Milwaukee's three rivers and surrounding wetlands first attracted Native Americans to the area. The water provided game, waterfowl, fish and wild rice. These waterways also provided transportation routes for their canoes and dugouts that carried food and goods.
In the early 1800's, these same waters attracted German, Irish, Italian, Polish and other natural harbor, abundant water and fertile soils. Soon thousands of schooners sailed Lake Michigan transporting people and goods. Milwaukee grew rapidly, and soon became the world's leading exporter of wheat.
Right from the start, the early settlers modified the wetlands and rivers to improve the harbor and provide better access to the rivers. They moved the river entrance 1/4 mile north to its present location, and filled the wetlands in what is now downtown Milwaukee, the Third Ward, and the Menomonee Valley.
The Map above shows the original shoreline, rivers and wetlands (shaded) of Milwaukee. The blue lines show the current configuration.
The shoreline was also filled - the original shoreline was over 1,000 feet to the west of this sign, well behind the Hoan Bridge you see in the distance. Land use also changed rapidly. The Summerfest grounds to the west of the Park, established in 1970, were previously lake bottom, an airport and then a Nike missile base.
The
land under Lakeshore State Park was the last of the lakefront fills. In the 1980's, the "island" portion was constructed from rock mined from the Deep Tunnel project - 17 miles of tunnel below Milwaukee constructed to improve Milwaukee's waste water treatment.
Lakeshore State Park, Wisconsin's newest and only urban State Park, opened in 2007. The park provides permanent access to the lakefront and an oasis from the bustle of the city. Enjoy the prairies, birds and great views of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan on your visit.
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