Volume 1 covers 1833 to 1841, and Volume 2 covers 1840 to 1846. Volume 3, entitled Milwaukee under the Charter, covers 1847 to 1853, and Volume 4, also entitled Milwaukee Under the Charter, covers 1854 to 1860. The story is arranged chronologically, often with all events for a particular year included in one chapter. The author, who was himself a very early settler in Milwaukee, employed the reminiscences of old settlers for much of this history.