<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> cityoflacrosse.org </Td> </Tr> <P> La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County . Lying alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border . </P> <P> The city's estimated population in 2014 was 52,440 . The city forms the core of and is the principal city in the La Crosse - Onalaska, WI - MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of La Crosse County and Houston County, Minnesota, with a combined population of 135,298 . La Crosse is home to the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College . A regional technology and medical hub, La Crosse has received high rankings from some magazines in health, well - being, quality of life, and education . </P> <P> The first Europeans to see the site of La Crosse were French fur traders who traveled the Mississippi River in the late 17th century . There is no written record of any visit to the site until 1805, when Lt. Zebulon Pike mounted an expedition up the Mississippi River for the United States . Pike recorded the location's name as "Prairie La Crosse ." The name originated from the game with sticks that resembled a bishop's crozier or la crosse in French, which was played by Native Americans there . </P>

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