Milwaukee's captivating evolution from a settlement blessed with nature's bounties to a mighty industrial workplace is presented through its people, places, and institutions. Culled from the publications of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, these articles provide intimate accounts of the area's original inhabitants, pioneering settlers such as Solomon Juneau, entrepreneurs who saw a prosperous future on the shores of Lake Michigan, ethnic and racial groups who envisioned themselves as part of that future, institutions such as hospitals and a veterans home designed to serve residents, and political leaders whose careers ranged from crook to guardian angel. Each thematic section is introduced by a short essay that supplies a context for the articles that follow. Photographs from the collections of the County Historical Society provide fleeting glimpses into yesterday's world. A collaborative effort of the Milwaukee County Historical Society and Marquette University, Milwaukee Stories brings home the adage that each one of us, great and small, contributes our individual piece to the development of local history. May each reader savor these lives from Milwaukee's past.