Search

  • Articles
  • Catalog
  • Databases
  • Journals
  • UWDC
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Accounts & Lists
  • Libraries
  • UW–Madison
  • Give
  • Help
  • Website Search

schedule

Next available on Monday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Additional Options

  • smartphone Call / Text
  • voice_chat Consultation Appointment
  • place Visit
  • email Email

  • Business Library
  • College Library (Undergraduate)
  • Ebling Library (Health Sciences)
  • Gender and Women's Studies Librarian
  • Information School Library (Information Studies)
  • Law Library (Law)
  • Memorial Library (Humanities & Social Sciences)
  • MERIT Library (Education)
  • Steenbock Library (Agricultural & Life Sciences, Engineering)
  • Ask a Librarian Hours & Policy
  • Library Research Tutorials

Search the for
  • Articles Find articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and more
  • Catalog Explore books, music, movies, and more
  • Databases Locate databases by title and description
  • Journals Find journal titles
  • UWDC Discover digital collections, images, sound recordings, and more
  • Website Find information on spaces, staff, services, and more

language Website Search

Find information on spaces, staff, and services.

  • ASK a Librarian
  • Library by Appointment
  • Locations & Hours
  • Resources by Subject

book Catalog Search

Search the physical and online collections at UW-Madison, UW System libraries, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.

keyboard_arrow_down
  • Advanced Search
  • Browse by...
  • WorldCat

collections_bookmark Database Search

Find databases subscribed to by UW-Madison Libraries, searchable by title and description.

  • Browse by Subject/Type
  • Introductory Databases
  • Top 10 Databases

article Journal Search

Find journal titles available online and in print.

keyboard_arrow_down
  • Browse by Subject / Title
  • BrowZine
  • Citation Search

description Article Search

Find articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and more.

keyboard_arrow_down
  • Citation Search
  • Library Databases

collections UW-Digitized Collections Search

Discover digital objects and collections curated by the UW-Digital Collections Center.

keyboard_arrow_down
  • Browse Collections
  • Browse UWDC Items
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Libraries
    • UW Home
    • My UW
    • Email/Calendar
    • Canvas
    • Box
    • Google Apps
    • Sign in
      • Loans & Requests
      • Lists
      • Poster Printing
      • Account Details
      • Archives and Special Collections Requests
      • Library Room Reservations
  • Help
  • Give

Search the UW-Madison Libraries

  • Articles
  • Catalog
  • Databases
  • Journals
  • UWDC

Kenosha's Lost Industries : Photographs and Corporate Materials, 1850s-1990s

From the 1850s to the 1970s abundant water, a lake port, and railroad corridors crossing Kenosha and Kenosha County, Wisconsin impacted the growth of industry. Kenosha's development was essentially connected to its strategic location on the western shore of Lake Michigan and in the urban corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago. Kenosha manufacturers gained access to cheap midwestern natural resources of iron, copper, wood, coal and water. These simple facts were the primary cause of Kenosha County's industrialization. Larger markets were created as products reached more remote places.

Kenosha County industries enabled tens of thousands of immigrants from around the world to come to the area, adding their skills to the workforce and enriching society with their remarkable ethnic diversity. Minorities also found employment here. Their presence and contributions in the automobile industry during the 1950s were rarely documented in Wisconsin employment histories.

Kenosha's industrialization allowed inexpensive production of wagons, tanned leather, bicycles, foundry products and machine tools. The natural groundwork was laid for the production of automobile, rail, and transportation components such as industrial wire and tools. For nearly a hundred years this work, accompanied by rapid population growth, created and supported the manufacture of products and commodities demanded by American workers and the world market.

Kenosha and the United States literally grew up together. The city became a major manufacturing center intertwined with regional, national and international economies. The once stable industrial base, which strengthened the southeast Wisconsin region and Kenosha's local economy, is now changing, weakening, or disappearing altogether. Kenosha is losing, and has lost, over a century of its industrial legacy.

Kenosha's Lost Industries : Photographs and Corporate Materials, 1850s-1990s

From the 1850s to the 1970s abundant water, a lake port, and railroad corridors crossing Kenosha and Kenosha County, Wisconsin impacted the growth of industry. Kenosha's development was essentially connected to its strategic location on the western shore of Lake Michigan and in the urban corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago. Kenosha manufacture…
Image Source: Nash Motors factory interior

Kenosha's Lost Industries : Photographs and Corporate Materials, 1850s-1990sSample items in the collection

  • A Nash pickup truck
  • A line of Nash Motors automobiles during a cross-country journey
  • Jeffery factory employees
  • American Motors Corporation factory employee at work
  • Simmons factory interior
  • American Brass factory interior during remodeling
  • Nicholas Pirsch
  • Nash Motors factory building exterior
  • Allen Tannery exterior
  • MacWhyte factory interior
  • Jeffery Quad tests
  • MacWhyte employee
  • Jeffery Rambler
  • Thomas B. Jeffery and his family
  • Russ Berg’s office at the American Brass Company
  • launch Search or browse the collection
  • This compilation (including design, introductory text, organization, and descriptive material) is copyrighted by University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

    This copyright is independent of any copyright on specific items within the collection. Because the University of Wisconsin Libraries generally do not own the rights to materials in these collections, please consult copyright or ownership information provided with individual items.

    Images, text, or other content downloaded from the collection may be freely used for non-profit educational and research purposes, or any other use falling within the purview of "Fair Use".

    In all other cases, please consult the terms provided with the item, or contact the Libraries.

Permalink

https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/KenoshaLocHist3

Copied!

Related content

  • Kenosha County History: Images and Texts, 1830s-1940s

Funding provided by

IMLS Logo

This project was funded, in part, through a 2011 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. The grants provided financial support to digitize and make available online local library resources. For more information about LSTA grants in Wisconsin, contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Division for Libraries and Technology or visit the LSTA grant website.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

Libraries

  • Accessibility
  • Copyright Statement
  • Policies
  • contact_mailContact Us

Feedback, questions, or accessibility issues: libraries@wisc.edu

Support Libraries volunteer_activism
Privacy Notice | © Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Keyboard Shortcuts

Close

Available anywhere

?
Shortcut help message
s
Highlight search box
esc
Close dialog

Available in search results

n
Next page
p
Previous page
f
Toggle filters
1-5
Open nth result on page