4250 N. Estabrook Parkway
Shorewood, WI 53211

The oldest surviving house in Milwaukee, the Benjamin Church House, also known as the Kilbourntown House, is lauded as one of the greatest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country. Originally located in the Kilbourntown settlement west of the Milwaukee River in what would become Milwaukee, the house was built in 1844 by carpenter Benjamin Church, a New York Yankee who migrated to the area. In 1938 the home was slated for destruction by the City of Milwaukee for tax delinquency. It was saved by a joint effort of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee County Parks, and the Colonial Dames of Wisconsin. It was moved to Estabrook Park and restored as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places and maintained by the Milwaukee County Historical Society and the Milwaukee County Parks as a historical house.

Free guided tours are available on Sundays from June – September from 10 am – 1pm.

Please contact Mary Jo Knapp at mjknapp@milwaukeehistory.net​​​​ if you have any questions.

Thank you to Sid Grinker Restoration for ongoing care and maintenance of the Benjamin Church House.

8881 West Grange Avenue
Greendale, Wisconsin 53129

Trimborn Farm is Milwaukee County’s only historical park. It boasts nine period buildings including one of the largest stone barns still standing in Wisconsin, a Cream City Brick farmhouse, a granary constructed using the old German method of nogging, four kilns used for over 50 years to extract lime from limestone, and a machine shed. Carefully restored and still standing in their original locations, these historic structures provide an authentic picture of life in southeastern Wisconsin at the time of the Civil War. The history of Trimborn Farm falls into four distinct periods:

• Lime Manufacturing (ca. 1847-1899)

• Dairy Farming (ca. 1900-1935)

• Federal Ownership (ca. 1935-1952)

• Historic Site (ca. 1980-Present)

Guided tours are available. Please contact Mary Jo Knapp at mjknapp@milwaukeehistory.net if you are interested.

West Grange Avenue and South 84th Street
Greendale, Wisconsin

David Curtin, his wife Ellen, and infant son Jeremiah were among a group of Irish immigrants who settled in the old Town of Greenfield in the mid-1830s. With help from a stone mason, David built the first stone house in the Old Town of Greenfield. It was sold to the Trimborn family in 1866 and remained occupied until the 1920s. The Milwaukee County Historical Society acquired the house in 1952 from the federal government, and it was selected as Milwaukee County’s Bicentennial Project in 1976. Funds raised by various community organizations helped restore the site in the late 1970s. It was officially dedicated on the 150th anniversary of Jeremiah’s birth, September 6, 1985.