Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Co. Lithograph
c. 1859-1860
The Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company was originally named the Milwaukee & Waukesha Railroad Co., which was founded in 1847, as part of an attempt to link Milwaukee’s railroads to the Mississippi River. It was the first railroad to connect passenger lines from Milwaukee to Waukesha, with the first running on February 25, 1851. Due to the Panic of 1857, it was placed in receivership and purchased by the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railroad Co. in 1861.
This lithograph was issued by the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Co. between 1859-1860 to commemorate the rebuilding of one of its locomotives, Milwaukee.
Created by local lithographer Henry Seifert, the lithograph pays tribute to the M & M Co.’s master mechanic, Cehpas Manning.
Only two copies of this print are known to exist. Another is located in the collections of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Sacramento, CA. The Historical Society’s print was originally part of the Old Settler’s Club collection, but was transferred to MCHS when the organization dissolved in the middle of the 20th century.
Thank you to Kenneth and Priscilla Kuehn for adopting this artifact! This support enhances our Collections Department’s artifact preservation program. Learn more about our Adopt An Artifact program.
