Downes — ^Development of Kenoslia County. 545 



eco:n'omic akd social developme:n't of 



KEIs^OSHA cou:^rTY.^ 



ROBERT HUGH DOWNES. 



Chapter I. 



FORMATION OF TPIE COUNTY AND TOWNS. 



Kenosha county is located in the southeastern part of the 

 state of Wisconsin. It is bounded on the east by Lake Michi- 

 gan and on the south by the state of Illinois, and covers an area 

 of 268.04 sq. miles. At the territorial formation of the pres- 

 ent state of Wisconsin in 1836, the state was divided into four 

 -^.ounties — Crawford, Iowa, Brown, and Milwaukee. The 

 -region north of the parallel 46° 31' north latitude was yet un- 

 organized. The southeasteiTL part of the state was included in 

 Milwaukee county.^ An act passed by the legislative assem- 

 bly in 1836, provided that the townships number one, twO; 

 three, and four north, of ranges nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, 

 twenty-two, and twenty-three east of the fourth principal merid- 

 ian be erected into a separate county, named Racine. 



By this act what is now Kenosha county was included in Ra- 

 cine county and it remained a part of Kacine county until 1850, 

 when by an act approved January 30, 1850, it was enacted that 

 all of Kacine county within the boundaries, commencing at the 

 southwest corner of township one, range nineteen east and run- 

 ning thence east on the state line to the center of lake Michigan ; 

 thence northerly along the eastern boundary line of Wisconsin 

 to the township line between townships two and three; thence 

 west on said township line to the range line between ranges 



lA thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Wisconsin for 

 the degree B. L., June, 1901. 



2 Formation of the counties of Wisconsin, A thesis by Herbert Scott 

 Blake, '94, pages 3-4, 5, 21-22, 



