Mr. B. F. Williams, of the firm of Williams and Stern, lawyers, of
Milwaukee, visited the Historical Library in January in search of
material concerning the building of the first courthouse in Milwaukee,
to be used in an injunction suit to prevent the removal of the
Milwaukee County Courthouse from its present site. A member of the
Library staff assisted him in his work, and found among the Society’s
manuscripts and pamphlets much material concerning the first days of
American occupation in Milwaukee. The village of Milwaukee (east side)
was organized in September, 1835, with Solomon Juneau as president;
the village of Kilbourntown (Milwaukee west side) was organized about
the same time with Byron Kilbourn as president. In January, 1838, the
two villages were united by an act of the Wisconsin territorial
legislature.
Morgan L. Martin, of Green Bay, was the real founder of Milwaukee. In
1833 he noted the advantages of the site for a harbor, and secured
from Lewis Cass, secretary of war, an order for its survey. Meantime
Martin made a proposition to Juneau, the only settler on the site, to
take an undivided half of his claim, Juneau promising not to sell any
of his share without Martin’s consent. Martin in this transaction
evinced both wisdom and generosity--generosity in giving Juneau a
chance to share the profits of the enterprise (for many men would have
bought his claim outright for a small sum); wisdom in binding Juneau
not to dispose of his share without advice. The result proved the
value of Martin’s foresight. In 1834 the preëmption act made Juneau’s
claim substantial. About this time Martin bought the preëmption right
of Peter Juneau, which lay south of Solomon’s claim. The Michigan
legislature, of which Martin was a member, erected Milwaukee County in
1834, and in 1835 organized the same, with the county seat at the
village of Milwaukee.
In the meanwhile during 1834 many Americans visited the site of the
future city and saw its possibilities for growth. Among these was
Byron Kilbourn who secured a claim to the west side of Milwaukee
River. Martin and Juneau, early in 1835, proposed to Kilbourn to unite
their interests. Kilbourn ignored this offer, and proceeded to develop
his town alone. Meanwhile both town sites were surveyed and their
plats put on record. Martin and Juneau began to develop their
property, by opening and grading streets. One block in the heart of
the town was set aside for the courthouse, and nearly $12,000 (a large
sum for that time) was spent in erecting a suitable building. The
ground around the new public building was given to the village in
perpetuity, for the use of the county courts.
A large number of letters from Juneau to Martin are in the possession
of the State Historical Society, and are interesting as revealing the
growth of the village, and the personality of its proprietors.
Although Martin and Juneau had transactions involving many thousands
of dollars, there never was any disagreement between them. Neither did
they have a written contract, each one relying upon the honor of the
other. And when hard times fell upon the little settlement in 1837 and
later, each partner bore his share of misfortune cheerfully and
without a word of accusation or disagreement. Even after the union of
Milwaukee village and Kilbourntown in 1838, a considerable rivalry was
maintained between the two parts of the town, which in some measure
has persisted to the present day.