Summary Information
Town of Lake Records 1842-1960
City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 15
- 2.4 cubic ft. (6 boxes)
- 29 volumes
- 3 oversize folders
Milwaukee Public Library (Map)
Records from the Town of Lake, Wisconsin, primarily
dealing with its consolidation and annexation to the City of Milwaukee. Contains
meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, maps, and litigation files.
To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-cmac0015 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Territorial Legislature created the Town of Lake in January 1838, from Towns Five
and Six, Ranges Twenty-One and Twenty-Two East. With the Town of Milwaukee to its
North, it formed one of the two original divisions of Milwaukee County. Comprised of
36 square miles, the Town of Lake bordered Lake Michigan on the East, Town of
Milwaukee to the North, Waukesha County to the West and the Milwaukee County line on
the South. In 1839, the establishment of the Town of Kinnickinnic (later Greenfield)
reduced the Town of Lake to 27 square miles. In 1840, the southern third of the Town
of Lake became the Towns of Oak Creek and Franklin. During the 1920’s, the City of
Milwaukee annexation reduced the area of the Town of Lake further. In 1951, the
remainder of the Town was consolidated into the City of Milwaukee.
Scope and Content Note
This contains the records of the Town of Lake. Town Agencies include the Assessor,
Town Attorney, Town Board, Town Clerk, Fire Department, Health Department, Board of
Recreation, Treasurer, and Waterworks; also includes the 1939 Building Code
Ordinance and the 1941 Civil Service Manual. Various bound volumes are included as
well, such as the Town Clerk’s Deferred Special Assessments, which lists the type of
improvements such as sidewalks, curbs and gutters, water mains, and roads. The
Treasurer’s Report contains reports, journal entries, Recreation Department payroll,
bank accounts, and a budget breakdown including disbursements for withholding tax,
general expenses, director’s salaries, insurance, youth canteen, women’s chorus,
square dancing, baseball, boys and girls gym, summer playground and movies, band and
boat building.
The Quarter Section Atlas is comprised of 4 volumes. Volume 7 is an undated quarter
section atlas. Volume 8 is a plat book prepared by Frank Halliday from the records
of The Milwaukee Abstract and Title Company, dated June 3, 1915. Volume 9 is the
official quarter sectional atlas of the Town of Lake drawn and compiled from the
records of Milwaukee County by Steinhagen & Steinhagen, Civil Engineers, 1931.
Volume 10 is a plat book of the Town of Lake prepared under the direction of C.M.
Sommers, County Treasurer. While this volume is not dated, Mr. Sommers served as
County Treasurer from 1933 to 1938. There is an index map located in the front of
each volume.
The Consolidation Files hold financial and administrative records on the
incorporation of St. Francis (1951) and the consolidation of the Town of Lake with
the City of Milwaukee (1954). The Litigation Files contain papers of lawsuits and
investigations related to rubbish disposal and junk yards (1920-1951); railroad
crossings (1939-1940, 1953); locomotives whistling (1939-1940); water and bus
service (1941, 1948-1949); and recovery of monies received by former Town Clerk,
W.J. Barbeau (1936). The collection also contains miscellaneous maps and
photographs.
Arrangement of the Materials
The collection is arranged into the following series: - Town Agencies,
1842-1960
- Consolidation
Files, 1948-1956
- Litigation Files,
1920-1953
Within each series, the files are arranged alphabetically, then chronologically
within each folder.
Preferred Citation
Town of Lake Records, 1842-1960, Collection 15. City of Milwaukee Archival
Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Related Material in the Milwaukee Public Library
Archival Collections
Publications and Other Items
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Consolidation of the Town of Lake
with the City of Milwaukee
Annual Report of the Town of Lake
Directory of Town of Lake
Town of Lake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin [map]
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all
in accordance with state law. The public may view City of Milwaukee Archival
Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person
appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please
contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection
(Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).
