Waukesha County courthouse on October 16, 2016
Waukesha County was created by the Wisconsin territorial legislature in January 1846 from the western part of Milwaukee County.There are several theories as to where the name “Waukesha” comes from. The first is that it comes from an Objibwe or Algonquian word meaning foxes or little foxes. This seems like an odd choice for a name, but one explanation is that many of the rivers and streams in the county drain into the Fox River. Note that this is the Fox River which flows into the Illinois river, not the Fox River that flows into Green Bay in the northeastern part of the state. The second theory is that it is derived from the name of one of the Potawatomi leaders when the area was settled by Europeans in the 1830s. I like this theory best, but you can pick your favorite or perhaps come up with a new one.
The county seat is the city of Waukesha. The area that is now Waukesha was settled by European-Americans in 1834, and Morris Cutler was the first settler. The original settlement was created by folks from New England, which is true for many towns in the southeastern part of the state. In 1846 the area was incorporated as the village of Prairieville, but the name was changed in 1847 to Waukesha. In 1896 Waukesha was incorporated as a city.
The Waukesha County courthouse is located at 515 West Moreland Boulevard in Waukesha. This is the new courthouse built 1959. The old courthouse now houses the Waukesha County Museum and is located at 101 West Main Street in Waukesha. I visited Waukesha on the morning of October 16, 2016. It was a gray day with low clouds. I first stopped at the current courthouse. It’s a very nice facility located not too far from the Waukesha County airport. The courthouse is part of a large complex with plenty of parking; the sheriff’s office is located here as well.
From the courthouse I drove to the old courthouse which is now the county museum. The old courthouse is only a few minutes drive from the new one; it’s just on the other side of the Fox River. The old courthouse is a very distinctive building and it is well maintained. It’s easy to see why they needed to build a new courthouse: there was simply no room available to expand the old courthouse. One of the odd things I noticed was that there are several large guitar monuments in the vicinity of the museum. Apparently this is part of some tourism outreach campaign because Waukesha is “Guitar City.” Honestly, I had no idea until I saw this.
Carroll University is located only a few blocks from the museum on East Avenue. I drove past as I was leaving town; the campus looks very nice but I did not stop for pictures.
I’ve got a lot of connections with Waukesha County. My aunt and uncle and cousins lived in Menomonee Falls when I was growing up so we would often drive down to visit them. The City of Waukesha is another story entirely; my trip to see the courthouse was only the second visit I’ve made to the city itself. My previous visit was to attend a German choir rehearsal at one of the high schools. These days, beyond the occasional trip to visit relatives in Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County is just a county that I drive through to get to Milwaukee.