USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Memoirs of Milwaukee County : from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Milwaukee County, Volume I > Part 2
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Seebote
454 Postoffice Building
305
Sentinel
436 Postoffice. When established.
304
Socialist
455 Post, William M. 569
611
Sunday Telegraph .. 147-418 Pratt, Wallace. 548
Temperance Journal.
442 | Pre-emption Laws. 63
Tygodnik Polski
457 Prentiss. William A.
Volksfreund
453| Press Club. 460
625
Freie Presse
453
Normal School.
Parishes
456
Vol. II 957
617
List of ..
458
Soloists
Daily Reformer.
450
Kościuszko Hall.
434
Commercial Letter and Price Cur- rent
447
Association of, in America. 616
Abendpost
455 Physicians
PHYSICIANS-
Newspapers
431
O'Rourke, John.
437
City of ..
235
Orton, Harlow S.
545
588 Organization of County Organization of Settlers.
63
Union Guards.
591|O'Neill, Edward.
Sheridan Guard.
599 Ogden, John ..
South Side Courier.
448 Powell, Charles F
Party Divisions 117
13
Press Club, German.
463 Smith, E. P.
Proudfit, William P.
277, 477 Smith, John B. 549
Public Buildings, first.
109 Smith, Uriel B.
14S
Public Domain ..
47 Smith, William E 192
Quentin, Charles.
150 Smith, Winfield. 133
Racine
24 SOCIETIES- 137, 547
Railroads
584
Clinical Club.
Railway Manufactures 578
Dental 490
Railways, Street ..
585
Fraternal 4902
Randall, Alexander W.
577
Homeopathic Medical. 321
Rawson, Luther.
232
Medical 498 4SS
Reed, Harrison.
437
Milwaukee County Medical.
490
Registers of Deeds.
183 Milwaukee Medical
491
Reunion, Ex-Soldiers
602 Soldiers' Home ..
316, 594
Reynolds, James.
163 Soldiers, Prominent ..
607
RIOT-
Bank
Church
357 Starr, Elisha.
438
Roads, Commissioners to lay out ..
Robinson, Chauncey C.
Rogers, Daniel G.
Rogers. James H.
278 Strohmeyer, George W. 569
161
Ross, Laura J
488 Strong, Reuben ..
209
Rugee, John.
165 Surveyors
.186
Ryan, Edward G.
546 Swan, Emory.
22.1
Salomon, Edward.
131 Sweet, Alanson.
57
Sanderson, James
270 Taxes
112
Sandstone, St. Peters
18 Taylor, Jonathan ..
164
Schoeffler, Moritz.
183 Teachers' Association.
399
School. Catholic Normal ..
428
TERRITORIAL-
SCHOOLS
Auxiliaries
403
Organization
56
Commercial course.
411
Road 100
602
Country
420
Thompson, James H.
486
Early
380
Thompson, Jared.
191
Evening
397 Title to Lands.
41
Exhibits
402 Topography of Milwaukee.
257
For the Deaf.
418 Town Government ..
82
High
413 Township Formations
68
History
380 Transportation Lines.
584
Industrial
423
Treasurers, County. 185
415
Treasurers, State 131
414
TREATIES- Of 1634. 30
415
Of 1722 44
613
Private
424
Of 1795.
State Normal 423 Superintendents 31 422 Of 1817.
Selby Jeremiah B.
481
Of
1833.
1.4
Senators, State.
Senators, U. S., list
of.
127 Trenton Limestone.
18
Senn, Nicholas
486 Trowbridge, William S .. 200
Settlers, early.
265 Trust Companies-See Banks.
83
Sewerage system ..
302 Uihlein, August ..
571
Sharpstein, John R.
548| Underwood, Enoch D
Shaw, Daniel.
445
University, Marquette. 427
23 University of Milwaukee 410
182 Upham, Don A. J ..
117
Shields, William
213 Vliet, Garret ..
100
Sholes, C. C ..
