Waukesha, Wisconsin

Waukesha (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. Located along the Fox River adjacent to the Village of Waukesha, it is the eighth-most populous city in Wisconsin. Waukesha is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Etymology

"Waukesha" is thought to be an Anglicization of the Ojibwe word Template:Lang, the plural of fox (Template:Lang), or the Potawatomi name Template:Lang. Template:Lang (sometimes written as Template:Lang<ref name="WisArch">Wisconsin Archeological Society, The Wisconsin Archeologist, 1922, p. 71.</ref> or Wauke-tsha) was the leader of the local tribe at the time of the first European settlement of the area. This is confirmed by accounts of Increase A. Lapham, an early settler and historian of the region.<ref>Langill, Ellen D. & Jean Penn Loerke, From Farmlands to Freeways: A History of Waukesha County Wisconsin, Waukesha County Historical Society, 1984.</ref> According to Lapham, the Algonquian word for "fox" was Template:Lang.<ref>A geographical and topographical description of Wisconsin..., p. 136.</ref> Cutler also told visitors about Wau-tsha, who was described as "tall and athletic, proud in his bearing, dignified and friendly."<ref name="WisArch"/>

History

Bird's eye view of Waukesha, 1880

Courthouse Complex

Founding and early history

The Waukesha area was first settled by European-Americans in 1834, with Morris D. Cutler as its first settler.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The founders of Waukesha were settlers from New England, part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s. Most arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal as well as the end of the Black Hawk War. When the first settlers arrived, there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. The settlers laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes.<ref>The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources. 1880 pp. 173, 232, 233.</ref> They brought many of their Yankee values, such as a passion for education, establishing many schools as well as staunch support for abolitionism. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church though some were Episcopalian. Due to the second Great Awakening some had converted to Methodism and others had become Baptists before moving to Waukesha County.<ref>The Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England by Stewart Hall Holbrook. University of Washington Press, 1968 pg.4</ref> Like much of Wisconsin, Waukesha would be culturally very continuous with New England culture for most of its early history.<ref>The Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England by Stewart Hall Holbrook. University of Washington Press, 1968 pg.112</ref><ref>The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages—their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States Western Historical Company, 1880 pages 173, 232, 233</ref><ref>The Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England by Stewart Hall Holbrook. University of Washington Press, 1968 pg.109</ref>

By 1846, the area was incorporated as the town of Prairie Village (soon changed to Prairieville).<ref name="slahs-land">Template:Cite web</ref> On February 8, 1847, the town changed its name to "Waukesha".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On January 10, 1852, the settled area once known as Prairieville was separated from the town of Waukesha and incorporated as a village; it incorporated as a city in 1896.<ref name="slahs-land"/> The first appointed mayor of the newly incorporated city of Waukesha was John Brehm,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who served from January to April 1896.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Welsh immigrants settling in Waukesha as early as the 1840s, and large numbers arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when they were one of the largest ethnic groups in Waukesha.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Wisconsin Land and Life edited by Robert Clifford Ostergren, Thomas R. Vale, pg. 282</ref><ref>Welsh in Wisconsin By Phillips G. Davies pg. 9</ref> In the late 1800s a large number of Belgian families arrived in Waukesha as well.<ref>The Wisconsin Frontier By Mark Wyman pg. 196, 314</ref> Around the same time there was also relatively large amounts of Serbian immigrants settling in Waukesha, many more of which arrived after the Yugoslav Wars much later in the 1990s.<ref>The Atlas of Ethnic Diversity in Wisconsin by Kazimierz J. Zaniewski, Carol J. Rosen pg. 93</ref>

Natural springs

Matthew Laflin, an early pioneer of Chicago, Illinois, provided the capital and enterprise that laid the foundation for Waukesha as a famous Wisconsin watering resort and was the proprietor of the grand resort, the Fountain Spring House. Waukesha was once known for its extremely clean and good-tasting spring water and was called a "spa town." This earned the city the nicknames "Spring City" and "Saratoga of the West."<ref>"Waukesha Spa" Milwaukee Journal. August 8, 1969.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

According to author Kristine Adams Wendt, in 1868, Colonel Richard Dunbar, a sufferer of diabetes, chanced upon the medicinal properties of what he later named the Bethesda Spring while viewing a parcel of land recently purchased by his sister. Testimonials found in a Dunbar brochure of 1873 proclaimed the miraculous benefits.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wendt reports that by 1872, "area newspapers carried accounts of a community ill equipped to handle its new popularity among the suffering multitudes. The semi-weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee) of July 31, 1872, reported 'that fully 500 visitors are quartered in hotels and scattered in private families here, seeking benefit from the marvelous waters…'"

The "healing waters" were so valued that a controversial attempt was made to build a pipeline between the city and Chicago so that they could be enjoyed by visitors to the 1893 Columbian Exposition.<ref>Larson, Eric, The Devil in the White City, p.139,175–76</ref> According to Time magazine, "[t]he scheme had been conceived by one Charles Welsh who had been given the springs by his uncle, but after several miles of pipe were laid, it was discovered that the cost was too great."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Richard Warren Sears, founder of Sears and Roebuck, may have been attracted to Waukesha by the waters. In failing health, Sears retired from business in 1908 and, according to The New York Times, "spent his time on his great farm near Waukesha." In 1914, Sears died in Waukesha of Bright's disease, leaving an estate estimated at $20 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Over the years, the natural springs have been spoiled by pollution and a number have gone dry. Water drawn from an aquifer reached radium levels exceeding federal standards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

