mar 1, 1866 - Milwaukee Iron Company first opens its doors in Bay View

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In March 1866, the Milwaukee Iron Company was the region's first heavy industry and was located in Bay View on the shore of Lake Michigan. The Bay View mill specialized in making railroad rails and utilized iron ore deposits from Iron Ridge located in nearby Dodge County. The iron mill dwarfed any previous manufacturing enterprise in Milwaukee or, for that matter, Wisconsin. In 1872, it was the second-largest manufacturer of rails in the country, and its labor force exceeded 1,000. It was so large, in fact, that a company town developed just outside the plant gates. Milwaukee Iron built cottages and boarding houses for "agents and servants of the company," donated land for churches, and sold lots on easy terms to workers who wanted to build their own homes. After the 1873 Depression and the death of the founder, Eber Ward, in 1875, the company re-emerged in 1878 as the North Chicago Rolling Mill Company.

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