Description
Formerly part of the The town of Wauwatosa and the The town of Greenfield, West Milwaukee become a village in 1906. The influx of industry (Pauling and Harnischfeger situated here in 1904), transportation (new roads, railroads, and streetcars to service the world), the swelling of the population to 909, and strong leaders fueled the village’s urge for independence. What used to be once an area “west” of the City of Milwaukee has turn out to be West Milwaukee, the middle (or heart of) Milwaukee County. Large farms, estates, summer homes, and gravel pits have turn out to be homes, shops, and industries which happily coexist. Ethnicity, once almost purely European, now features a more worldly cross element of African Americans, Hispanic, and Asian peoples. Many who have moved still have fond memories of growing up in West Milwaukee.