Welcome to History Hub
Welcome to the Wauwatosa Historical Society’s History Hub – your gateway to Wauwatosa’s rich past. Explore our collections, browse articles from Historic Wauwatosa (our beloved newsletter), discover highlights of the community members who shaped our city, visit our exhibits, and explore our Speakers Bureau topics to bring Wauwatosa history to life for your group, school, or organization.
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Firefly Art Fair Celebrates 40 Years of Art, Community, and Preservation
by Peggy Rooney, Historic Wauwatosa, Issue 279, Summer 2026 Forty years ago, a group of dedicated Wauwatosa Historical Society volunteers believed an art fair could help save a historic landmark. […]
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Midcentury Moments
Discover how the 1950s reshaped Wauwatosa. “Mid-Century Moments” explores the rise of Mayfair Mall, sweeping annexations, and the civic buildings that define our city today.
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Wauwatosa Schools Through the Years
Trace Wauwatosa’s school history through archival photographs — from an 1841 Root Common schoolhouse to the buildings that define the community today, including surprising histories of familiar landmarks.
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Gilbert Girls
Gilbert Girls” is part of the Wauwatosa Historical Society’s Speakers Bureau, bringing three generations of remarkable women to life. Follow Nancy, a true pioneer among the township’s earliest settlers, Mary, who witnessed the transformation from small settlement to city, and spirited Kate Evelyn, who fought to save her childhood home from Mayfair Mall’s demolition. One family, a century of change.
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The Great Wauwatosa Fire of 1895
Discover the dramatic story behind Wauwatosa’s great fire of 1895 through this captivating Speakers Bureau presentation. On a scorching July morning, flames tore through the village, reducing the business district to ruins by nightfall. Uncover whether it was arson or accident, how the crisis shaped city leadership, and which historic buildings still stand in Wauwatosa today.
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History of Brewing in Wauwatosa
Raise a glass to Wauwatosa’s brewing past with this Speakers Bureau presentation. Homebrewer and beer historian Jeff Enders traces Wisconsin’s brewing roots back to the 1840s, exploring the rise and fall of local breweries and the surprising ways beer shaped everyday life in our growing community. A fascinating pour of local history you won’t want to miss.
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Housing Styles in Wauwatosa
Explore 130 years of Wauwatosa architecture with this Speakers Bureau presentation by Julie Peay, a longtime Historical Society volunteer and researcher. From modest 1840s settler homes to mid-century modern styles, Julie brings expert insight and a passion for local history to every era. Whether you’re an architecture enthusiast or simply curious, this tour through Wauwatosa’s neighborhoods is not to be missed.
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Lefeber Glass Plates
This collection of more than 2,000 glass plate negatives provides a unique look at Wauwatosa from 1900 to 1935 through the eyes of one of the city’s most well-known families. Unlike much of the photography of this time, the Lefebers, owners of a longtime Village general store, took casual shots in addition to posed pictures, creating a visual time machine of life in our city more than 100 years ago.
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Our Home Town
Step back in time with this Speakers Bureau presentation featuring “Wauwatosa: Our Home Town,” a colorized and narrated film drawn from rare 1947–1948 footage of our city. Experience Wauwatosa as it once was, while learning about the history and events that shaped that pivotal postwar era. A rare and nostalgic glimpse into our community’s past you won’t want to miss.
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Sacred Ground
Two of Wauwatosa’s most historic burial grounds — Wauwatosa Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery — hold the stories of the people and events that shaped our community. Discover how these sacred spaces came to be, who rests within them, and what their lives reveal about our city’s past. From early settlers to notable residents, this talk uncovers the rich local history preserved in stone and soil.
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Lefeber Glass Plate Collection
This collection of more than 2,000 glass plate negatives provides a unique look at Wauwatosa from 1900 to 1935 through the eyes of one of the city’s most well-known families. Unlike much of the photography of this time, the Lefebers, owners of a longtime Village general store, took casual shots in addition to posed pictures, creating a visual time machine of life in our city more than 100 years ago.
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Manuscripts
Our collection houses a variety of manuscripts ranging from personal papers—such as correspondence, memorabilia, and ephemera—to the official records of businesses, institutions, and organizations. These collections may also include photographs, books, maps, and artifacts. These primary source materials offer a wealth of historic information, much of which is not found elsewhere.
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Maps Collection
Our collection includes the 1876 Historical Atlas (plat map book) of Milwaukee County. In addition, there is a listing for maps that include pre-1900 and post-1900 Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, and Wisconsin. There are many more maps in our research library.