Milwaukee Public Library receives official materials from city departments via
the Milwaukee City Records Center, pursuant to state statutes and city
ordinances governing the permanent retention of city records.
The paper records were processed by Robert Carter, 1997. The bound volumes were
processed by Janet K. Geronime, 1996 and Gayle M. Ecklund, 2000. Revised by
Gayle M. Ecklund, 2001. In 2018, Bob Jaeger combined the previous Town of Lake
collections with CMAC 15. Materials added by Casey Lapworth, 2021.
Contents List
|
Series: 1. Town Agencies, 1842-1960
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Assessor, Town, statements of assessment, 1912-1917,
1947-1953
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2-8
|
Attorney, Town, correspondence,
1907-1954
|
|
|
Board, Town
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Agreements and Contracts,
1923-1954
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
Airport Improvements,
1940-1950
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
Budget Proposals, 1949-1955
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Correspondence, Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway
Company [interurban line],
1942-1953
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4-8
|
Proceedings, 1905-1953
|
|
Box
6
Folder
8
|
Canvassers, Town Board of, 1954,
undated
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
Civil Service Commission, civil service manual,
1941
|
|
|
Clerk, Town
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12
|
Annual Reports, 1908,
1953-1954
|
|
Volume
1
|
Special Assessments, deferred,
1948-1960
|
|
Volume
2
|
Special Assessments, deferred, includes St. Francis and
Cudahy, 1946-1960
|
|
Volume
3
|
Special Assessments, deferred,
1939-1953
|
|
Volume
4
|
Special Assessments, deferred,
1945-1960
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Special Assessments, deferred, loose items from volumes,
1945-1960
|
|
Oversize Folder
1
|
Tax Rolls, 1903-1917
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
Department of Buildings, building code ordinance,
1939
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
Easements, utility, 1939-1952
|
|
|
Fire Department
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
Complaint Against, 1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
Correspondence, 1940-1945
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
Fire Reports, 1928-1945
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
Reports and Miscellaneous,
1940-1945
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
Firemen’s Pension Fund, financial reports and bank book,
1951-1954
|
|
|
Health Department
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
Correspondence and Monthly Reports,
1938-1954
|
|
Volume
5-6
|
Minute and Record Book,
1890-1924
|
|
Box
3
Folder
8
|
Minute and Record Book, loose items from volumes,
1890-1924
|
|
Box
6
Folder
9
|
Licenses, 1953-1954
|
|
|
Maps
|
|
Oversize Folder
2
|
Chicago & North Western Railway Maps,
1939-1940
|
|
Oversize Folder
3
|
Zoning and other Miscellaenous Maps, 1912-1956,
undated
|
|
Box
6
Folder
10
|
Police and Fire Commission,
1939-1954
|
|
Volume
7-10
|
Quarter Section Atlas and Plat Book,
1915-1931
|
|
Box
3
Folder
9
|
Recreation, Board of, accounting records,
1953-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
10
|
Recreation, Board of, correspondence, minutes, and resolutions,
1946-1954
|
|
|
Supervisors, Board of
|
|
Volume
11
|
Minutes, partial index,
1902-1907
|
|
Volume
12
|
Minutes, April 1842-September
1873
|
|
Volume
13
|
Minutes, November 1873-April
1890
|
|
Volume
14
|
Minutes, May 1890-March 1903
|
|
Volume
15
|
Minutes, April 1903-April
1910
|
|
Volume
16
|
Minutes, April 1910-March 1913, October 1919-July
1925
|
|
Volume
17
|
Minutes, April 1913-January
1920
|
|
Volume
18
|
Minutes, July 1925-May 1931
|
|
Volume
19
|
Minutes, May 1931-September
1936
|
|
Volume
20
|
