St. Martin's (also St. Martins or Saint Martins) is a former

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 ...

in 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 ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, 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.

History

It was settled during the 1830s and 1840s, and became more developed after the arrival of Father Martin Kundig in 1847. He established Holy Assumption

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and was a key force in

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ting the settlement in 1850. Because some

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrants had trouble understanding the English-speaking Irish worshipers, construction of another Catholic church was requested. A portion of the land deeded to Holy Assumption Church in St. Martin's was donated for construction of Sacred Hearts Catholic Church to accommodate the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

-speaking congregants in 1858. A five-story

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

for grinding grain was moved from

Kenosha County Kenosha County () is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,151, and was estimated to be 168,754 in 2024, making it the eighth-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its co ...

to St. Martins in 1868 and served farmers until it was torn down in 1934. In Turner, Turner and Reinsch's 1898 ''Hand Book of Wisconsin: Its History and Geography ... and Resources, Industries, and Commerce'', it is listed as having a population of 146, and is described as follows:

It has a feed mill, four general stores, a shoe shop, a blacksmiths shops, and a daily mail.

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 ...

interurban railway The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

had a "St. Martin's Junction" stop from 1904 to 1939. The

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

fair formerly held in Hales Corners was moved to St. Martin's in 1958, and is now known as the St. Martin's Fair."Franklin Through the Ages" Franklin Historical Society
/ref>

References

{{Coord, 42, 54, 08, N, 88, 03, 23, W, type:city_region:US-WI_soource:GNIS, display=title Populated places in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Former populated places in Wisconsin