Editing Richfield, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The Richfield area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, including the [[Menominee]] and [[Potawatomi]] peoples. In 1831, The Menominee surrendered their claims to the land to the United States Federal Government through the [[Treaty of Washington, with Menominee (1831)|Treaty of Washington]], and the Potawatomi surrendered claims in 1833 through the [[1833 Treaty of Chicago]], which (after being ratified in 1835) required them to leave the area by 1838.<ref name="History">{{cite web|title=History of the Village |url=https://www.richfieldwi.gov/171/History-of-the-Village |publisher=Village of Richfield |access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Gerwing |first1 = Anselm J. |title = The Chicago Indian Treaty of 1833 |journal = Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society |date =Summer 1964 |volume = 57 |issue = 2 |pages = 117–142 |jstor = 40190019 |issn = 0019-2287 }}</ref> While many Native people moved west of the Mississippi River to [[Kansas]], some chose to remain, and were referred to as "strolling Potawatomi" in contemporary documents because many of them were migrants who subsisted by [[squatting]] on their ancestral lands, which were now owned by white settlers. Eventually, the Potawatomi who evaded forced removal gathered in northern Wisconsin, where they formed the [[Forest County Potawatomi Community]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Potawatomi History|url=https://www.mpm.edu/content/wirp/ICW-152|publisher=Milwaukee Public Museum|access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>

On May 31, 1841, a land speculator named Samuel Spivey purchased 600 acres of land in the Richfield, becoming the first white landowner in the Richfield area and marking the beginning of early settlement. Several weeks later, on July 9, 1841, Jacob Snyder purchased land in the area and settled in Richfield, becoming the first white permanent resident. By 1843, German immigrants − particularly from [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse-Darmstadt]] − were building farms in the area, and the community began to form. A group of German Catholics built the community's first church in 1845 and dedicated it to [[Hubertus|Saint Hubertus]]. Today, the [[Hubertus, Wisconsin|community that formed around the church]] also bears the saint's name.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quickert |first1=Carl |title=Washington County, Wisconsin: Past and Present |date=1912 |publisher=S. J. Clarke Publishing Company |location=Chicago, IL |pages=33–35}}</ref>

[[Image:Messer-Mayer Mill Richfield Wisconsin Sept 2013 05.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Messer-Mayer Gristmill was built on Coney Creek in Richfield in 1871-73. The building is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Wisconsin|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Messer/Mayer Mill - History of a Richfield Treasure|url=http://www.richfieldhistoricalsociety.org/mill_history.html|publisher=Richfield Historical Society|access-date=December 18, 2016}}</ref>]]

The Town of Richfield was organized on January 21, 1846,<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite web|title=Encyclopedia of Milwaukee: Village of Richfield |url=https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/village-of-richfield/|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee|access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref> and by 1848 almost all of the town's land was owned by Irish and German immigrant farmers. Wheat farming dominated the local economy until 1880, when dairy farming became more popular in Richfield and the state at large.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Encyclopedia"/>

The [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad]] was constructed through the community in 1855,<ref name="Encyclopedia"/> and while it initially led to local economic growth, the company failed in 1861. Many local landowners had taken out mortgages on land for the railroad in exchange for company shares. The company's failure left the landowners with mortgages to pay off, creating a local crisis in which some families were forced to sell their farms.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quickert |first1=Carl |title=Washington County, Wisconsin: Past and Present |date=1912 |publisher=S. J. Clarke Publishing Company |location=Chicago, IL |pages=91–92}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, camps and other recreational facilities began to spring up on the shores of the numerous [[Kettle (landform)|kettle lakes]] in Richfield, including YMCA Camp Minikani on Lake Amy Belle, which was founded in 1919.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>

The town was primarily agricultural until the 1970s when [[suburbanization]] led to increased real estate development and a decline in farming. On November 6, 2007, voters approved the town's incorporation as the Village of Richfield by a margin of 3 to 1. The town became a village on February 13, 2008.<ref>[http://www.town-richfield.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={7AF8BA5B-8CEC-44AB-8760-5BC79D62754C} Village Incorporation] Town of Richfield, accessed February 10, 2008</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia"/>