MOSES VILAS ( c.1802 - 1855 )

Moses Vilas was the surveyor who prepared most of the plats for the subdivisions that later became part of the original city of Racine when it was incorporated in 1848. Its approximate boundaries then were St. Patrick Street on the north, Sixteenth Street on the south, Lake Michigan on the east, and the Northwestern railroad tracks on the west. He served as an alderman on Racine’s first city council and was chosen as the council’s first president. He was officially chosen as city surveyor in 1848 and became an assessor in 1849. His wife, Harriet ( Cary ) Vilas (c.1807-1876), was the daughter of Dr. Bushnell B. Cary, Racine’s first physician.

Submitted by Deborah Crowell