Due to the costs of operation and “fiscal pressures,” Milwaukee County is planning to issue a request for proposals for the historic Trimborn Farm site, 8881 W. Grange Ave., in Greendale.
“In light of the fiscal pressures the County continues to face and beginning over a decade ago,“ says Erica Goblet of the Milwaukee County Department of Administrative Services, “Economic Development has supported a strategy to reduce capital and operational responsibilities with its cultural partners as evidenced by the arrangements with the Marcus Center, the War Memorial, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Milwaukee County Historical Society, and most recently the Charles Allis Art Museum and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.
“In each of these relationships, the County has reduced or is reducing its operating and/or capital support to these institutions. The intent is to give an adequate transition period for these organizations to eventually become independent of the County.”
But first the county is hosting a presentation and community listening session Thursday, June 5 from 6:30 until 8 p.m. at Highland View Elementary School, 5900 S. 51st St., to gather community feedback on the future of the site.
Goblet, County Supervisor Kathleen Vincent and Ben Barbera, executive director and president of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, which currently operates Trimborn Farm and the adjacent Jeremiah Curtin House, will be in attendance.
“There's not much detail at this point,” says Barbera. “Ideally a nonprofit organization would take it over. The County is open to a lot of options for terms, type of operator and use of the space.
“Clearly, the location (neighbors) needs to be taken into account as do Greendale rules and ordinances. We're hoping to have a better idea of potential interest and uses after getting public feedback.”
As I wrote in this story in 2021, Curtin House, 8681 W. Grange Ave., is the earlier of the two structures and it is a reflection of the Irish roots of the Curtin family. The house remained in use into the 1920s and in 1930, it was restored as part of the WPA.
Around the same time, it was purchased, along with the Trimborn Farm and other properties, by the federal government as part of the land acquisition for the development of Greendale, one of three planned “greenbelt” communities built across the country.
Curtin House was given to the Milwaukee County Historical Society in 1952.
The Curtins had already been established and settled into their third home in the Town of Greenfield when widower Werner Trimborn arrived in Milwaukee from Prussia in 1847 with his three children.
Four years later, he partnered with Jacob Kier to buy a limestone quarry, a lime kiln and 10 acres of land next door to the Curtin family at what is now 8881 W. Grange Ave.
The land was bought in 1980 by the Milwaukee County Parks System, which worked to develop it alongside Curtin House into a historical site.
Barbera says Curtin House won’t likely be part of the RFP, but adds, “if there is interest MCHS is happy to include it for the right project.”
He adds that the process is key to the future of these historic sites, which preserve the rural past of the area.
"This request for proposals is an important step in ensuring the long-term preservation of Trimborn Farm,” Barbera says. “Unfortunately, neither Milwaukee County nor the Milwaukee County Historical Society have the necessary capacity and resources to adequately care for and activate this historic park.
“Therefore, we are working together to find an entity that can utilize the site to its full potential as a community and educational space. The hope is that Trimborn Farm will continue to be a place where people can enjoy the outdoors and learn a little about how earlier residents lived, while being an active destination for residents throughout the County."
Rising costs led the Milwaukee County Historical Society to sell Wauwatosa’s Lowell Damon House to private owners in 2020.
As Goblet points out, Milwaukee County has been seeking to alleviate its financial commitments by issuing RFPs to find operators for other sites, too, including the Domes, which falls under the purview of County Parks, not Goblet’s office.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