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Nethercut Family Collection
Explore the Nethercut Collection — personal letters, photos, and genealogy tracing the Warren-Nethercut family, Wauwatosa’s earliest settlers, from 1838 through multiple generations.
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Newspaper Collection
he Wauwatosa Historical Society’s collection includes bound copies of two local newspapers: the Wauwatosa News, starting in 1900, and the Wauwatosa News-Times, through 1994. In addition, we hold the only existing index to these papers, spanning 1900 to 1917, which has been digitized and is searchable by personal or corporate name.
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Oral History Project
The Wauwatosa Historical Society’s Oral History Project preserves the voices and memories of community members through volunteer-recorded interviews. Residents share firsthand accounts of social and cultural events, local business and government, and the rhythms of daily life — capturing stories that traditional historical records often miss.
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Photograph Collection
The Wauwatosa Historical Society’s photograph collection contains hundreds of photographs spanning from the 1800s to the present day, documenting the people, places, and things that make up Wauwatosa’s history. Subjects range from homes and families to rivers, bridges, landmarks, and significant events such as the 2025 flood.
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Postcards
Explore nearly 600 vintage postcards from the Wauwatosa Historical Society’s searchable online collection. Browse images of iconic buildings, historic businesses, city parks, distinguished homes, churches, and more from decades past. Donated by community members, these postcards offer a fascinating glimpse into Wauwatosa’s history, from horse-drawn wagons and street cars to landmarks we still visit today. Postcard image reproductions are available for a fee.
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Sarah Clapp Quilt
Discover the story of the Sarah Clapp quilt, a Victorian crazy quilt crafted in silk and velvet for the daughter of a prominent Wauwatosa pastor. Sarah Clapp traveled to China as a missionary in 1879, where she founded the Goodrich School for Girls. Now in the care of the Wauwatosa Historical Society, this fragile quilt is undergoing careful preservation and restoration.
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Sheet Music
Browse 420 pieces of early-to-mid 20th century sheet music, complete with digitized cover scans. Visit the Wauwatosa Historical Society to view full scores in person — with more being added over time.
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A Family Tapestry
Alice Underwood Nelson’s handwritten journal, held at the Wauwatosa Historical Society, preserves intimate family memories of Rev. Enoch Underwood — abolitionist, father, and freedom seeker harborer.
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Roots & Roads
Enoch’s daughters Sarah Underwood Curtis and Emma Gray assembled this section from family papers. They focus on their father’s life in Danville, Illinois and his early years in Wauwatosa.
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Rev. Enoch Downs Underwood
Rev. Enoch Downs Underwood, Virginia-born pioneer, co-founded Wauwatosa’s First Baptist Church, sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and became a prominent Wisconsin abolitionist.
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Echoes of Enoch Underwood
Alice Underwood Nelson, wrote down her memories of her father William Underwood. She captures her grandfather’s complexity: a physically powerful man who inspired awe in his children.
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The House at Underwood Creek
Emma Underwood Gray (1847-1935) remembers a harsher time: wood stove heating, shared butchering, linsey-woolsey fabric, wild berries, and lifelong suffering from bad shoes.
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The Underwood Reminiscences
Discover the story of one of Wauwatosa’s earliest pioneer families through the Underwood Reminiscences — transcribed from a handwritten journal preserved in the WHS Research Library.
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400-million-year-old trilobite fossil discovered on Honey Creek Parkway
A 5-year-old’s fossil find on Honey Creek Parkway turns out to be a 400-million-year-old trilobite, now the oldest artifact in Wauwatosa Historical Society’s collection, linked to the famed Schoonmaker Reef and Dr. Day’s fossil legacy.
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Lowell Damon House, Wauwatosa’s Oldest Residence, Is Sold
Built in 1844, Wauwatosa’s oldest residence, the Lowell Damon House, has left public hands after decades as a museum. New owners will preserve it under a permanent easement.
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Waterworks, fire department founded after 1895 fire
The historic fire of 1895 in Wauwatosa’s Village was the catalyst for the creation of the waterworks and the fire department.
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Postcards of Wauwatosa
Explore the history of American postcards from the Golden Age to modern photochromes through Len Borkowski’s collection at the Wauwatosa Historical Society.
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Broken Barrier
Twice, arsonists burned Zeddie Hyler’s house frame. So he and eight armed men spent a night in his basement, ready to defend his right to be Wauwatosa’s first Black homeowner. He lived there 49 years.
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Back to the Highlands
Published in 2015, this article provides background on the homes in the Washington Highlands that were part of that year’s tour of homes.
