Editing Milwaukee (section)

===Early economy===
[[File:The menomonee valley in milwaukee 1882.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Menomonee Valley]] in 1882]]

Milwaukee was situated as a port city and a center for collecting and distributing produce. Some of the new [[immigrants]] who were settling into the new state of Wisconsin during the middle of the 19th century were wheat farmers. By 1860, Wisconsin was one of the major producers of wheat. [[Rail transport]] was needed to transport this grain from the wheat fields of Wisconsin to Milwaukee's harbor. Improvements in railways at the time made this possible.<ref>{{cite web|title=Milwaukee History|url=https://milwaukeehistory.net/education/milwaukee-timeline/|access-date=May 4, 2024}}</ref>

There was intense competition for markets with [[Chicago]], situated across the state line in [[Illinois]], and, to a lesser degree, with [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]] and [[Kenosha]] in Wisconsin. Eventually, Chicago won out due to its superior financial markets and transportation position, including the [[Chicago Portage]] and being the hub of the railroad lines in the United States. Milwaukee did solidify its place as the commercial capital of Wisconsin and an important market in the Midwest.<ref name="milwaukeehistory.net" />

Because of its easy access to Lake Michigan and other waterways, Milwaukee's [[Menomonee Valley]] has historically been home to [[manufacturing]], [[Meat packing industry|stockyards]], [[Rendering (food processing)|rendering plants]], [[shipping]], and other [[heavy industry]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Menomonee River Valley – History|url=https://www.thevalleymke.org/history|access-date=March 2, 2021|website=Menomonee River Valley|language=en-US}}</ref> Manufacturing was concentrated on the north side, with a peak of over 50 manufacturers in that industrialized area.<ref name="master">{{Cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=June 29, 2023|access-date=June 29, 2023|language=en-GB|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/29/master-lock-milwaukee-plant-closure-manufacturing-holdout|title=Master Lock's Milwaukee plant to close after 100 years and send jobs abroad|first=Michael|last=Sainato|oclc=60623878|issn=1756-3224}}</ref>

[[File:Mounds of coal, catwalks, and barges at the Milwaukee Western Fuel Company coal docks, 12-1942 - NARA - 535923.jpg|thumb|Milwaukee Western Fuel Company coal docks, 1942]]

Reshaping of the valley began with the [[railroads]] built by city co-founder [[Byron Kilbourn]] to bring product from Wisconsin's farm interior to the port. By 1862 Milwaukee was the largest shipper of [[wheat]] on the planet, and related industry developed. [[Grain elevator]]s were built and, due to Milwaukee's dominant [[German American|German immigrant population]], [[breweries]] sprang up around the processing of [[barley]] and [[hops]]. A number of [[tanneries]] were constructed, of which the [[Pfister & Vogel]] tannery grew to become the largest in America.

In 1843 George Burnham and his brother Jonathan opened a [[brickyard]] near 16th Street. When a durable and distinct cream-colored brick came out of the clay beds, other brickyards sprang up to take advantage of this resource. Because many of the city's buildings were built using this material it earned the nickname "Cream City", and consequently the brick was called [[Cream City brick]]. By 1881 the Burnham brickyard, which employed 200 men and peaked at 15&nbsp;million bricks a year, was the largest in the world.

[[Flour mills]], packing plants, breweries, railways and tanneries further industrialized the valley. With the [[marsh]]lands drained and the [[Kinnickinnic River (Milwaukee River)|Kinnickinnic]] and [[Milwaukee River]]s dredged, attention turned to the valley. Along with the processing industries, bulk commodity storage, machining, and manufacturing entered the scene. The valley was home to the [[Milwaukee Road]], [[Falk Corporation]], [[Cutler-Hammer]], [[Harnischfeger Corporation]], [[Chain Belt Company]], [[Nordberg Manufacturing Company]] and other industry giants. Early in the 20th century, Milwaukee was home to several pioneer [[brass era]] [[automobile]] makers, including Ogren (1919–1922).<ref>{{cite book|last=Clymer|first=Floyd|title=Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925|location=New York|publisher=Bonanza Books|year=1950|page=153}}</ref>