Milwaukee in 1848
1848
This painting shown Milwaukee from the view of a hill. In 1848 Milwaukee was still very much a pioneer city. It was a link from the forests and goods in the interior midwest to Lake Michigan. The population was about to grow through a boom however.
The 1840’s saw significant growth in Milwaukee, however 1848 is an especially significant year. In Germany and Austria there was a revolution that began in that year. There were many that fled Europe and found their way to American, many finally settling in Milwaukee. The city very quickly became known as the “German Athens of the West” because of all of the German artisans and craftsmen that settled there. In fact, by 1900 in Milwaukee there were seven German newspapers and only two that were in english.
