History of Green Bay

1900's Fashions	By 1900 the bay and river were no longer the major means of transportation. New roads were built and railroads replaced sailing vessels. Yet the bay and river had not outlived their usefulness. An unlimited water supply and a source for hydroelectric power made this an ideal location for industrial growth and development.
Chamber Pot	By 1900 most American homes had been fitted with indoor plumbing, however most rural areas still had no such luxuery. Those without plumbing used the outhouse by day and the chamber pot by night. The next morning they threw the contents of the chamber pot out the window or back door. They had no idea that living next to stewing sewage would lead to diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid. They drank water from wells that were next to the sewage they produced and often died in the process.
Hagemeister Park	Recreating in Green Bay in the 1900’s hasn’t changed that much from today. Picnics were popular in Hagemeister Park and Baird Creek Parkway, there was horse racing in Hagemeister Park, boat cruises on the Fox River and the bay, fun at the Brown County Fair, bicycling, baseball and of course football. By the early 1900’s, the paper industry was beginning to show the community that it could be an industry that was recession proof. The paper industry, the machine design and tool companies, which supply equipment, and transportation businesses, which move the product, are key to what has become the traditional way of life in Green Bay and surrounds.
	1900 Murphy Lumber Company located at the mouth of the Fox River on the east side. Murphy Lumber had a capital of $1,436,850.00 in 1900. Simon J. Murphy was president of the company. Later his son, Simon J. Murphy Jr. would serve as mayor of Green Bay.
	1902 Mayor Tayler is the first mayor to occupy offices in the new city hall. This building replaced the city hall offices which were located above the fire station at 113-115 South Washington Street. This new city hall was located on the corner of Jefferson and Cherry Streets directly north of the present city hall. Joseph Tayler was the first mayor in this new building and Otto Rachels was the last.
	1902-03 Green Bay Mayor Joseph Tayler launched a grand jury investigation of bribery, gambling, and prostitution that brought national notoriety when half of the city council was indicted.