Wisconsin

has a soil which is, perhaps, not surpassed by any in the Territory; an abundance of water gushing up from the limestone substratum on almost every quarter section, and extensive water privileges at the Milwaukee Falls, and many other places. With these privileges, we may safely predict that this will, in time, become one of the richest counties.

A considerable number of German emigrants have made. their new homes in the southern part of this county.

The Milwaukee river lies chiefly in Washington county, rising near the sources of the Sheboygan, in Fond du Lac county, and running in a southeasterly direction about thirty miles, to within a few miles of the lake, where it turns to the south, and runs about thirty miles parallel with the shore, and enters the lake at Milwaukee. Near the mouth of Cedar Creek it is confined between high perpendicular banks of limestone rock, and has a considerable fall. This place is called the "Milwaukee Falls," and from here to the head of the rapids, near Milwaukee, the river is navigable for small boats. About seven hundred and fifty square miles of surface are drained by this river. Cedar Creek is a branch of the Milwaukee, entering a little below the falls, and having a similar fall near the junction, over the same limestone ledge. It is a rapid stream, supplied chiefly by many copious springs, and having a very crooked and irregular course. It is the outlet of

MUSQUEWOC LAKE, a beautiful sheet of water, four miles in length, five-eighths of a mile wide, and nine and one-fourth miles in circumference, near the western part of the county.

SAUK CREEK is a small tributary to Lake Michigan, entering at a place called Sauk Washington, where there is a thriving little village, at which much business is done. A pier has been built at this place at which wood is furnished for steamboats navigating the lake. A town was laid out on the west side of the Milwaukee river, opposite thi

point, called Saukville, twenty-six miles from Milwaukee, and twenty-seven miles from Sheboygan Falls. A road has been opened by the general government from Sauk to Dekorra, on the Wisconsin river, which is now so completely grown up with bushes and small trees, as to be almost impassable.

STONY CREEK is a small stream in the north part of the county; and PIGEON CREEK enters the Milwaukee in town nine. RANDOM LAKE is in sections nine, ten, fifteen and sixteen, township twelve, range twenty-one. On Pigeon creek there is a saw-mill, in excavating for the foundation of which a piece of native copper was found.

Besides the two lakes already mentioned, there are twenty-three others, all very small, in this county.

The statistics of Washington county, as exhibited by the United States census of 1840, are as follows: 3 horses, 277 neat cattle, I sheep, 288 swine, 3 saw-mills; 282 bushels of wheat, 165 of oats, 30 of rye, 74 of buckwheat, 558 of Indian corn and 2,150 of potatoes; 3 pounds of hops, 88 tons of hay, 4,659 pounds of maple sugar, and eight hundred dollars worth of lumber.

Several villages have recently been laid out in this county, at which more or less improvement has been made, besides Sauk Washington and Saukville, which were laid out in 1836. The principal are Hamburgh, Cedarburgh, Mequon, Muker, Kerncastle, Rubicon, and West Bend. Post-offices have been established at Hamburgh, Mequon, Muker, Rubicon, and Washington.

The township system of government has been recently adopted in this county, and eleven towns have been established, as follows:

ADDISON, embracing townships eleven and twelve in range eighteen.

ERIN, township nine, range eighteen.

GERMANTOWN, township nine, range twenty.

GRAFTON, township ten, in ranges twenty-one and twenty-twoJACKSON, township ten, in range twenty.

MEQUON, tonwnship nine, in ranges twenty-one and twenty-two. POLK, township ten, in range nineteen.

PORT WASHINGTON, townships eleven and twelve, in ranges twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three.

RICHFIELD, township nine, in range

nineteen.

WEST BEND, townships eleven and twelve, in ranges nineteen and twenty.

Wright, township ten, in range eighteen.

MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Is bounded on the north by Dodge and Washington counties; on the east by Lake Michigan; on the south by Racine and Walworth counties; and on the west by Jefferson:. or on the north by the north line of township eight; south by the south line of township five; and west by the west line of range seventeen. Its mean or average length is thirty-three and seven-eighth miles from east to west, and its width is twenty-four miles-occupying an area of eight hundred and thirteen square miles or sections. The length of the coast line, measuring around the bays and points, is twenty-six and seven-eighth miles. Milwaukee county was set off from Brown, September 6, 1834, by an act of the Legislature of Michigan, and organized the next year. It then extended from the Illinois State line seventytwo miles north, and west beyond Madison, Dana county. In June, 1836, the population amounted to two thousand eight hundred and ninety-two; in 1838, to three thousand one hundred and thirty-one; in 1840, to five thousand six . hundred and five; and in 1842, when last enumerated, to nine thousand five hundred and sixty-five. Such has been the rapid increase since June, 1842, that the population may now be safely estimated at twenty-five thousand.

"The town system" of government was adopted by a vote of the people, and the county is divided into twentythree towns, as follows:

BROOKFIELD embraces township seven, range twenty.
DELAFIELD, township seven, range eighteen.

EAGLE, township five, range seventeen.
FRANKLIN, township five, range twenty-one.
GENESEE, township six, range eighteen.
GRANVILLE, township eight, range twenty-one.
GREENFIELD, township six, range twenty-one.
LAKE, township six, range twenty-two.
LISBON, township eight, range nineteen.
MENOMONEE, township eight, range twenty.
MEQUANIGO, township five, range eighteen.

MILWAUKEE, all of township eight, and so much of township seven, in range twenty-two, as is not included within the limits of the city of Milwaukee.

MUSKEGO, township five, range twenty.

NEW BERLIN, township six, range twenty.

OAK CREEK, township five, ranges twenty-two and twenty-three.
OCONOMEWOC, township eight, range seventeen.

OTTAWA, township six, range seventeen.
PEWAUKEE, township seven, range nineteen.
PRAIRIEVILLE, township six, range nineteen.
SUMMIT, township seven, range seventeen.
VERNON, township five, range eighteen.
WARREN, township eight, range eighteen.

WAWATOSA, township seven, range twenty-one.

And the five wards in the city of Milwaukee are ranked as separate towns.

In 1840, there were in this county 541 horses, 5,100 neat cattle, 798 sheep, 8,114 swine, 1 iron foundry, 26 stores and groceries, 2 printing-offices, 8 grist-mills, 13 sawmills; and in 1839, the amount of produce was 34,236 bushels of wheat, 845 of barley, 26,863 of oats, 147 of rye, 1,829 of buckwheat, 26,820 of Indian corn, and 64,242 of potatoes; 67 pounds of wool; 4,574 tons of hay, 48,886 pounds of maple sugar, and fifteen thousand one hundred dollars worth of skins and furs.

Milwaukee county is to be divided by the line between ranges twenty and twenty-one, and a new county established to be called WAUKESHA, should the people within the limits of the proposed new county vote in favor of the division at the next general election. This county will be

Lake, Oak Creek, Franklin, Greenfield, Wawatosa, Granleaving in the county of Milwaukee only the towns of Pewaukee, Prairieville, Summit, Vernon, and Warren; quanigo, Muskego, New Berlin, Oconomewoc, Ottawa, field, Delafield, Eagle, Genesee, Lisbon, Menomonee, Metwenty-four miles square, embracing the towns of Brook

ville and Milwaukee.

The following Table exhibits the Statistics of the different towns in the county, in the year 1840, agreeably to the United States census. The towns omitted in the