b'MB-906 2020-21 Relo - Single Page_MB-706.qxd2/16/20209:17 PMPage 18oURHIstoRY(sHoRt VeRsIon)THEN & NOWCity of MilwaukeeN ative Americans were the first to realize the percent, to 1.4 million people.VISIT Milwaukeethe early 1920s, when local tanneries recruited men frombeauty of Milwaukees location at the mouths of Mexican villages. Milwaukees economy grew rapidly betweenthe Kinnickinnic, Menomonee and Milwaukee 1940 and 1980, and its metropolitan population increased 59rivers. They called it Milwaukie, whichmeans where the waters meet. Its natural At the beginning of the 1980s, Milwaukee was one of theharbor and lightly wooded bluffs made it a leading manufacturing cities in the country. Allis-Chalmers,perfect location. By 1817, Milwaukee was already a Harnischfeger, Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, A.O.cosmopolitan village with an estimated 300 people Smith, Allen-Bradley and Bucyrus-Erie had made the cityrepresenting a variety of tribes, including the famous. The local economys dependence onSac, Fox, Chippewa, Ottawa, Winnebago, manufacturing jobs left it vulnerable to theMenomonee and Potawatomi. They speared manufacturing recession of the late 1970s andfish in the three rivers and grew wild rice in the early 1980s, when tens of thousands of peoplegrassy swamps where Milwaukees downtown lost their jobs as factories closed or moved theirnow stands.operations out of the state.Since then, MilwaukeeOne of the first known Europeans to visit the has rebuilt its economy, this time with aarea was Jesuit missionary Father Jacques diversified base and an increased emphasis onMarquette, who camped here in 1674. He was exports. It has also become a leader in thesoon followed by fur trappers drawn to the area development of e-commerce and greenby its wealth of natural resources. Indians and technologies. This shift to service-basedfur trappers kept a cautious distance from each industries has offered some protection againstother, but from time to time Native Americans severe swings in manufacturing cycles. helped fight white mens wars, most notably theRevolutionary War and the War of 1812. City of Milwaukee The areas annual unemployment rate hasGermans were among the citys first typically outperformed the national average for 20Milwaukee City Hall years. For more information about our next-immigrants, and they soon dominated the city. The most symbolic building in generation economy, please see CareerBy 1850, one-third of the citys population was the downtown landscape, City Opportunities, which starts on page 30, or contactGerman and by the early 1900s, the city was Hall is one of only a handful of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association ofreferred to as the German Athens of buildings in the world that is Commerce (mmac.org) and request a copy ofAmerica. The citys South Side Polish designed in the Flemish the latestNavigate Business MKEpopulation was the second-largest ethnic group. Renaissance style. Completed . If yourein 1895, its huge granite looking for more detailed information about theMilwaukees first African-American church dates arches support the 350-foot regions colorful history, visitback to 1869, but the citys African-American bell tower. Inside the ornately themakingofmilwaukee.com, which featurescommunity did not start growing rapidly until sculpted exterior is an eight- video history segments assembled by notedafter World War I. The first Hispanics arrived in story indoor atrium. historian John Gurda. 18 YOUR RELOCATION RESOURCE'