443 Veterans, organizations of.
211
Shumway, Perley J.
160 Virginia's Grant.
Silurian age.
19 Vogel, Frederick, Sr.
508
Single-Tax. application of.
275 Vogel, Fred. Jr ..
Sivyer, William.
271 Waldo, Otis II. 547
Slavery .
43 Walker, George H. 55
Small, David W.
517 Walker, Isaac P. 127
Smallpox
499 Walker's Point ...
Smith, Albert.
524 Walworth, Clinton. 521
491
Relief Associations.
594 Soil
2.1
Richards, Daniel H.
175 South Milwaukee, city of. 23.3 Spencer, Thomas 484
104
Of 1886.
297 Stewart, Alexander.
190
.. 104 Stewart, Orlando L. 548
483 St. John's Institute ..
429
Root River.
23 Strong, Moses M.
Ruan, John.
162 Superintendents, State.
138
Runkel, Henry C.
175 Sutherland, George E.
529
Salzman, Joseph.
334 Tallmadge, John J.
Schoolcraft's "Narrative Journal" 32 Assembly at Burlington. 68
Legislature
46
Cooking Added.
401 Thomas, Griff J.
Kindergarten
Manual Training.
Normal Training.
Of Trades.
413
Polish
Of 1783. 42
Of 1804
Seminary Provincial.
428 147
Of Greenville.
44
Settler, first who.
236
Tweedy, John H.
Sheboygan County Sheriffs
Sherman. Lewis.
497
Van Schaick, Isaac W
Shultz, Alfred G ..
570 Vieau, Jacques
43
150
566 Stage Coaches.
Reed, Henry A ..
610
Milwaukee Free Dispensary
INDEX
Of Fort Stanwix
296
555 St. Martin, village of. 215
14
INDEX
WARS-
Wells, Horatio N ..
80
Civil ..
591
West Allis, village of.
229
Spanish-American
603
West Bend.
23
Whipple, William G.
549
WAR VETERANS-
Whitefish Bay.
205
Spanish-American
607
Whitney, James P
482
Wight, Orlando W
487
Washington County.
23
Wilcox, F. M.
482
Washington Street Bridge.
20
Wilcox, Joel S.
189
Waterworks System
299
Williams, Joseph
193
Watson, George D ..
223 Williams, W. C.
537
Waukesha County formed.
91 Wisconsin Territory
46
Wauwatosa, city of.
227 Wolcott, Erastus B.
478
Wauwatosa, town of.
221 Wolcott, Oliver P
486
Webster, Nelson ..
183 Wolf, Herman F 570
Weeks, Lemuel W
284, 478 Yates Peter ..
541
Wegg, David S
551 Young Men's Christian Association .. 378
Welles, E. R ...
346 Young Women's Christian Association 379
Wells, Charles K.
545 Zautcke, Frederick A. 178
Wells, Daniel, Jr.
74 Zouaves, Milwaukee ..
567
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Facing Page. Library and Museum 417
Bruce, William George.
558 Marks, Solon
474
Chamber of Commerce
579 |Milwaukee Club ..
161
City Hall
235 Milwaukee Yacht Club. 326
Court House
49 Peck, George Wilbur. 431
Deutscher Club
449 Postoffice
81
Goral, Boleslaus E.
612 Soldiers' Home
316
Juneau Avenue and Monument.
305 Soldiers' Monument
587
Kosciuszko Monument
625 Watrous, Jerome A. Frontispiece.
Allyn Capron Post. 619
CHAPTER I.
NATURAL FEATURES.
GEOLOGY-TOPOGRAPHY-SOIL-CLIMATE-FAUNA-FLOR.A.
In writing a chapter on the natural features of Milwaukee county we shall necessarily be confined to a brief outline of such general principles of geology as may be of interest or profit to the general reader, and avoid the use of such technical terms and de- tails as may be omitted without sacrificing the subject too greatly. For a work at once elaborate and instructive we shall refer the reader to "Geology of Wisconsin-Survey of 1873-79," published under the direction of the Chief Geologist, and under authority from the state government.
