Caps and gowns

This photo shows the 1940 graduating class of Milwaukee-Downer College. Milwaukee-Downer was a women’s college that operated until 1964 in Milwaukee. It was established with the 1895 merger of Milwaukee College, the first female college in Wisconsin, and Downer College of Fox Lake. In 1964, Milwaukee-Downer was consolidated with Lawrence College in Appleton, and its 43-acre campus was sold to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

— This photo is from the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Photo Archives collection. Additional images can be viewed online at www.mpm.edu.