North Milwaukee (originally Schwartzburg and later briefly Northern Junction) was a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in northern

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The original Schwartzburg was a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

centered on a large farm settled by one Christian Schwartzburg on land bought from

Byron Kilbourn Byron Kilbourn (September 8, 1801December 16, 1870) was an American surveyor, railroad executive, and politician who was an important figure in the founding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the 3rd and 8th mayor of Milwaukee. Biography Kilbour ...

, and was named after the settlement's most prominent citizen. In the 1850s Schwartzburg began to sell some of his land holding to others, and a

railroad depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such an ...

was established in the area. Expansion was fuelled by real estate developer and

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

magnate

Henry Clay Payne Henry Clay Payne (November 23, 1843 – October 4, 1904) was U.S. Postmaster General from 1902 until his death under President Theodore Roosevelt. He served as chairman of the Republican National Committee. Early life Payne was born on Nov ...

, and the village (now renamed North Milwaukee) was incorporated in 1897 and merged with the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

on January 1, 1929. The village (later to become a city) covered an area from Congress Street to Silver Spring Drive between 27th Street and Sherman Boulevard. The main street was Villard Avenue, but the village had the economic advantages of a

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

railroad crossing near 35th and Hampton, supplemented by a streetcar line which Payne (local manager of

The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company , also referred to as the Milwaukee Interurban Lines or TMER&L, is a defunct railroad that operated in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the largest electric railway and electric utility syst ...

) had run across two miles of vacant fields to the new community. The population was heavily

German Americans German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

, including a large population of Volga Deutsche in the neighborhood called "Red Town". The records of the village are in the Archives of the City of Milwaukee. The name "Old North Milwaukee" survives to some extent as a neighborhood name roughly coterminous with the village boundaries."Villard Avenue Library" Northwest Side Community Development Corporation website
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Notable people

* Fred C. Maertz, businessman and politician, ran a movie theater business in North Milwaukee in his later years * Arthur J. Miller, businessman and politician, served as a North Milwaukee alderman * Fred A. Mueller, farmer and local politician, born in North Milwaukee, served one term in the state legislature

References

1897 establishments in Wisconsin 1929 disestablishments in Wisconsin Former municipalities in the United States Former populated places in Wisconsin History of Milwaukee {{MilwaukeeCountyWI-geo-stub