Marquette County is composed of 19 communities, each heaving a population of 1,500 or less.  Montello, the only city, is the County Seat and has the county’s only stoplight at the intersection of State Highways 22 and 23.  Total population of the County is just over 15,000.  Montello is famous for its granite.  The quarry still located on Montello’s main street was being worked as early as 1879, producing some of the hardest and finest red granite in the world.  It has been used to build the state capitol in Madison, as well as President Grant’s and Robert E. Lee’s tombs.  Marquette County is named for Jacques Marquette, the Jesuit Priest and French explorer who traveled here via canoe in 1673, and much of the landscape remains unchanged.  Officially organized into a County in 1844, the natural environment inspired John Muir, the naturalist and “Father of our Nation Park System”.  His boyhood home, now John Muir County Park, located just South of Montello off of Hwy 22 is a national historic landmark. 
 
Quietly nestled in the gently rolling countryside of south-central Wisconsin, an hour north of Madison, Marquette County lies largely untouched by the footprints of man.  With almost two-thirds of the county’s 320,000 acres remaining primitive oak and pine forests, and vast grassy marshes, it is the perfect spot for those who seek nature’s unspoiled beauty.  Dotted by nearly seventy lakes, and crisscrossed by the Grand and Fox rivers and fifteen trout streams, Marquette County offers some of the finest fishing and water recreation in the Midwest.  For hunters we have over 7,000 acres set aside for public hunting.  Hiking, bird watching, biking, ATV riding, and snowmobiling are other favorite outdoor activities.  Agriculture is the major industry in Marquette County with the traditional dairy farms and cash crops; we have “muck Farms” as well, specializing in crops like carrots and mint.  Christmas tree plantations are also prevalent throughout the county.  Marquette County is also a favorite vacation spot with many resorts, motels, campgrounds, and bed-and-breakfast lodging along with a variety of dining options.