Geology treats of the earth's formation and structure, its rocks, strata, minerals, organic remains, the changes it has undergone from inundation, also from volcanic and other influences. Geology is a history of the earth built upon circumstantial evidence, such as is read from the rocks, minerals and organic remains, together with stratagraphical construction, and the later disarrangement of that by volcanic action, and the slow process of erosion, which has been going on for countless ages. It is a well established fact, the result of scientific research, that the whole country about this region has at some time, ages ago, been covered with water of unknown depth. and that these waters were constantly changing as if in motion, or by undercurrents, tides and waves. In the course of ages these waters receded, having found some outlet into the vast bodies of water that now so largely cover the earth's surface. Again, the labors of those who, during the last two hundred years, have de- voted themselves to the study of the structure of the globe, have resulted in the creation of the science of geology, and the claim
2
18
MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY.
which this department of human knowledge has to science de- pends upon the symmetry which has been found to prevail in the arrangement of the materials forming the earth's crust. By the slow process of adding fact to fact and by comparing the observa- tions of the devotees of the science in different lands it has been found that the rocky strata of the earth hold definite relation to each other in position, and hence in age; that many of them are distinguished by constant or general features and contain charac- teristic or peculiar remains of plants or animals by which they may be recognized wherever found. This sequence of deposit forms what has been aptly termed the geological column.
The indurated rocks, being everywhere covered with a heavy bed of drift, have been reached in this county only by boring, and this only at a few places. A well drilled in the city of Milwaukee, after traversing 170 feet of drift, met the Niagara limestone, with a thickness of 267 feet, and underlaid by the Cincinnati shale with a thickness of 165 feet. Beneath the Cincinnati shale were the Trenton and Galena limestones with a thickness of 253 feet, and these rested upon St. Peters sandstone, into which the well was drilled to a depth of 193 feet. The surface of the well is about ten feet above Lake Michigan, which shows that at that point the Niagara limestone lies 160 feet below the surface of the lake. Com- paring this again with wells in other localities it appears that the strata of limestone dip to the eastward.
The geology of the soil is independent of the underlying rocks, and is referable exclusively to the drift; for, as before stated, the bedded rocks of Milwaukee county are covered with a heavy sheet of drift to a depth averaging more than 150 feet. Long after Mil- waukee county was raised above the sea as a sort of plain, topped by the ocean-rippled shales of Niagara limestone; long after the depressions and uprisings that accompanied the deposit of the car- boniferous or coal-bearing rocks to the eastward; and long after the streams of that ancient time had cut away the rocks to form the valleys nearly as they are today; throughout a period of erosion, when the Alleghany Mountains were reduced from a height of five miles to something near their present modest altitude-after all this the ice age came and covered the greater part of Wisconsin with a glacier sheet which completely enveloped what is now Mil- waukce county. This county, therefore, has the same glacial his- tory as has all the eastern and southern parts of the state. Not a summit is there that stood above the glaciers, and the clay and boulders that mark the drift overlie all the ordinary high land of
19
NATURAL FEATURES.
the county. The areas covered by the drift furnish far more varied and fruitful soils than the native rocks, and hence the lands in Mil- waukee county take their place among the best lands in the state of Wisconsin.
In the vicinity of Mud Creek there is a small area of rock re- ferred, somewhat doubtfully, to what is known as the Lower Hel- derberg period. The rock is a hard, brittle, light-gray, magnesian limestone, distinguished by numerous minute, angular cavities, that give it a very peculiar porous structure. It is thin-bedded and lam- inated, by virtue of which it splits readily into flags and thin plates. Some layers exhibit an alteration of gray and dark-colored liminae peculiarly characteristic of this formation. The rock is closely as- sociated with the Niagara limestone, in a depression of which it appears to lie, and it is overlain by rock of the Middle Devo- nian age.
