George H. Walker

Walker was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and moved with his family to Illinois in 1825. The fur trade brought him to the vicinity of the Milwaukee River in 1833, and, on March 20, 1834, he established himself on the south bank of the river.[1] In June 1835, he founded the settlement of Walker's Point and established a fur trading post. In 1846, Walker's settlement combined with two rival villages - Solomon Juneau's Juneautown (present-day East Town) and Byron Kilbourn's Kilbourntown (present-day Westown) - to incorporate the City of Milwaukee.[1]

Warehouse District in Walker's Point

Land that belonged to Walker is now part of the Walker's Point Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

Walker served in the first three sessions of the 4th Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory, serving from 1842-1845, and was speaker for the 2nd and 3rd sessions. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1850, serving in the 3rd Wisconsin Legislature. Walker also served as the city's supervisor, register of the land office, alderman, and as mayor in 1851 and 1853. He was one of the builders of the city's first street car line in 1859, and was invested in the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad, and the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad.[1]

He died on September 20, 1866, and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.[2]

Walker's younger brother, Isaac P. Walker, was a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, serving from 1848 to 1855.

• "Jovial George Walker". (Mar. 15, 1934). Milwaukee Journal.

• George H. Walker portrait at Wisconsin Historical Society
• George H. Walker at Find a Grave