Knellsville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the Town of Port Washington, Ozaukee County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. Located in the

Milwaukee Metropolitan Area The Milwaukee metropolitan area (also known as Metro Milwaukee or Greater Milwaukee) is a major metropolitan area located in Southeastern Wisconsin, consisting of the city of Milwaukee and some of the surrounding area. There are several defini ...

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 Highw ...

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 the eastern part of the state. It runs from the Illinois border (at Illinois Route 137) north to the ...

, 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 the 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) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

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, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

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 is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

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