Editing Oak Creek, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
On January 2, 1838, the [[Wisconsin Territory|territorial legislature]] divided Milwaukee County into two [[Administrative divisions of Wisconsin#Town|towns]]: the [[Milwaukee (town), Wisconsin|Town of Milwaukee]], encompassing everything north of the present Greenfield Avenue, and the [[Lake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Town of Lake]] encompassing everything south of the present Greenfield Avenue; "and the polls of election shall be opened at the house of Elisha Higgins, in said town." On March 8, 1839, a new Town of Kinnikennick was created, encompassing the western part of Lake (later the Towns of [[Greenfield, Wisconsin|Greenfield]] and [[Franklin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Franklin]]); finally, on August 13, 1840, the south portion of the Town of Lake was split off to form the town of Oak Creek. As of the 1840 [[United States Census|census]], the population of the Town of Lake (then including Oak Creek) was 418.<ref>Watrous, Jerome Anthony. ''Memoirs of Milwaukee County: from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County'', Chicago: Western Historical Association, 1909; Volume 1, pp. 68-69</ref>

In 1955, the Town of Oak Creek, then still semi-rural with a population of 4,807 in the 1950 census, was incorporated as a city under the terms of Wisconsin statute 66.0215, also known as "The Oak Creek Law."<ref>[http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=WI:Default&d=stats&jd=66.0215 Wisconsin Legislature Data<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The Oak Creek Law was crafted by [[city attorney|Town Attorney]] Tony Basile to prevent Oak Creek's annexation by the City of [[Milwaukee]], which by annexations (including the 1954 annexation of the remainder of the Town of Lake) was now bordering Oak Creek and had already annexed one small portion of the town; the law was shepherded through the legislature with the help of [[Wisconsin Democratic Party|state Democratic party legislative joint committee]] chairman [[Leland McParland]], who was the [[Wisconsin State Senate|state senator]] for Oak Creek.<ref>Cech, Jim. ''Oak Creek: Fifty Years of Progress.'' Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 1995; pp. 9-25; 35-37</ref>

In recent years, the 85 acre site called the Drexel Town Square, built on part of the site where the gigantic [[AC Spark Plug]] factory once stood, has become the city's newest economic venture. It is home to a number of retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, residential buildings, and a medical facility. The Civic Center includes city hall and the public library. The town square also features a [[farmers market]], [[splash pad]], [[ice rink]], and an outdoor [[amphitheater]]. The town square development won the 2016 Vision Award from the ''[[Milwaukee Business Journal]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.drexeltownsquare.com/History.htm |website=drexeltownsquare.com |access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>

On August 5, 2012, a [[white supremacist]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0806/Sikh-temple-shooter-identified-as-Wade-Michael-Page-white-supremacist-video | title =Sikh temple shooter identified as Wade Michael Page, white supremacist (+video) Page was a 'frustrated neo-Nazi' who led a racist white supremacist band, the Southern Poverty Law Center said Monday. | agency = Dinesh Ramde, Todd Richmond | author =Associated Press | author-link =Associated Press | publisher =csmonitor.com | date =August 6, 2013}}</ref> [[Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting|opened fire]] at a [[Sikh]] temple in Oak Creek.<ref>{{cite news|title='Seven killed' in Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19138754|access-date=August 5, 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=August 5, 2012}}</ref> The white supremacist killed six people and injured several more before being killed by Oak Creek Police.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/wisconsin-temple-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 | publisher=CNN | title=Gunman, six others dead at Wisconsin Sikh temple | date=August 6, 2012}}</ref>