Granville was a town located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. One portion was incorporated as the village of Brown Deer in 1955; the remainder was annexed by the city of Milwaukee in 1956.
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History
The first settlers came to the area in 1835, including some from Granville, New York, who gave the area its name. In 1841 the towns of Lake and Milwaukee were divided into seven separate towns, including Granville. Granville was settled in the late 1830s and 1840s by a group of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) immigrants who had formerly lived in Telford, Pennsylvania, led by Samuel Wambold. They dedicated a church building, the German Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church of Granville Township, on June 17, 1849. (The church is currently known as Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church.) On May 26, 1850 the current pastor, Wilhelm Wrede, hosted a meeting of local Lutheran ministers at the church: this group later became the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.[1]
The northeastern corner of the town was known as Brown Deer, and eventually became the incorporated Village of Brown Deer on January 20, 1955, after a court battle between area residents and the city of Milwaukee (which hoped to annex the area). The area around Good Hope Road and 43rd Street was known as East Granville, and was home to the East Granville Cemetery which was started in the 1840s. The cemetery was moved by Brown Deer in 1969 to widen existing roads. The area around Mill Road and 107th Street was known as West Granville, and was home to the German Lutherans mentioned above.
Geography
Granville was located at 43°10'39" North, 88°2'38" West (43.1775 -88.04389)[2] When it was first formed, Granville stretched from the western border of Milwaukee County at 124th Street to 27th Street on the east, and from the northern border of Milwaukee County at County Line Road to Hampton Avenue on the south.
Demographics
The town had a population of 1,713 in 1850 and 2,431 in 1875.
Notes
- ^ "History of Salem" from the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church
- ^ Dictionary of Wisconsin History
External links
- Granville, Wisconsin is at coordinates Coordinates:
- "VILLAGE HISTORY", from the Village of Brown Deer, Wisconsin website
- Historic Granville Corporation
