South Milwaukee Historical Society

Sarah Dibley Fowle could be thought of as the “Founding Mother” of South Milwaukee. Arriving here from her native England in the summer of 1835, Sarah—along with her husband John Fowle and their nine children became the first family to settle in what is now South Milwaukee. Their original sixteen by twenty-foot log cabin sat on the lake bluff near where the Grant Park Clubhouse sits today. In March 1837, Sarah wrote a letter to her sister back home. It gives her account of the family’s voyage from England as well as some of the hardships endured in their new lives as pioneers here in Wisconsin. The letter also announces the birth of a tenth child —Horace Nicholas Fowle—who arrived on February 26, 1837. He was the second child born in the settlement. Eventually, Horace would come to own the original Fowle homestead, and in 1892 would build the beautiful Queene-Anne style home that serves today as the golf-course clubhouse. Sarah Dibley Fowle died in 1855 at the age of sixty-five and is buried in the Fowle family plot in the cemetery of the First Congregational Church. Sarah Dibley Fowle lives on in her wonderful letter which serves to illustrate for us today just what it took to survive in those earliest days of South Milwaukee’s history.

– Nels J Monson

Roger Sherman Hoar is perhaps the most notable South Milwaukeean that you have never heard of. Descended from one of America’s most distinguished families, he was born in 1887 in Waltham, Massachusetts—in fact, his great-great-grandfather was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A 1909 graduate of Harvard, he would become a lawyer, politician, college instructor, patented inventor, Army officer, and prolific Science-Fiction author. He also dated Miss Rose Fitzgerald before she became Mrs. Rose Kennedy. After serving as an artillery officer during WW1, Roger Sherman Hoar moved to South Milwaukee in 1921 and was hired as a corporate attorney for the Bucyrus Company. Shortly afterwards he built the beautiful Georgian Colonial that still stands at 1503 Fairview Avenue. He named this house “The Milestone.” Hoar was very active in local affairs and was chairman of the citizen’s committee that successfully called for the creation of the Oak Creek Parkway. In 1934, Hoar was called to Washington by President FDR where he was instrumental in the creation of the Employee Unemployment Benefits Act. Under the name “Ralph Milne Farley,” Hoar immersed himself in the writing of pulp-magazine science fiction. He would pen over a dozen novels as well as numerous stories published in Weird Tales, Argosy, and Amazing Stories magazines. His most notable work was the Radio Man series. In 1931 he joined a group of writers known as the “Milwaukee Fictioneers.” Another member of the Fictioneers was Robert Bloch, who in 1959 wrote the book Psycho— which was turned into a famous Alfred Hitchcock movie. Roger Sherman Hoar died in his home of a heart attack on October 10, 1963, aged 76 and is buried in his family’s plot in Massachusetts.

–      Nels J Monson

Click below to view some of the books by Ralph Milne Farley aka Roger Sherman Hoar

When one thinks of famous South Milwaukeeans, the name Emma Abbott doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Yet, in terms of her impact on the nineteenth-century American cultural scene she really has no equal. Born in 1850, by the time young Emma arrived here from Peoria, Illinois with her parents and four siblings, she was already a talented singer and musician. The Abbott family came here around 1868 and their home stood on the west side of Chicago Avenue near Oak Street. Her parents, Seth and Almira Abbott were both musically inclined and her father earned a meager living as a music teacher. While her family settled in, Emma toured the Midwest with various vocal groups. By 1871 she was in New York studying opera. She spent the next few years continuing her studies in Europe, all the while honing her skill as an operatic soprano. Returning to America in 1876, Emma was instrumental in introducing opera to the American public. She was the first woman to manage her own touring company—the Emma Abbott English Opera Company, — whose lavish performances were very popular with the American audiences. Perhaps in keeping with her humble upbringing, she insisted on keeping her ticket prices low, making opera more available to the middle-classes. Even so, she achieved great financial success and—as a devout Christian—was known to be a generous donor to many charitable causes. During a concert tour, forty-year-old Emma unexpectantly died of “late-stage pneumonia” on January 5, 1891, in Salt Lake City. She is buried in Gloucester, Massachusetts alongside her husband, Eugene Wetherell. Though Emma herself spent just a short time here, her family remained here about five years, giving South Milwaukee a fair claim to the Abbott family as one-time residents.

–      Nels J Monson

Born in a log cabin near the intersection of Hawthorne and North Chicago Avenues on February 22, 1837, Mary Augusta Higgins was the first child born in the settlement known today as South Milwaukee. She was the daughter of Elihu Higgins and Eliza Rawson Higgins. SM historical footnote notwithstanding, Mary Augusta would grow to lead a remarkable life. Short, headstrong, and feisty, she was a colorful character who had three husbands and spent much of her life as a pioneer innkeeper in Utah and Colorado. In 1885, “Gusty” married A. G. Wallihan in Rawlins, Wyoming. Together they ran a roadhouse and post office near Lay, Colorado. There, Augusta became an expert marksman and hunter—very unusual for a woman at that time. Around 1889, she hung up her rifle and picked up a camera. Sharing a love for the out-of-doors, she and A. G. immersed themselves in pursuit of wildlife photography. The couple are considered to be the first wildlife photographers in America. Their efforts earned the admiration of Theodore Roosevelt, who arranged an invitation to display their work at the 1900 Paris Exposition. In 1904, they were awarded a bronze medal at the World’s Fair in St. Louis. They published two books of their photographs, Hoofs, Claws, and Antlers of the Rocky Mountains (1894) and Camera Shots At Big Game (1901). Both books had the introductions written by Teddy Roosevelt. A. G. and Augusta returned to South Milwaukee in 1903 to visit friends and family before continuing to Washington D. C. at the personal invitation of the President. In 1910, several South Milwaukee residents received invitations to their Silver Anniversary celebration in Lay. On September 27, 1922, 85-year-old Mary Augusta died at her home near Lay. She was followed thirteen years later by her beloved husband, and currently lay together in a family cemetery on their old homestead.

