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1906 Map of Milwaukee

Name: 1906 Topographic Map of Milwaukee
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1918
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1918

About this map

Milwaukee River carving a path southward toward the city center defines the industrial and residential development of this Lake Michigan shoreline at the turn of the century. The map captures Milwaukee as a dense urban grid expanding rapidly into neighboring areas like Wauwatosa and West Allis. Along the coast, the topography reveals the distinctive curve of Whitefish Bay and the prominent landmark of North Point, while the interior is crisscrossed by an extensive rail network including the Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul RR and the Lake Shore Line.

Smaller settlements such as Thiensville and Mequon to the north sit as distinct pockets of development before the full sprawl of the metropolitan area took hold. The presence of the National Home in the southwest and industrial markers like Berthelet and Silver Spring provide a clear view of the diverse land use, from social institutions to early manufacturing hubs, that shaped the region’s growth during the late nineteenth-century surveying period.