Exactly 175 years ago, Wauwatosa became a town

Exactly 175 years ago, on April 30, 1840, settlers in Wauwatosa broke off from Milwaukee and formed their own town, according to the "Memoirs of Milwaukee County," although the date has gone largely unrecognized by local historians.

There are few mentions of this date in history books, which tend to brush by it and note that the first record of any town meeting was of a meeting on April 5, 1842.

The city does not generally celebrate the anniversary of the date, preferring to commemorate the year 1835 to mark the arrival of many of the first white settlers, including Charles Hart.

Merisa Tomczak, a research librarian at the Wauwatosa Historical Society, said Hart's arrival is significant because he established the city's first mills, which catalyzed economic development in the area. He also went on to chair the first town board.

"Wauwatosa was one of many areas in Milwaukee County that established township around 1840," Tomczak said. "It is an important date, but not unique to Wauwatosa. The city has historically chosen to celebrate 1835 as the establishment of Wauwatosa because of that year's significance to Wauwatosa specifically."

Wauwatosa's early history

1833

Many of the Potawatomi people living in the area of Wauwatosa began to leave after 1833, when the United States took ownership of their land in southeastern Wisconsin in a treaty passed in Chicago. They were told to leave Wisconsin by 1838. Some moved west, and others settled in Forest County, Wisconsin.

1835

Charles Hart, credited by the Wauwatosa Historical Society as the city's founder, arrived in Wauwatosa in 1835, building a log house on what is now the southwest corner of Harwood and Wauwatosa avenues, according to the historical society. He then built a sawmill, gristmill and millpond.

A writer with the Works Progress Administration in 1942 described Hart in the "Inventory of the city archives of Wisconsin": "It was Hart who, through his mills, attracted settlers, and, incidentally, gave the settlement its first name, 'Harts Mills'; it was Hart's generous grants of various plots of ground — the Wauwatosa Cemetery and the Oliver Root Common — that proved a boon to the people of the community; it was Hart, who as first chairman of the Board of Supervisors, guided the affairs of the village."

According to the inventory, 18 settlers arrived in Wauwatosa in 1835, and another 25 in 1836, when Wisconsin became a territory. At that time, in addition to Hart's mills, the settlement had a wagon shop, blacksmith shop, and two taverns.

1837

According to Memoirs of Milwaukee County, an act by the Wisconsin territorial legislative assembly in 1837 first allowed for the division of Milwaukee County into towns "for the purpose of local government." The southern part became the town of Lake, while the northern part (including what became Wauwatosa) was the town of Milwaukee.

1840

Towns began breaking off within Milwaukee and Lake shortly after that. In 1839, the town of Kinnickinnic (later Franklin and Greenfield) was created, and in 1840, the towns of Wauwatosa, Oak Creek and Granville (later Brown Deer and part of the city of Milwaukee) followed, according to a report by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

The town of Wauwatosa's borders stretched from 27th Street to Waukesha County; from Greenfield Avenue to Hampton Road, according to the "Inventory of the city archives of Wisconsin."

Several names were proposed for the town, including Rushville as a nod to the New York origin of some settlers, and Bridgeport, according to the inventory. The origin of the name of Wauwatosa has several explanations. Some say it was a Potowatomi name for a person; others say it was a term for firefly. It may have been both.

1842

The first town meeting with any record was April 5, 1842, at Samuel Putnay's Inn, where residents decided to raise $25 for contingent expenses and hold elections by ballot, according to "Memoirs of Milwaukee County." Charles Hart became the chairman. They also elected a clerk, treasurer, assessors, commissioners of highways, commissioners of schools, constables and a collector.

Wauwatosa became a village in 1892 and a city in 1897.