In 1868, the Milwaukee Iron Company, led by Eber Brock Ward, opened a steel rolling mill south of the original outlet of the Milwaukee River.
The primary aim was to produce rails for railroads.
The factory itself occupied 27.5 acres and the surrounding 76.5 acres were for employees.
On some the Iron Company built tenements for workers; others were sold to workers on easy terms.
Bay View was established as a company town.
A Methodist Episcopal church and a Welsh Congregational church were already established in 1868.
Saloons were prevented by a provision in the deeds of sale.
By 1879, Bay View had a population of 2,592, and incorporated as a village, on approx 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²; 360 ha) of land.

Labor Unions began in Bay View in 1868 when puddlers at the mill formed a Sons of Vulcan local.
By 1886, Bay View had become a center of workers' rights activism, the culmination of which was the Bay View Massacre.
Through ups and downs the mill evolved to produce a wide assortment of steel products, acquiring the name Illinois Steel Company before it shut down in 1929.
In 1868, the Milwaukee Iron Company, led by Eber Brock Ward, opened a steel rolling mill south of the original outlet of the Milwaukee River. The primary aim was to produce rails for railroads. The factory itself occupied 27.5 acres and the surrounding 76.5 acres were for employees. On some the Iron Company built tenements for workers; others were sold to workers on easy terms. Bay View was established as a company town. A Methodist Episcopal church and a Welsh Congregational church were already established in 1868. Saloons were prevented by a provision in the deeds of sale. By 1879, Bay View had a population of 2,592, and incorporated as a village, on approx 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²; 360 ha) of land.
Labor Unions began in Bay View in 1868 when puddlers at the mill formed a Sons of Vulcan local. By 1886, Bay View had become a center of workers' rights activism, the culmination of which was the Bay View Massacre. Through ups and downs the mill evolved to produce a wide assortment of steel products, acquiring the name Illinois Steel Company before it shut down in 1929.
Bay View, Milwaukee