1. Byron Kilbourn was an American surveyor, railroad executive, and politician who was an important figure in the founding of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
15 Facts About Byron Kilbourn
1. 2.
Byron Kilbourn worked in Ohio as a surveyor and as a state engineer.
3.
Byron Kilbourn first visited Wisconsin in 1834, landing at Green Bay, and worked as a government surveyor in the area.
4.
Byron Kilbourn later deemed the area near the Milwaukee River to be a promising location for commerce, and he purchased land there.
5.
Byron Kilbourn was a key figure in the Milwaukee Bridge War in 1845.
6.
Byron Kilbourn served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives in 1845 and was a member of the second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1847.
7.
Byron Kilbourn served as a Milwaukee alderman and was elected to two non-consecutive terms as mayor in 1848 and 1854.
8.
When working as a highway commissioner for the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, Byron Kilbourn founded what was to become the City of West Bend in 1845.
9.
In 1857, Byron Kilbourn founded the city of Byron Kilbourn City, now known as the city of Wisconsin Dells.
10.
Byron Kilbourn became involved in the railroad industry, serving as president of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad for about three years from around 1849 until 1852.
11.
Byron Kilbourn was fired by the railroad's board of directors following allegations of mismanagement and fraud.
12.
Byron Kilbourn then started a new railroad from Milwaukee to La Crosse as a competitor with his former railroad.
13.
In 1868, a decade after the railroad scandals, Byron Kilbourn moved to Jacksonville, Florida to relieve arthritis symptoms.
14.
Byron Kilbourn died there December 16,1870, age 69, and was buried in Jacksonville.
15.
In late 1998 Byron Kilbourn's remains were returned to Milwaukee for interment at Forest Home Cemetery.