History of Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

The first white settlers, part of the Western Emigration Company, arrived in the early 1830s from Hannibal and Troy, New York, led by John Bullen, Jr., who sought to purchase enough land for a town. Thwarted in Milwaukee and Racine, the group arrived at Pike Creek on 6 June 1835, building log homes at first and, later, homes of frame, native stone, and brick. The first school and churches followed by 1835, with platting completed in 1836. As more settlers arrived and the first post office was established, the community was first known as Pike Creek in 1836. In the ensuing years, the area became an important Great Lakes shipping port, and in 1837, the village was renamed Southport, a name which lives on as a southeast-side neighborhood, park, and elementary school, and has been adopted by several businesses.

In 1850, another change brought the growing city (and later Kenosha County) its current title, an Anglicized version of the early name Kinoje.

Between 1902 and 1988, Kenosha produced millions of automobiles and trucks under marques such as Jeffery, Rambler, Nash, Hudson, LaFayette, and American Motors Corporation (AMC).