Root Creek 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 ...

Sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

21-22 and 27-28 of the

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Greenfield in

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 ...

, on the

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 ...

- Janesville

plank road A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...

, at what is now roughly the intersection of that thoroughfare (now Forest Home Avenue) and 68th Street. The body of water after which it was named is nowadays referred to as the Root River.

History

The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

there was established August 19, 1847, near the eastern bank of Root Creek. When

Peter Lavies Peter Lavies or Lavis, Sr. (''c.'' 1790 – ''c.'' 1876) was a German-American farmer, tavernkeeper and sometime moneylender from Root Creek, Wisconsin. He was postmaster there, and served three one-year terms as a Democratic member of the Wisc ...

became postmaster in 1854, soon after the establishment of the Hales Corners post office just on the other side of the river, he moved it northeastward to a site adjacent to his tavern, at what is now the junction of South 76th Street, Forest Home Avenue, and Cold Spring Road. In 1846, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church was built named Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Johannes-Gemeinde zu Root Creek, Wis. (St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church of Root Creek, Wisconsin). By 1848 there were four churches, and the area became a nucleus for a few businesses catering to the nearby farming community, almost all

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 ...

and

Irish Americans Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

. The office of

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

was held from 1864 to 1867 by Hubert Lavies (later a state legislator), son of Peter Lavies. The post office itself moved with changes in postmaster, with the final location being at the intersection of what are now Howard and Forest Home Avenues, across the road from Honey Creek. In 1887 the population of the service area of the post office was estimated at 129. The post office was finally discontinued May 31, 1908. The Root Creek Farmers and Gardeners Exhibit, later to become simply known as the Root Creek Fair, started in fall of 1914, and continued on through 1939. The nearby District #10 public school would be known as "Root Creek School" from 1915 until 1943, when it was renamed MacArthur School after

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

. St. John Evangelical continued to use the name "Root Creek" for the nearby community through its centennial celebration and history book. By 1957, the area formerly known as Root Creek had been divided among five municipalities, and portions of the region once served by a single post office would be assigned to seven different zip codes. Only a handful of abandoned cemeteries such as Lavies Cemetery remain.Roesler, Robert. "Memories of Root Creek" ''Milwaukee History'' Vol 25, Nos. 3 & 4 (Fall-Winter 2002); pp. 66-67

References

{{authority control Ghost towns in Wisconsin Populated places in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin