Wheat

Milwaukee's founding fathers had a vision for the city. They knew it was perfectly situated as a port city, a center for collecting and distributing produce. Many of the new immigrants who were pouring into the new state of Wisconsin during the middle of the 19th century were wheat farmers. By 1860, Wisconsin was the second ranked wheat-growing state in the country and Milwaukee shipped more wheat than any place in the world. Railroads were needed to transport all this grain from the wheat fields of Wisconsin to Milwaukee's harbor. Improvements in railways at the time made this possible.

There was intense competition for markets with Chicago, and to a lesser degree, with Racine and Kenosha . Eventually Chicago won out. Due to its superior position on major railroad lines connecting east and west, Chicago had the definite advantage over Milwaukee. The wheat market though, guaranteed Milwaukee's place as the commercial capital of Wisconsin.


Time Line

1674 to 1840
Native Milwaukeeans
The French
The Founders

1840 to 1865
The Bridge War
A City Joined
The Germans
BEER
Wheat

1865 to 1900
Growth
Steel & Iron
Workers vs. Owners
The Poles

1900 to 1920
Socialist Era Begins
Mayor Dan Hoan
WWI Anti-Germanism

1920 to 1950
Prohibition
The Depression
"Best Governed City in the U.S."
World War II

1950 to 2003
Growing Pains
Civil Rights
Urban Renewel
Braves & Brewers
 

CONTACT