South Milwaukee Railroad Depot - South Milwaukee, WI
N 42° 54.607 W 087° 51.782
16T E 429552 N 4751194
The South Milwaukee Railroad Depot was built in 1855. At that time it was merely a wooden platform and was located at 10th and Rawson. It was moved to its present location at 11th and Milwaukee in 1864. This elevation sign is on the depot.
Waymark Code: WM5F5W
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 12/30/2008
Views: 13
From the Milwaukee County Historical Society web site (
visit link) :
"When the railroad first came to South Milwaukee in 1855, the depot was no more than a small wooden platform. In 1851, the State of Illinois had chartered the lakeshore suburban service from the North West Railroad to run from Chicago to the Wisconsin state line. The same year, Wisconsin chartered its own rail service, the Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad heading toward the state line from the north. These met up four years later, and Chicago and Milwaukee were connected by rail.
In 1864, the original station was moved to its present location at 11th and Milwaukee from 10th and Rawson. In 1891, members of the South Milwaukee Company began to develop the area into a permanent manufacturing and residential city. This group recognized the need for a new depot to match the growing expectations of the budding town. Both the company and the railroad donated money for construction which was completed in 1893. The depot was built by Charles Sumner Frost, a well-known architect with many depots to his credit, including depots in Ashland, Beloit, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Fort Atkinson, Lake Geneva, Manasha, Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Rhineland, and Wausau. The structure was finished in red brick and detailed in brownstone. The depot provided regular service though the 1950s and has undergone very few modifications. Benkowski Building Inc. has been housed in the Depot since 1983."