This last mentioned rock is the uppermost and newest of the indurated formations of Wisconsin; it is the only representative of the Devonian age, and it is known as the Hamilton cement rock. It is found near the city of Milwaukee and occupies a limited area, lying adjacent to the lake, immediately north of the city, and rests in part upon the shaly limestone above described, and apparently upon the Niagara limestone in other portions. In general litho- logical characteristics it consists of a bluish gray or ash-colored, im- pure dolomite, which weathers upon exposure to a yellowish or buff color, owing to the oxidation of the iron which constitutes one of its ingredients. The impurities consist chiefly of silica and alumina. The rock is characterized in certain portions by the occa- sional presence of cavities, in which occur crystals of iron pyrites and calcite, and, very rarely, zinc blende. Crystals of the two for- mer minerals are disseminated more or less through certain por- tions of the rock. In texture it is somewhat varying, being quite homogeneous in some layers and quite irregular and lumpy in others, while the chemical composition changes much less marked- ly though sufficiently to affect the hydraulic properties of the rock. In degree of induration it ranges from rather soft to moderately hard. The beds are usually thick, with the exception of some por- tions, which are somewhat shaly.
In relation to organic remains the Hamilton period marked a new era in the history of the life of the Wisconsin formations. While multitudes of Protozoans, Radiates, Mollusks and Articu- lates lived in the seas of the Silurian age and left their remains em- bedded and embalmed in the accumulating sediments, whether of
20
MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY.
sandstone, shale or limestone, no fragment or trace of a Vertebrate has been found. The Hamilton period witnessed the introduction of this highest type of the animal kingdom into the Wisconsin se- ries. The vertebrate remains of this formation are confined to the relics of fishes, but unfortunately these are fragmentary and imper- fect. They have been submitted to the inspection of eminent au- thority in such matters and have been found to be a new and un- known species.
The most extensive and important outcrop of this formation, known as the Hamilton Cement Rock, is found along the Milwau- kee river in the vicinity of the Washington street bridge, extending above and below in sections 4 and 5, town 7, range 22 east. The rock nowhere rises to any considerable height above the river-bed, so that no extensive vertical section can be seen, and the frequent interruptions of the exposure, as traced along the river, prevent any trustworthy correlation of the strata. The lithological characters of the rock at this point are essentially those before given as gen- eral characteristics, and this locality may be regarded as the typical one of the formation. A portion of the layers found west of the bridge are more shaly than the average rock of the formation, and upon exposure tend to disintegrate somewhat more readily. A stratum found below the bridge possesses a more granular charac- ter than the rest of the formation, but the chemical analyses that have been made of the several portions indicate that these varia- tions are largely of a physical nature, and that the chemical compo- sition is less varying. In the drift lying upon this rock an abun- dance of black shale is present in thin, fragile, more or less rounded chips, indicating the near presence of the formation from which they are derived, and which may be conjectured to be the overlying black slate so abundant in other regions. The fishes mentioned in a foregoing paragraph have been found in this locality, together with a long list of invertebrates, which indicates a rich and abun- dant fauna. For the names and description of the fossils found in this region we would refer those interested to Volume IV of the "Geology of Wisconsin-Survey of 1873-1877," to which the writer is indebted for a great deal of the information contained in this chapter.
In section II, town of Granville, a railroad cut just south of the station known as Brown Deer exhibits a few feet of this forma- tion. The original lithological characters are essentially those al- ready referred to, but the rock of this locality has been more exten- sively weathered than that near Washington Street bridge, and
21
NATURAL FEATURES.
