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is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,956 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Delavan. Delavan is home to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and Andes Candies.
Between 1847 and 1894, Delavan was home to 26 circus companies. The Mabie Brothers U.S. Olympic Circus, then the largest in America, arrived in 1847, to become the first circus to quarter in the territory of Wisconsin. Its famous rogue elephant, "Romeo", stood 19½ feet high, and weighed 10,500 pounds. The original P.T. Barnum Circus was organized here in 1871 by William C. Coup and Dan Costello. Over 130 members of Delavan's nineteenth century circus colony are buried in Spring Grove and St. Andrew cemeteries.
On July 21, 1948, Delavan was the site of Wisconsin’s Circus Centennial as part of the state's celebration of 100 years of statehood. On May 2, 1966, Delavan was selected by the U.S. Post Office to issue on a first day cover basis, the five-cent American Circus commemorative postage stamp.
Delavan has seen extensive growth since the 2000 census, including the addition of a number of stores in a new strip mall area.