–      Nels J Monson

Tony Willman

In the world of motorsport racing, South Milwaukee can claim one national champion.  With a career that spanned three decades, “Tony” Willman is considered one of the best ever Midget and Sprint car racers from the state of Wisconsin.

A quiet, soft-spoken man—with a contrasting aggressive and hard-charging driving style, Anthony Peter Willman was born at the South Milwaukee Hospital on April 24, 1905.  He began his racing career in 1926 and when the South Milwaukee Speedway—located on the east side of 5^th Avenue at Puetz Road—first opened in September 1928, Tony was in the field, winning the five-lap feature.  Overall, his racing career could boast of winning 44 sprint car main events and at least 85 midget features. In 1941 he won the AAA National Short Track Championship at Williams Grove, Pennsylvania.  He is also a member of both the National Sprint Car and National Midget Car Halls of Fame.

Besides Midgets and Sprints, Tony also raced the “big cars.”  He participated in the famous Indianapolis 500 four times between 1937-1941.  Unfortunately, in all four events Tony’s car suffered a breakdown.  His best finish came in 1941, when he was in 4^th place before his aggressive style blew out a connecting rod at mile 285.

A major highlight in Tony’s career came on August 4, 1939, when it was decreed “Tony Willman Night” at the Wisconsin State Fair Park racetrack.  In celebration of the occasion, Tony was named honorary mayor of South Milwaukee and led an escort of 200 hundred cars to State Fair Park.  On October 12, 1941, at a race near Thompson, Connecticut Tony Willman was killed in a tragic accident before a horrified crowd of 12,000—including his wife, Lorraine.

Popular with the fans and highly respected by his peers, Tony was proud of his hometown.  Ironically, shortly before his death Tony had confided in friends that he was thinking of retiring so he could manage a service station in South Milwaukee and indulge in a little pheasant hunting.  Sadly, this would not be his fate—yet perhaps Tony Willman would be pleased to know that he will always be remembered here for his contributions to a sport—and to a city—he loved so dearly.

–      Nels J Monson

Dr.  Sidney M. Smith

In many ways, a Canadian man helped transform South Milwaukee into a modern city.  Sidney Montreville Smith was born in 1873, in Morton, Ontario.  Orphaned by age nineteen, he was working as a mechanic when he enrolled at Queen’s University Medical College in 1896.  One year later he married Miss Elizabeth Taylor.

A few weeks after graduating from Queen’s in April 1900, Dr. Smith had moved his family to South Milwaukee and was already practicing medicine.  The Smiths soon became popular in South Milwaukee’s business and social scenes.  In 1900 he was elected City Physician—a position he would hold for six years.  He was also a long-time officer on both the Board of Education and Board of Directors of the South Milwaukee Bank.  In February 1906, S. M. Smith became a naturalized US citizen.

In December 1904, Dr. Smith opened the eight-bed Smith Hospital.  Soon afterwards he instituted a training school for nurses. The hospital was expanded to twenty beds and served the community until 1958, when Trinity Memorial Hospital opened in Cudahy.  The old Smith Hospital still stands at 1217 Milwaukee Avenue.

Though not interested in politics, Smith agreed to run for Mayor after being petitioned heavily by the SM business community— and in 1908 he defeated the incumbent Charles Franke.  As mayor, Smith set to work revamping the city as he had pledged to do.  He reorganized the Police Department and established a city speed limit.  He called for the creation of a Tavern Owners Association, to help clean up the seedier saloons.  He also improved the roads, street lighting, and installed concrete sidewalks—replacing the old-fashioned wooden ones along Milwaukee Avenue.

Naturally, Dr. Smith focused on the health of the city’s residents and, as such, expanded and improved the city’s sewage system.  By 1910 he was instrumental in building a municipal water filter process plant, believed to be the first on the Great Lakes.

Reluctant to seek second term as mayor, Dr. Smith didn’t declare his candidacy until he was pressured by friends to do so, finally throwing his hat in the ring at the last minute.  It seems that it was too little, too late as he lost his rematch with Franke in 1910.

Dr. Smith lived in South Milwaukee until 1912, when he sold his hospital to Dr. C. A. Rumph and moved to Bay View.  He set up a practice and residence at 1304-06 Kinnickinnic Avenue, which he ran for many years.  On May 10, 1950, Dr. S. M. Smith died at the age of 76.  Throughout his life, Dr. Smith remembered his days in South Milwaukee fondly and was justifiably proud of his accomplishments there.