Milwaukee, Wisconsin history

Miller Brewing Company – in 1850 Milwaukee became synonymous with Germans and beer.

The city's modern history began in 1795 when fur trader Jacques Vieau (1757-1852) built a post along a bluff on the east side, overlooking the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers.

By 1856, there were more than two dozen breweries in Milwaukee, most of them German owned and operated.

There was a small labor movement in Milwaukee before 1865, but it wasn’t until the Knights of Labor union began heavily organizing in the area after the war that the labor movement really took off.

The largest steel mill in Wisconsin opened in 1868.

By 1880, the amount of grain passing through the Port of Milwaukee had greatly declined.

In May of 1886, striking workers in Milwaukee were fired on and killed by the state-sponsored local militia.

Then, on January 22, 1889, the Common Council authorized the sale of $1.25 million in bonds to finance the land acquisition and construction of a permanent city hall on Market Street, the site of the present building.

By 1890, Germans had developed their own society within Milwaukee, complete with German-language newspapers, schools, churches, singing societies, and political groups.

Solomon Juneau first chimed on New Year's Eve, 1896.

Since 1902, one of the most beloved minor league teams in the country had been the Milwaukee Brewers.

After the election of 1910, the Socialists — Mayor Emil Seidel and the Common Council — raised the minimum wage and made the eight-hour day standard for city workers.

The administration was praised for its compassion and efficiency, but Republicans and Democrats who were humiliated by their defeat, put all their effort into defeating the Socialists in 1912.

In 1916 the Socialists nominated Dan Hoan for mayor.

Hoan easily won re-election in 1918 and Victor Berger won the congressional election although he had come out against the war.

The city won some awards for public health during the 1930’s.

Locally, the 1932 elections brought in a Socialist majority to the Common Council for the only time during Hoan’s administration.

In May of 1936, 20 years after he took office, Mayor Dan Hoan appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

In 1940, Milwaukee elected the young Carl Zeidler as mayor.

By 1945, the black population had grown to 13,000.

Milwaukee County Stadium was built in 1950 as a replacement, but more importantly, to lure a big league team to the city.

Milwaukee has always been a city that loves baseball, but until 1953, the city did not have its own major league baseball team.

By 1960, life for the majority of Milwaukee’s African- American population was bleak.

When local codes and practices began to change in 1968, white residents moved out, leaving Milwaukee one of the most segregated cities in America today.

Interior restoration was begun in 1974.

The Brewers didn’t repeat the immediate success of the Braves but went to the World Series in 1982.

The Haggerty Museum of Art, featuring works of the masters and contemporary art, was opened in 1984.