Waukesha

Town and administrative headquarters of Waukesha County, southwest Wisconsin, USA; population (2000) 64,800. It is situated on the Fox River in a dairying and former health-resort area 24 km/15 mi west of Milwaukee. Quarrying and food-processing are important to the local economy. Among the town's other manufactures are motors, castings, and foundry and wood products. Waukesha is home to Carroll College (1846) and Mount St. Paul College (1962).

It was founded on the site of a Potawatomi village in 1834. The town's name is a version of the American Indian word for ‘fox’, used to compare the animal's tail to the curving river. It was an important station on the Underground Railroad (a network for escaped slaves) and a base for abolitionists. Natural springs made Waukesha a health resort after the Civil War, and it was a popular watering place until the early 1900s. Bottled waters are still an important product. Three pre-Columbian mounds are preserved in Cutler Park.