presents a buff color, except in the interior of some of the heavier layers, and it is also somewhat decomposed in certain portions. In sections 9 and 10 of the same township occurs another exposure of this formation, occupying the brow of a hill, and underlaid by lime- stone belonging to the Niagara formation. The rock here is a rather soft, granular, buff, impure, dolomite, much stained with iron, which is doubtless due to the decomposition and oxidation of pyrites, originally disseminated through it. Along the lake shore on Whitefish bay the formation rises slightly above the water level in a very limited exposure. The strata at this point have a firmer texture, but more uneven structure than at the previously named localities. The lines of deposition and bedding are irregu- lar, and angular cavities of moderate size are not infrequent, some of which are filled with a semi-fluid, tar-like bitumen. An analysis of this rock shows it to'have much less silica and alumina than the beds on the Milwaukee river. The extent of this deposit in Mil- waukee county is abundantly sufficient for all anticipated wants and its location is convenient and accessible, so that it forms one of the important resources of this vicinity.
. By far the most important resource springing from the drift in this region has already received consideration-the fertile and enduring soils. The powdering and commingling of such a vast variety of minerals by the glacial forces was a process than which none could be better suited to produce a secure and permanent foundation for agricultural industries-a resource that is the basis of all wealth and prosperity. But second only to this in importance are the building materials furnished by the drift formation, promi- nent among which are the deposits of brick clay. These belong to two classes, the light colored and red clays. The former, found extensively in Milwaukee county, are lacustrine or fluviatile de- posits, derived from the wash and redeposit of the bowlder clay, and occur within the area covered by that formation. A portion of these clays burn to a beautiful cream color, and their superiority in texture as well as color makes them a general favorite in the market. It is thought to be entirely safe to say that in quantity, quality. convenience of situation and facilities for shipment the Mil- waukee clays are unsurpassed on this continent. The superiority of the brick is universally acknowledged, and their beauty is a mat- ter of general commendation. The product has the light cream color, so long known in the market as the characteristic of "Mil- waukee brick." and they are made from a light colored clay, a mod- ified form of the glacial deposit.
22
MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY.
When Eastern Wisconsin first emerged from the ocean it doubtless presented an essentially plane surface, having a slight inclination to the east and southeast. The irregularities which it now presents are due, in a large measure, to three different agents, acting at different times and under different conditions. These are :
Ist. During that long cycle of time that existed between the emergence of the land from its bed in the vasty deep, and what is known as the drift period, the numerous streams and rivers were ploughing their beds deeper and deeper into the primeval rocks, and rendering the former level surface more and more irregular. The softer rocks being more readily eroded than the harder ones, increased their unevenness, there being a constant tendency of the streams to follow the softer strata wherever the slope of the land favored, and as these run in a northerly and southerly direction generally throughout this region, the main streams had that gen- eral course. The little streams gathered into the larger ones in a manner not unlike the branches of the forest tree as they gather into the parent stem. The erosion of this nature produced in the unevenness of the surface a symmetry and a certain system easily recognizable. As this action upon the rocks occupied the period preceding the glaciers, we, for convenience, call it the pre-glacial. In Milwaukee county, however, these pre-glacial features have be- come wholly obscured, except in their grander outlines, by the gla- cial deposits, which cover this section of the state.
2nd. The modifications of the surface constituting the first class of topographical features were produced by running water ; those of the second class, which follow next in order of time, were formed by ice in the form of glaciers and by the various agencies brought into action by their melting. The work of the ice was twofold; first, in the partial leveling of the surface by planing off the hills and strewing the finely pulverized rock upon the surface of the valleys ; second, in the creation of a new, uneven surface by the promiscuous heaping up of the clay, sand, boulders and gravel, thus giving the land a new aspect. Among the features produced by this movement of gigantic mountains of ice are parallel ridges, sometimes many miles in length, having the same general direc- tion as the ice movement ; hills of a rounded, flowing contour, like many found along the shores of the Milwaukee river ; half-embos- omed rocky ledges cropping out of the hillsides, like giant battle- ments on titanic castles ; all of which combine to form a peculiar and distinctive contour of surface easily recognizable. As all of these apparent freaks of nature are due to the action of the ice, they are denominated glacial features.
23
NATURAL FEATURES.
