Relocation Guide 2019-2020

OUR HISTORY (SHORT VERSION) Native Americans were the first to realize the beauty of Milwaukee’s location at the mouths of the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers. They called it “ Milwaukie ,” which means “where the waters meet.” Its natural harbor and lightly wooded bluffs made it a perfect location. By 1817, Milwaukee was already a cosmopolitan village with an estimated 300 people representing a variety of tribes, including the Sac , Fox , Chippewa , Ottawa , Winnebago , Menomonee and Potawatomi . They speared fish in the three rivers and grew wild rice in the grassy swamps where Milwaukee’s downtown now stands. One of the first known Europeans to visit the area was Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Marquette , who camped here in 1674. He was soon followed by fur trappers drawn to the area by its wealth of natural resources. Indians and fur trappers kept a cautious distance from each other, but from time to time Native Americans helped fight white men’s wars, most notably the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Germans were among the city’s first immigrants, and they soon dominated the city. By 1850, one-third of the city’s population was German and by the early 1900s, the city was referred to as the “ German Athens of America .” The city’s South Side Polish population was the second largest ethnic group. Milwaukee’s first African-American church dates back to 1869, but the city’s African-American community did not start growing rapidly until after World War I. The first Hispanics arrived in the early 1920s, when local tanneries recruited men from Mexican villages. Milwaukee’s economy grew rapidly between 1940 and 1980, and its metropolitan population increased 59 percent, to 1.4 million people. At the beginning of the 1980s, Milwaukee was one of the leading manufacturing cities in the country. Allis-Chalmers, M I L W A U K E E L I V I N G The Third Ward and Milwaukee River in the early 1900s. The top-performing Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team is making the most of their first season in their new $524 million sports arena in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. It’s the cornerstone of a thriving entertainment district that extends to Old World Third Street, Water Street and beyond. An outdoor entertainment area provides year-round activities with gathering spaces, a big screen and plaza for outdoor concerts and other events. The arena and entertainment area are among the many projects fueling Milwaukee’s ongoing downtown renaissance. Fiserv Forum Fueling Downtown Renaissance Continued on Page 18 @discoverMKE.com / discovermilwaukee.com 17