Milwaukee loves the Oak Leaf Trail, a 125-mile escape to nature connecting the major Milwaukee County parks. But many have not heard the history behind the trail. Believing parks to be the "lungs of the people," long-range thinkers like Charles Whitnall advocated for the verdant spaces the trail would later snake through. To promote biking as an alternative to precious gasoline during wartime, Harold "Zip" Morgan designed a route that 1960s riders built on. Years later, bicycling enthusiasts worked overtime with local leadership to get a 76-mile route ready for the country's bicentennial, creating the beloved 76 Bike Trail. The Oak Leaf story continues today as local volunteers and politicians advocate for extensions, repairs and other improvements. Join local author Jill Rothenbueler Maher as she uncovers the previously untold stories of a Milwaukee County treasure.

Rewilding the Urban Frontier argues that the urban rivers of the United States might be one of the best opportunities for rewilding in the Anthropocene--that is, creating self-sustaining ecosystems capable of adapting to the rapid and cascading changes caused by human impacts.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1890.

From City Hall to the Pabst Theater, reminders of the past are part of the fabric of Milwaukee. Yet many historic treasures have been lost to time. An overgrown stretch of the Milwaukee River was once a famous beer garden. Blocks of homes and apartments replaced the Wonderland Amusement Park. A quiet bike path now stretches where some of fastest trains in the world previously thundered. Today's Estabrook Park was a vast mining operation, and Marquette University covers the old fairgrounds where Abraham Lincoln spoke. Author Carl Swanson recounts these stories and other tales of bygone days.

In the early 1830s, U.S. officials forced the Menomonee and Potawatomi Indians to give up their lands in present-day Milwaukee County. Men from England and the eastern United States purchased large tracts of land along Lake Michigan from the government. Settlers like John Fowle, George Cobb, and Luther Rawson brought families to southeastern Wisconsin and helped establish the town of Oak Creek. For more than 100 years, Oak Creek retained its township status and rural character. But in 1955, Milwaukee city leaders attempted to annex Oak Creeks land and collect income tax revenue from a recently completed power plant. The small town won a legendary incorporation battle with their powerful northern neighbor, setting a precedent that also saved Franklin and Greenfield from being absorbed by Milwaukee.