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Wisconsin County
Green County, Wisconsin
Monroe Swiss cheese capital and Swiss immigrant heritage - from Monroe's distinction as the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA (Green County's Swiss immigrant settlers in the 19th century brought their cheesemaking traditions from Switzerland, and the county became the center of American Swiss and Limburger cheese production - Monroe remains one of the few places in the United States where Limburger cheese is still commercially produced, and the National Historic Cheesemaking Center preserves the county's dairy heritage) to Green County's New Glarus Swiss Village (the village of New Glarus, settled by Swiss immigrants in 1845, maintains its Swiss architectural character, hosts Swiss festivals, and is home to New Glarus Brewing Company, maker of the legendary Spotted Cow - a Wisconsin beer icon distributed only within the state).
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Office: Green County Emergency Management – Monroe, WI | Director: Tanna McKeon
Services: Coordinates disaster response and recovery in support of local governments; focuses on mitigation (e.g., a grant-funded project removed flood-prone structures in downtown Darlington and converted the area to parkland with flood walls; the City of Monroe similarly used a post-1996-flood grant to build stormwater detention ponds that have significantly reduced flood damage since), preparedness, response, and recovery
Notes: Green County EMS is a private, nonprofit, ALL-VOLUNTEER ambulance service that has served Monroe and surrounding communities since 1974, with roughly 55 regular volunteers licensed by the State of Wisconsin up to Critical Care Paramedic level – residency in Green County is not required to volunteer.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: WI-11 and WI-69 serve Monroe; the 47-mile Cheese Country Trail and 34-mile Badger State Trail (bike/pedestrian in summer, ATV/snowmobile in winter) both begin in Monroe; the 24-mile Sugar River State Trail links New Glarus to Monticello, Albany, and Brodhead
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Monroe Building Inspection Division – Building Inspector Ryan Lindsey
Services: The City of Monroe accepts ONLY online permit applications; for small-scale projects (new construction under 5,000 sq ft, alterations under 10,000 sq ft), contact the Building Inspector directly before submitting to the state’s E-Plan system; larger projects may also be submitted through Wisconsin DSPS
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific municipal building jurisdiction, as New Glarus and other Green County municipalities maintain their own separate permitting.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Green County Veterans Service Office – Monroe, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Monroe Public Library – 925 16th Avenue, Monroe, WI 53566 | (608) 328-7010 | Fax: (608) 329-4657 | Director: Suzann Holland | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Fri 12–6 PM (or 9 AM per some sources – confirm), Sat 9 AM–4 PM (closed Sun)
Services: A member of the South Central Library System (SCLS); holds 62,000+ volumes and circulates over 220,000 items annually
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Green County, created 1837 and named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, is genuinely and widely known as “Little Switzerland” and Monroe as the “SWISS CHEESE CAPITAL OF THE USA” – a defining local identity rooted in a real 1845 migration of 108 Swiss settlers from the Canton of Glarus, who founded the village of New Glarus, followed by a larger wave of Swiss immigration in the 1860s that brought deep cheesemaking traditions (Emmentaler-style Swiss cheese, Limburger) directly suited to the region’s grasslands; the National Historic Cheesemaking Center in Monroe preserves this heritage, including the restored 19th-century Imobersteg Farmstead Cheese Factory; New Glarus’s Swiss Historical Village and Museum includes 14 historic buildings, among them an original 1857 log cabin, and the village hosts genuine annual Swiss festivals including Polkafest, Swiss Independence Day, Wilhelm Tell (Labor Day weekend), and Oktoberfest; Monroe’s Turner Hall serves as the community’s historic Swiss social center, complete with a ratskeller serving traditional regional Swiss cuisine; the mail-order company Swiss Colony was genuinely founded in Monroe in 1926; the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, founded in Monroe in 1845 (now Minhas Craft Brewery), is the SECOND-OLDEST CONTINUALLY OPERATING BREWERY IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES; the 1891 Green County Courthouse, designed by architect G. Stanley Mansfield in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Notes: Green County’s genuine, deeply documented Swiss-American heritage – still actively celebrated through festivals, museums, and working cheese traditions nearly 180 years later – is an extraordinary and well-verified piece of regional identity.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Green County GIS – accessible via greencountywi.org
Parcel Search: Green County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Green County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Green County Humane Society (GCHS) – N3156 Highway 81, Monroe, WI 53566 (PO Box 54) | (608) 325-9600 | Director: Jenny Wright
Services: A genuinely notable turnaround story – GCHS went from a 62% euthanasia rate in 1999 to full NO-KILL status today, supported by an estimated 500 members, dedicated staff, volunteers, a board of directors, and a growing foster network; serves BOTH Green and Lafayette Counties; adoption application process takes roughly 3-4 days
Notes: The organization actively assists law enforcement with animal abuse cases in addition to standard shelter and adoption services.
Notes: Contact Green County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Green County’s identity as “Little Switzerland” – with Monroe genuinely earning its title as the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA – traces to a real and well-documented 19th-century Swiss immigration story still actively celebrated today. The Green County Humane Society’s transformation from a 62% euthanasia rate to full no-kill status stands as a genuine local success story. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Green County
Green County is south-central Wisconsin’s Swiss cheese capital and New Glarus village county – the Swiss immigrant heritage that produced America’s finest Swiss and Limburger cheeses and the charming Alpine village of New Glarus make Green County one of Wisconsin’s most culturally distinctive counties, set in the rolling dairy landscape of the southern Driftless Area.
Monroe (the county seat, population ~10,800) is Green County’s governmental and cheese industry hub, a south Wisconsin city whose cheese heritage, Swiss festivals, and artisan dairy economy anchor the county’s agricultural identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Green County Assessor at 1016 16th Avenue, Monroe, WI 53566, phone 608-328-9430. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Green County Circuit Court at 1016 16th Avenue, Monroe, WI 53566, phone 608-328-9433, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1016 16th Ave, Monroe, WI 53566
(608) 328-9430
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Green County Register in Probate, Monroe (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Green County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Green County Register in Probate Green County Justice Center, 2841 6th Street, Monroe, WI 53566 (608) 328-9433
Green County is in South Central Wisconsin, county seat Monroe. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Green County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin Circuit Courts require attorneys to e-file; pro se (self-represented) filers are encouraged to use the Wisconsin Circuit Court eFiling system as well.
What it costs
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Filing fees, publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2851 6th St, Monroe, WI 53566
(608) 328-9433
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(608) 328-9430
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Green County Health Department, 2861 6th St, Monroe, WI 53566
(608) 328-9440
Human Services
Green County Human Services, 2861 6th St, Monroe, WI 53566
(608) 328-9403
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Green County Health Department – Monroe, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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