Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress

In the early 1830s, U.S. officials forced the Menomonee and Potawatomi Indians to give up their lands in present-day Milwaukee County. Men from England and the eastern United States purchased large tracts of land along Lake Michigan from the government. Settlers like John Fowle, George Cobb, and Luther Rawson brought families to southeastern Wisconsin and helped establish the town of Oak Creek. For more than 100 years, Oak Creek retained its township status and rural character. But in 1955, Milwaukee city leaders attempted to annex Oak Creek’s land and collect income tax revenue from a recently completed power plant. The small town won a legendary incorporation battle with their powerful northern neighbor, setting a precedent that also saved Franklin and Greenfield from being absorbed by Milwaukee.