3rd. Subsequent to the subsidence of the glacial periods the streams resumed their wearing action, but under different condi- tions, and carved out a new surface contour, the features of which may be termed post-glacial or drift. In addition to this there oc- curred a depression of the land, attended by an increased volume of water in the lakes, by which doubtless all of Milwaukee county was submerged. The advancing waters leveled down many of the surface irregularities, and while the land was submerged the "red clay" was deposited, thus still further leveling the surface. After the land again rose from the water the streams resumed their cut- ting, and as the clay was soft, they rapidly eroded the gorges which are now extant.
To the three agencies, lake action, ice and running water, as- sisted slightly by winds, the topographical features of Milwaukee county are chiefly due. There is no evidence of violent eruptions, upheavals or outbursts. There was the gradual elevation and de- pression of the surface and probably some little flexure of the crust, but in general the region has been free from violent agitation, and owes none of its salient topographical features to such causes. Properly speaking, the county can not be said to be hilly, nor does it sink to a dead level over any considerable area. It presents the golden mean in a gently undulating, diversified surface, readily traversible in all directions by the various highways of communi- cation.
The features of topography of Milwaukee county are the rivers and smaller streams that traverse it, making it a well watered dis- trict, and a gentle undulating surface, a number of eminences ris- ing above the general level. The largest stream is the Milwaukee river, while second only in size is the Menominee river, which unites its waters with the Milwaukee, and then uniting with the Kinnickinnick, the three streams flow together into Lake Michigan at the city of Milwaukee. The southern portion of the county is well drained by Duck and Root rivers and Oak creek. The course of the Milwaukee river is decidedly interesting. It originates chiefly in Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties from a number of nearly parallel southward-flowing streams, which gradually unite to form the main river. At West Bend, Washington county. it turns abruptly eastward. After passing Newburg it makes a rude sigmoid flexure to the north and resumes its eastward course. When within about nine miles of the lake it bends suddenly to the right and flows almost directly south parallel to the lake shore for more than thirty miles, being distant from it at some points in its
24
MEMOIRS OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY.
course less than two miles. Near the great bend in the town of Fredonia, Ozaukee county, the stream reaches an ancient beach line, which marks the shore of the lake at the time of the deposit of the lower red clay, heretofore mentioned. The river follows along this beach line to its mouth at Milwaukee.
The Menominee river rises in the southern part of Washing- ton county and running in a southeasterly direction through the towns of Granville and Wauwatosa, enters the Milwaukee river within the city limits of Milwaukee. It is a fine little stream and afforded many valuable pioneer mill privileges, several of which were improved. Several limestone quarries were opened along its banks, which are usually high. It receives a branch in the town of Granville, called the "East Branch," and above that point the valley is much contracted in width, there being no bottom lands on either side. Below the East Branch the level or bottom lands are usually about a half-mile in width.
The general slope of the surface of the county is to the east and south and is quite moderate. The lowest land is in the town of Lake, at the west line of section 8, near the Kinnickinnick river, where the surface lies but ten feet above the level of Lake Michi- gan, or 588 feet above the level of the sea; while in the northwest corner of section 30, in Greenfield township, the altitude reached is 843 feet above sea level. The remainder of the surface of the county varies in altitude between these two extremes. It should be mentioned in this connection that a considerable portion of the shore of Lake Michigan is formed by high, steep banks of clay, sand and gravel, and that these are being continually undermined, thrown down and borne away by the restless activity of the waves. The rate at which the land is thus being swept into the lake be- comes a question of importance, but it should be understood that the lake is not advancing at all points, and that the rate of its ad- vance at different points is not uniform. The encroachment seems to be most rapid in the neighborhood of Racine, and by measure- ments it was ascertained that in the forty years that elapsed be- tween the surveys of 1835 and 1875 the abrasion of the shore in Milwaukee county ranged at different points from two to five and one-half feet. The material washed out from the shore is borne southward and accumulates rapidly on the north side of all the solid piers that extend out from the shorc.
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