>