Milwaukee River

The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about 104 miles (167 km) long.^[1] Once a locus of industry, the river is now the center of a housing boom. New condos now crowd the downtown and harbor districts of Milwaukee attracting young professionals to the area. The river is also ribboned with parks as it winds through various neighborhoods. Kayaks and fishing boats share the river with party boats. An extensive Riverwalk featuring art displays, boat launches and restaurants lines its banks in downtown Milwaukee.

Description

The river begins in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin and flows south past Grafton to downtown Milwaukee, where it empties into Lake Michigan. Cedar Creek, the Menomonee River and the Kinnickinnic River are the three main tributaries.

Watershed

Map of the Milwaukee River watershed.

The Milwaukee River watershed drains 882 square miles (2,280 km²) in southeastern Wisconsin, including parts of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington and Waukesha counties.

The Milwaukee River watershed is part of the Lake Michigan subbasin; this subbasin is itself a part of the St. Lawrence River Watershed, which is fed by the Great Lakes.

History

The Milwaukee River area was populated by Native Americans in the time before European settlement. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet navigated from Lake Michigan through the Milwaukee River on their way to the Fox River and the Mississippi. Previously (circa 1834-35) the river had been known as the "Maynawalky," while the present-day Menomonee River was known as the "Milwalky".^[2]^[3]

In the early 19th century, three towns were formed across the banks of the Milwaukee and Kinnickinnic rivers: Juneautown by Solomon Juneau, Walker's Point by George H. Walker and Kilbourntown by Byron Kilbourn. The quarrel over the formation of a bridge across the Milwaukee River was a key point in the merging of the three towns into the city of Milwaukee in 1846.

Bridges

The Milwaukee River as it goes through downtown Milwaukee crossed by the Wisconsin Avenue bridge

The Milwaukee River frozen over as it is crossed by the Saint Paul Avenue bridge

The Milwaukee River has numerous movable bridges spanning it, allowing for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. These bridges include several different types, including bascule and hydraulically-powered table bridges. There are also many fixed bridges, as well as several pedestrian-only and railroad trestles.

The following is a partial list of bridges that cross the river, from north to south:

Brown Deer Road Bridge
Range Line Road Bridge
Good Hope Road Bridge
Green Tree Road Bridge
Bender Road Bridge
Silver Spring Drive Bridge
Hampton Avenue Bridge
I-43 Bridge
Port Washington Road Bridge
Capitol Drive Bridge
Locust Street Bridge
North Avenue Bridge (Milwaukee)|North Avenue Bridge
North-Humboldt Pedestrian Bridge
Humboldt Street Bridge
Holton Street Viaduct (1926)
Pleasant Street Bridge
Cherry Street Bridge
McKinley Avenue Bridge aka Knapp Street Bridge
Juneau Avenue Bridge
Highland Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
State Street Bridge (Milwaukee)|State Street Bridge
Kilbourn Avenue Bridge
Wells Street Bridge (Milwaukee)|Wells Street Bridge
Wisconsin Avenue Bridge
Michigan Street Bridge
Clybourn Street Bridge
I-794 Bridge
Saint Paul Avenue Bridge
Water Street Bridge
Broadway Bridge aka Milwaukee Street Bridge
Hoan Bridge

There are also several Union Pacific (former Chicago and North Western Railway) railroad bridges crossing the Milwaukee River, including:

north of Bender Road
south of Silver Spring Drive
Railroad Swing Bridge #1556 (1915)^[4]

Parks

Public Parks along the Milwaukee River
Parks	Location
Gordon Park, Kern Park, Lincoln Park, Pere Marquette Park, Pleasant Valley Park, Riverside Park	Milwaukee
Kletzsch	Glendale
Hubbard Park, Estabrook Park	Shorewood
Village Park	Thiensville
River Barn Park, Riverview Park, Scout Park, Shoreland and River Forest Nature Preserves	Mequon
Lime Kiln Park, Veterans Memorial Park, River Oaks Park, Grafton Canoe Launch	Grafton
Didier Field, East Riverside Park, Peninsula Park, Ehlers Park, Tendick Park	Saukville
Waubedonia and Marie Kraus Park	Fredonia
Riveredge Nature Center	Newburg
Quaas Creek Park, Riverside Park, Riverfront Parkway	West Bend
River Hill Park	Kewaskum
Columbus Park	Campbellsport