Minutes, September 1936-Feburary
1939
|
|
Volume
21
|
Minutes, February 1939-April
1941
|
|
Volume
22
|
Minutes, May 1941-June 1943
|
|
Volume
23
|
Minutes, June 1943-April
1946
|
|
Volume
24
|
Minutes, April 1946-October
1948
|
|
Volume
25
|
Minutes, October 1948-December
1949
|
|
Volume
26
|
Minutes, January-November
1950
|
|
Volume
27
|
Minutes, November 1950-April
1953
|
|
Volume
28
|
Minutes, April 1953-April
1954
|
|
|
Treasurer, Town
|
|
Volume
29
|
Account Book, 1949-1955
|
|
Box
3
Folder
11
|
Correspondence, Minutes, and Resolutions,
1946-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
12
|
Waterworks Utility, 1937-1954
|
|
|
Series: 2. Consolidation Files, 1948-1956
|
|
Box
3
Folder
13
|
City of St. Francis, 1951-1954
|
|
|
Civic Study Committee
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
Meeting Minutes, 1953-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
14
|
Reports, 1953-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
15
|
Civil Cases, 1952-1954
|
|
Box
3
Folder
16
|
Correspondence, 1953-1957
|
|
Box
3
Folder
17
|
Financial Statements, 1950-1954
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Highway Department, 1948-1954
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2
|
Indebtedness Statements, City of Milwaukee,
1950-1956
|
|
Box
4
Folder
3
|
Minutes, special meetings with City of Milwaukee,
1953-1954
|
|
Box
4
Folder
4
|
Municipal Bonds, 1948-1950
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Resolutions, 1953-1954
|
|
|
Special Coordinating Committe for Town of Lake
Consolidation
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2
|
Clippings, 1953, undated
|
|
Box
5
Folder
3-5
|
Correspondence, 1945-1957
|
|
Box
5
Folder
6
|
Employees, 1953-1955,
undated
|
|
Box
5
Folder
7
|
Finances/Reports, 1948-1955,
undated
|
|
Box
5
Folder
8
|
Maps, 1947-1951, undated
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
Meeting Minutes, 1954-1955
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Miscellaneous, 1954-1955,
undated
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
Notebook, 1952-1955
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
Ordinances / Resolutions, 1931-1954,
undated
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5
|
Schools / Recreation, 1954-1955,
undated
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6
|
Silverdale Petitions, 1947-1950,
undated
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Tax Assessments/Tax Commissioner,
1950-1954
|
|
Box
6
Folder
7
|
Town/Precinct Meeting Minutes, 1953,
undated
|
|
Box
4
Folder
7
|
Town Property, includes various photographs,
1954
|
|
|
Series: 3. Litigation Files, 1920-1953
|
|
Box
4
Folder
10
|
City of Cudahy, et. al. v. Town of
Lake, water service to Silverdale area,
1948-1949
|
|
Box
4
Folder
14
|
City of Milwaukee v. Charles P. Megan,
Trustee for the Property of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway
Company, closing existing grade crossing known as the St.
Francis Avenue crossing, includes photographs,
1939-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
9
|
Frank H. Calteux v. Chicago &
Northwestern Railway Co., locomotives whistling in the
vicinity of St. Francis Ave., 1939-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
11
|
Petitions Oppsing Annexation,
1950
|
|
Box
4
Folder
15
|
Photographs, intersection of Layton and Packard Avenues,
1937
|
|
Box
4
Folder
11
|
Rev. O.G. Krusing, et. al. v. The
Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Co., bus service
on S. Howell Ave., 1941
|
|
Box
4
Folder
8
|
Rubbish Disposal and Junk Yards,
1920-1951
|
|
Box
4
Folder
12
|
Town of Lake v. Chicago, Milwaukee, St.
Paul & Pacific Railroad Co., West Waterford Avenue
crossing protection, 1953
|
|
Box
6
Folder
12
|
Town of Lake v. City of Milwaukee,
1948-1951
|
|
Box
4
Folder
13
|
Town of Lake v. W. J. Barbeau,
recovery of monies received by Town Clerk,
1936
|
|
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