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Photograph of Waukesha Pure Food Company
Photograph by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Waukesha Pure Food Company

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

From the record

One of 153 National Register listings published here for Waukesha County · listed in 1983 · category: Building.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 550 Elizabeth St., Waukesha, 53186
  • When was it listed? October 1983
  • Category. building
  • Also known as. Waukesha MRA
  • City. Waukesha city
  • National Register reference number. 83004360 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

86,288 words

The chapter on Waukesha City in The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880 names Waukesha. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

The twenty-fifth regular session of the legislature began on the loth of January, with a republican majority in both houses. Daniel Hall was elected speaker of the assembly. The next day the governor delivered to a joint convention of the legislature his first annual message - a lengthy document, setting forth in detail the general condition of State affairs. The recent great conflagrations were referred to, and relief suggested. The work of this session of the Legislature was peculiarly difficult, owing to the many general laws which the last constitutional amendment made necessary. The apportionment of the State into new congressional districts was another perplexing and onerous task. Eight districts were formed instead of six, as at the commencement of the last decade. By this, the fourth congressional apportionment, each district elects one member. The first district consists of the counties of Rock, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, and Waukesha; the second, of Jefferson, Dane, Sauk, and Columbia ; the thirds of Grant, Iowa, LaFayette, Green, Richland, and Crawford ; the fourth, of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, and Washington ; the fifth, of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Manitowoc ; the sixth, of Green Lake, Waushara, Waupaca, Outagamie, Winnebago, Calumet, Brown, Kewaunee and Door ; the seventh, of Vernon, La Crosse, Monroe, Jackson, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, Eau Claire, and Clark; the eighth, of Oconto, Shawano, Portage, Wood, Juneau, Adams, Marquette, Marathon, Dunn, Chippewa, Barron, Polk, Burnett, Bayfield, Douglas, and Ashland. To this district have since been added the new counties of Lincoln, Taylor, Price, Marinette and New.

Passage source: The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

At that time, the whole sixty counties of the State stood apportioned in the thirteen judicial circuits as follows: First circuit, Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha; second £Jrcuit, Milwaukee, and Waukesha; third circuit. Green Lake, Dodge, Washington, Ozaukee, and Winnebago; fourth circuit, Sheboygan, Calumet, Kewaunee, Fond du Lac, and Manitowoc ; fifth circuit.

Passage source: The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Waukesha City - 86,288 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

15 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Waukesha Pure Food Company between 2018 and 2020, burning about 9 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Debris and open burning5
Arson/incendiarism1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
28 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources453
7 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources129
29 May 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1801566
21 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources205
18 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources456
5 April 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1901111
30 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1615
29 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2442

Every fire recorded in Waukesha County

Mines and quarries near this property

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Waukesha Pure Food Company: 3 producers, 2 unknowns, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Own CrewsStoneUnknown
Waukesha Lime and Stone Co QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Buege Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
James PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kohler PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Springdale PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Waukesha County

Storms near this property

38 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waukesha, the town this property stands in, in 38 storm reports between 1994 and 2006: 16 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 flood, 4 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2006LightningWaukesha1 hurtA man was injured and taken to a hospital after lightning struck very close to him. It is unknown where he was in the city of Waukesha, nor is the exact time known. He was treated and released from the hospital.
July 2006Flash FloodWaukesha$3,000,000A 1-in-a-100-year flood occurred in and around the city of Waukesha after a heavy rain of 3 to 5 inches within a 2-hr period. The heavy rains were the result of slow-moving or back-building thunderstorms that essentially sat over the same area. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. Numerous roads and yards were flooded with water depths of 1 to 5 feet. Many vehicles were stalled in the deep waters or were damaged. There were numerous reports of flooded basements of homes or businesses or apartments. The roof of one business in downtown Waukesha collapsed due to the weight of the heavy rains. The Fox River in downtown Waukesha exceeded its 6-foot flood stage by 6 inches, and then quickly subsided. Some nearby farm fields reported washed out sections and crop losses. The Expo Center sustained damage as well to several of its buildings. The basement of the downtown Waukesha Fire Department flooded to the depth of 5 feet. This flooding was the result of a collapsed trench outside the building where a new addition was under construction. At one point, Waukesha city officials warned motorists to stay away from the city, and some officials thought the July 27th flooding was the worst they could remember. WSR-88D Doppler radar rainfall estimates indicated that up to 5 inches fell over the northwest portion of the city of Waukesha, tapering off to 2 inches on the far south side of the city where STH 59 is located. One unofficial rain gage catch was 4.25 inches on the north side of the city, which matched the radar estimate. It is nearly impossible to assess the monetary amount of the flash flood damage, therefore, the amount posted in the header strip of this event is only a rough estimate.
June 1997LightningWaukesha$150,000no account filed
August 2004LightningWaukesha$100,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$100,000no account filed
September 2000Flash FloodWaukesha$50,000no account filed
April 1994Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$50,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$20,000no account filed
August 2002Flash FloodWaukesha$20,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$15,000no account filed
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$10,000Thunderstorm wind gusts of hurricane force caused scattered areas of large tree damage from the Waukesha area northeast to Brookfield.
June 1998LightningWaukesha$6,000Lightning ignited a fire in the attic of a home.
September 2000Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$3,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$3,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$2,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$1,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindWaukesha$1,000no account filed
August 2004Dust DevilWaukesha$200no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-Trees down.
April 2006HailWaukesha-no account filed
May 2004HailWaukesha-no account filed
November 2003Heavy RainWaukesha-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-no account filed
July 2002FloodWaukesha-no account filed
August 2002FloodWaukesha-no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-no account filed
August 2002FloodWaukesha-no account filed
August 2001Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-no account filed
May 2000HailWaukesha-no account filed
May 2000HailWaukesha-no account filed
May 2000HailWaukesha-no account filed
July 2000FloodWaukesha-no account filed
July 1999FloodWaukesha-no account filed
July 1999HailWaukesha-no account filed
September 1998HailWaukesha-no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindWaukesha-no account filed
July 1994HailWaukesha-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Waukesha County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Dr. F. C. Elliot House0.1 miles1983
George Dwinnell House0.2 miles1983
Robert O. Jones House0.2 miles1983
Perry Grace House0.2 miles1983
Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys0.2 miles1987
Morris Cutler House0.2 miles1983

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 83004360 in Record Group 79.
Waukesha CountyAll 153 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.