20th century to present

One of the most important "firsts" in American sports history occurred in Waukesha on September 5, 1906, when Carroll College (now Carroll University) hosted the football team from St. Louis University. SLU halfback Bradbury Robinson threw the first legal forward pass in football history in that game. The Carroll players and local fans were stunned. The visitors went on to win 22–0.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the Cold War, Waukesha County was the site of three Nike Missile batteries, located in the city of Waukesha and nearby Muskego and Lannon. In the city of Waukesha, the U.S. Army and later the Wisconsin National Guard operated the command and control center from 1956 to 1970 at what is now Hillcrest Park, on Davidson Road. The missile pits existed near the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Hwy 164—first holding Ajax missiles with conventional warheads and later the nuclear equipped Hercules warhead. The Hercules provided a similar nuclear capability as that of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in World War II. The Midwest Chapter of the Cold War Museum has promoted the preservation of the Hillcrest Park site as a local Cold War museum, honoring Cold War veterans and commemorating America's longest and costliest conflict.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2013, Waukesha applied for permission to withdraw water from Lake Michigan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Because Waukesha is outside the lake's basin, the 2008 Great Lakes Compact makes the city ineligible to withdraw water from the lake without approval from the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2016, the governors approved Waukesha's application.<ref>Don Behm. "Great Lakes governors approve Waukesha water request". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 21, 2016.</ref> Construction of the supply and return pipelines for the Waukesha water diversion from Lake Michigan was completed in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Typical water bills in the City are projected to increase by approximately 50% between 2023 and 2027,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to fund the supply and return pipelines.

On May 31, 2014, two 12-year-old Waukesha girls lured their friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times. They did this to appease a fictional online character known as Slender Man.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The victim survived the attack after being found by a cyclist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two perpetrators were found not guilty by mental disease or defect, and were sentenced to long periods in mental health institutions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On November 21, 2021, the driver of a red SUV by the name of Darrell E. Brooks Jr drove through the Waukesha Christmas Parade during its procession through downtown Waukesha late that afternoon, killing six people and injuring 62 others. He was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 763 years and 3 months to be served consecutively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Fox River

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-5584250">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 71,158. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 31,280 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. Ethnically, the population was 14.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race. When grouping both Hispanic and non-Hispanic people together by race, the city was 78.6% White, 3.5% Black or African American, 3.4% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.4% from other races, and 9.6% from two or more races.

The 2020 census population of the city included 351 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities and 793 people in student housing.<ref name="2020-P5-5584250">Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020, the median income for a household in the city was $65,688, and the median income for a family was $84,972. Male full-time workers had a median income of $59,800 versus $43,168 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $34,785. About 7.5% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="2020-EconChar-5584250">Template:Cite web</ref> Of the population age 25 and over, 92.3% were high school graduates or higher and 38.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name="2020-SocChar-5584250">Template:Cite web</ref>

2010 census

As of the census<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2010, there were 70,718 people, 28,295 households, and 17,506 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 29,843 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 88.1% White, 2.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 3.5% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.1% of the population.

There were 28,295 households, of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.1% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.02.

The median age in the city was 34.2 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 10.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 64,825 people, 25,663 households, and 16,296 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 26,856 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 91.22% White, 1.28% African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.17% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.31% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.58% of the population.

There were 25,663 households, out of which 32.5% of households had children under age 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. Twenty-nine percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 people and the average family size was 3.04 people.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,084, and the median income for a family was $60,841. Males had a median income of $40,743 versus $29,279 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,242. About 3.0% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Waukesha Memorial Hospital

According to Waukesha's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	GE Healthcare	2,477
2	Waukesha Memorial Hospital	2,149
3	Waukesha School District	1,800
4	Waukesha County	1,354
5	Cooper Power Systems	1,006
6	Generac Power Systems	759
7	Carroll University	742
8	HUSCO International	685
9	Waukesha Electric Systems	631
10	City of Waukesha	487

Education

Waukesha School District administration building

The public Waukesha School District serves the city for primary and secondary education. The district serves over 11,000 students and administers three high schools (Waukesha North High School, Waukesha South High School and Waukesha West High School), four middle schools, 12 elementary schools, and five charter schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Private schools include the Waukesha Catholic School System, Catholic Memorial High School, Mt. Calvary Lutheran School (Pre-K–8)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Trinity Lutheran School (Pre-K–8) of the WELS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In higher education, Waukesha is home to Carroll University, a private Presbyterian university which opened in 1846 and is the oldest college in the state.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Waukesha County Technical College has a campus located in the downtown area. The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee at Waukesha operated from 1966 to 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

One of the two New Tribes Bible Institute campuses within the United States is located on a large hill in central Waukesha. Operated by New Tribes Mission, the school doubles as the first part of a four-year missionary training program, which includes field training in the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Infrastructure

Waukesha station

Transportation

Waukesha Metro Transit provides fixed-route and dial-a-ride transit services within the city. Intercity bus services are provided by Badger Bus, Flixbus, Lamers Bus Lines, and Wisconsin Coach Lines. The Union Pacific (Chicago & North Western) Waukesha Subdivision terminates at WI 164. The line previously extended to Lancaster on the southwest corner of Wisconsin. The former Milwaukee Road line between Milwaukee and Milton still runs through Waukesha. The Soo Line’s Chicago to Portal main line had a division point at Waukesha.

Water

In 2023, the city switched from groundwater with unsafe levels of radium to water from Lake Michigan through Template:Convert of pipelines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historic landmarks

Former Waukesha post office

Sister cities

Waukesha is the sister city of:

• Template:Flagicon Kokshetau, Kazakhstan (since 1989)<ref name="Sister cities">Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website
• Sanborn fire insurance maps: 1884 1890 1895 1901 1911 1917 1922