Dams

Current and former dams on the Milwaukee river, from downstream
Name	Municipality	Status	Removal Year
North Avenue Dam	Milwaukee	Removed	1997
Estabrook Park Dam	Milwaukee	Removed	2018^[5]
Kletzsch Park Dam	Milwaukee	Active
Thiensville Dam	Thiensville	Active
Lime Kiln Dam	Grafton	Removed	2010
Grafton Chair Factory Dam	Grafton	Removed	1999
Bridge Street Dam	Grafton	Active
Waubeka Dam	Waubeka	Removed	2003^[6]
Newburg Dam	Newburg	Removed	2012^[7]
Woolen Mill Dam	West Bend	Removed	1988
West Bend	West Bend	Active
Gadow Mill Dam	West Bend	Active
Kewaskum Dam	Kewaskum	Active
Lake Bernice Dam	Town of Ashford	Active
Campbellsport Dam	Campbellsport	Removed
Gooseville Dam	Gooseville	Active

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 19, 2011
^ Google Books: An Accompaniment to Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States; Containing an Index of All the Counties, Districts, Townships, Towns, &c., In the Union; Together With an Index of the Rivers; By Which Any County, District, Township, &c. or River, May Be Found on the Map, Without Difficulty [1], Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1834, Mitchell & Hinman Publishers. Accessed September 19th, 2019.
^ The Tourist's Pocket Map Of Michigan Exhibiting Its Internal Improvements Roads Distances &c. by J.H. Young. Philadelphia: Published By S. Augustus Mitchell. 1835. Sold By Mitchell & Hinman No. 6 North Fifth Street. Entered ... 1834 by S. Augustus Mitchell ... Pennsylvania. Engraved by J.H. Young. [2]
^ "Final Designation Study Report: Railroad Swing Bridge #1556" (PDF). Milwaukee Department of City Development. Spring 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2023.
^ "Estabrook Dam Removal". Milwaukee Riverkeeper. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021.
^ "72 Dams Removed to Restore Rivers in 2016" (PDF). American Rivers. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2022.
^ "Newburg Dam History". Ozaukee County, WI. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022.

External links

43°01′32″N 87°54′10″W / 43.0256°N 87.9029°W / 43.0256; -87.9029

[NHD-1] U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed May 19, 2011

[An_Accompaniment_to_Mitchell's_Reference_and_Distance_Map_of_the_United_States-2] Google Books: An Accompaniment to Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States; Containing an Index of All the Counties, Districts, Townships, Towns, &c., In the Union; Together With an Index of the Rivers; By Which Any County, District, Township, &c. or River, May Be Found on the Map, Without Difficulty [1], Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1834, Mitchell & Hinman Publishers. Accessed September 19th, 2019.

[3] The Tourist's Pocket Map Of Michigan Exhibiting Its Internal Improvements Roads Distances &c. by J.H. Young. Philadelphia: Published By S. Augustus Mitchell. 1835. Sold By Mitchell & Hinman No. 6 North Fifth Street. Entered ... 1834 by S. Augustus Mitchell ... Pennsylvania. Engraved by J.H. Young. [2]

[4] "Final Designation Study Report: Railroad Swing Bridge #1556" (PDF). Milwaukee Department of City Development. Spring 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2023.

[5] "Estabrook Dam Removal". Milwaukee Riverkeeper. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021.

[6] "72 Dams Removed to Restore Rivers in 2016" (PDF). American Rivers. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2022.

[7] "Newburg Dam History". Ozaukee County, WI. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022.

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