Knellsville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the Town of Port Washington,

Ozaukee County Ozaukee County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,503. Its county seat is Port Washington, making it one of three Wisconsin counties on Lake Michigan not to have a county seat with the same ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. Located on the north side of the intersection of

Interstate 43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/ I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highway ...

and

Wisconsin Highway 32 State Trunk Highway 32 (often called Highway 32, STH-32 or WIS 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that runs north–south in eastern Wisconsin. It runs from the Illinois border (at Illinois Route 137) north to the Michigan bord ...

, Knellsville borders the City of Port Washington's northern municipal limit. The Port Washington Town Hall is in Knellsville, but the City of Port Washington provides sewerage and water services for the community.

History

Knellsville is named for William Knell, who settled in the area in the early 1860s and developed the community as a stagecoach stop in the Green Bay Road. The community grew to support the farmers in the rural Town of Port Washington. In the 1870s,

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

became increasingly popular among Wisconsin's farmers, and when Port Washington's farms followed the trend the Pauly Cheese Factory opened in Knellsville in 1878 to process local milk. In the 20th century, Pauly's Cheese became a nationally distributed brand. Knellsville grew to serve the town's farmers with stores, restaurants, a feed mill, and a foundry. The Knellsville Canning Company opened in 1910 to process local crops, including spinach and beets. While dairy farming dominated the local economy in the 20th century, accounting for 80% percent of agriculture in the early 1940s, the Town of Port Washington was also one of several Ozaukee County communities to have prosperous fur farms in the 20th century. The 10-acre Johannes

Mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

Ranch north of Knellsville opened in 1926, and annually produced 6,000 mink pelts at its height. Knellsville declined after World War II. The Knellsville Canning Co. closed in 1955, and the Johannes Mink Ranch sold its last pelts in 1969. Additionally, as the City of Port Washington grew and suburbanized, annexing more land from the town, demand for access to the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

grew. Knellsville was close to the city outskirts, and in the mid-1960s, the southern part of Knellsville was demolished to construct

. In 2006, the Town of Port Washington developed a detailed plan to allow for increased development in Knellsville. The town designated for industrial facilities, for office buildings, and for commercial buildings. Due to this plan, Knellsville is unique among unincorporated communities in that the town in which it lies has given it a defined border.

Geography

Knellsville's western border lies along the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

railroad tracks, which run parallel to Sauk Creek. The eastern border is the

Ozaukee Interurban Trail The Ozaukee - Sheboygan Interurban Trail is a roughly long rail trail in Ozaukee, and Sheboygan Counties, in Wisconsin. The south end of the trail is in Milwaukee County but only runs 1 mile through the county. It uses the abandoned right-of- ...

, and the southern border is

. The northern border extends east-west along County Road KW. The City of Port Washington also refers to one of its neighborhoods as Knellsville; as of 2009, this part of the city was still undeveloped farm land.

References

* {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin