George B. Reed (November 9, 1807January 10, 1883) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served six years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Manitowoc County. He is the namesake of Reedsville, Wisconsin. Background and early years Born in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, he studied at Middlebury College and studied law in Vermont. He moved to Milwaukee, Michigan Territory, in 1834, possibly from Chicago. He is believed to have been the first attorney to move to the Wisconsin Territory, and was for many years an advisor to Solomon Juneau. His brother Curtis Reed would become Mayor of Menasha, Wisconsin, and their brother Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida. Their sister, Martha Reed Mitchell, well known in charity, art and society circles. George Reed moved to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, to the town of Summit, where he farmed. While in Summit, he served in the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846 and in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives in 1847-1848. Eventually he moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1850; while in Manitowoc, Reed served as a two-year term as county judge of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, and was elected as the first village president of Manitowoc upon its incorporation as a village. In 1854, Reed and Jacob Lueps bought a portion of the town of Maple Grove and had it surveyed and platted. These 56 blocks became the village of Mud Creek, later renamed Reedsville after "Judge Reed" (as he was widely known). Reed served as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1865 to 1870. Reed was involved in the railroad business. He died in the Newhall House Hotel Fire in Milwaukee in 1883. References |- 1807 births 1883 deaths Businesspeople from Milwaukee Farmers from Wisconsin Mayors of places in Wisconsin Middlebury College alumni Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians People from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Politicians from Milwaukee People from Reedsville, Wisconsin People from Summit, Waukesha County, Wisconsin American city founders Wisconsin state court judges Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Lawyers from Milwaukee 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Deaths from fire in the United States