Milwaukee Bridge War facts for kids
The Milwaukee Bridge War was a big disagreement in 1845 in what is now Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was a fight between different parts of the city about building bridges over the Milwaukee River.
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How Milwaukee Began: Three Towns Unite
Before Milwaukee became one city, it was three separate towns.
- Solomon Juneau started Juneautown on the east side of the Milwaukee River in 1818.
- Byron Kilbourn founded Kilbourntown on the west side of the river in 1834.
- Walker's Point was started by George H. Walker in the south, also in 1834.
The Rivalry Between Juneautown and Kilbourntown
Juneautown and Kilbourntown were often in competition. This was mostly because of Byron Kilbourn. He wanted his town, Kilbourntown, to be the most important.
Kilbourn tried to make Juneautown less important. For example, when he planned his streets in 1835, he made sure they didn't line up with Juneautown's streets. This is why many bridges in Milwaukee today are still a bit crooked! Kilbourn's maps even showed Juneautown as an empty space. When ships brought goods to his docks, he told the captains to say Juneautown was just a small trading post.
In 1839, these three areas finally joined together to form the village of Milwaukee.
Building Bridges: A Source of Conflict
In 1840, the government of Wisconsin Territory decided that the ferry system on the Milwaukee River was not good enough. They ordered the first bridge to be built over Chestnut Street (now Juneau Avenue). Solomon Juneau supported this bridge.
That same year, Kilbourn built a bridge over the Menomonee River. More bridges were built over the Milwaukee River:
- At Spring Street (now Wisconsin Avenue) in 1842.
- At Oneida Street (now Wells Street) in 1844.
- Another bridge connected Walker's Point and Juneautown at North Water Street.
Byron Kilbourn did not like the Chestnut, Oneida, and North Water bridges. He thought they would make it hard for ships to reach his docks on the west side.
The Bridge War Begins in 1845
The tension grew until May 3, 1845. On that day, a schooner (a type of boat) crashed into the Spring Street bridge. This was the only bridge that Kilbourn supported.
Rumors quickly spread. People on the east side were supposedly angry that west siders wouldn't help pay for bridge repairs. They were rumored to have paid the ship's captain to damage the Spring Street bridge.
West Siders Take Action
West siders held a meeting. They decided that the Chestnut Street bridge, which Solomon Juneau supported, was a "huge problem." They gathered tools and tore down the west half of the Chestnut Street bridge, causing it to collapse.
Angry east siders then gathered weapons. They even brought an old cannon! They rolled the cannon to the east side of the river and aimed it at Kilbourn's home. However, they did not fire when they learned that Kilbourn's young daughter had just passed away.
More Bridges Destroyed
The village leaders then voted to remove the Oneida bridge. They planned to use its parts to fix the Spring Street bridge. This would have removed two bridges that the east siders liked.
On May 28, angry east siders destroyed the Spring Street bridge. Then they also destroyed the bridge over the Menomonee River.
Tension and Resolution
The next few weeks were very tense. People from the "wrong side" of the river were sometimes attacked. East siders spread rumors that Kilbourn's dam on the Milwaukee River would be attacked. By early June, the village leaders ordered that all bridge work be done with armed guards.
Slowly, things calmed down as the year went on. In December, the leaders planned for three new bridges. They also wrote a plan for how the city would be governed. Finally, on January 31, 1846, the city of Milwaukee was officially formed.
Even today, you can still see a reminder of this old rivalry. Many modern bridges across the Milwaukee River are built at an angle. This shows the difference in how the streets were laid out in what used to be Juneautown and Kilbourntown.
