Langlade County was created on March 3, 1879 as New County. It was renamed Langlade County, in honor of Charles de Langlade, on February 20, 1880, and fully organized on February 19, 1881. The county's original borders extended northward from the top of Shawano County up to the Michiganstate line. Between 1881 and 1885, the borders of Langlade County changed as nearby Lincoln and Shawano counties added or gave up area. Langlade lost its northernmost area along the Michigan border to Forest County when it was created in 1885.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The highest point in the county is at the foot of the Basswood Lookout Tower west of Summit Lake
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,740 people, 8,452 households, and 5,814 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile. There were 11,187 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 97.93% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.4% were of German, 8.6% Polish, 6.2% Irish and 5.8% American ancestry. There were 8,452 households out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couplesliving together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 26.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.60 males. In 2017, there were 196 births, giving a general fertility rate of 68.3 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 20th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were 6 reported induced abortions performed on women of Langlade County residence in 2017.
