William Turnor Lewis

William Turnor Lewis was born on March 10, 1840, in Utica, New York, and moved to Wisconsin with his brother in 1855. He worked under his brother at Western Union until becoming manager after his brother left in 1861. During the Civil War, he served in the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps.

After the war, Lewis partnered with Henry Mitchell, married Mitchell's daughter Mary Isabel, and they built a successful wagon company. Despite a fire in 1880, their business flourished, producing 25,000 wagons annually by 1900. Lewis then started an automobile venture, which became Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company, employing 2,000 people by his death in 1915.

In politics, Lewis was a Republican delegate to the 1888 convention and served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1897. He advocated for primary elections and ending convict labor. Though his bill failed initially, Robert La Follette later succeeded in implementing primary elections.

Personally, William married Mary Isabel Mitchell, had four children, and was active in Freemasonry and the YMCA. After his death in 1915, Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company was sold to Nash Motors, operating until 1939. The original factory site is now Racine City Hall, and their employee housing project became "Rubberville," both historic sites.