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Milwaukee: A City Built on Water
Paddle through the watery history of the Midwest’s Cream City.
The success and survival of Milwaukee lies in the rivers that meander through its streets and the great lake at its shore. The area’s earliest inhabitants recognized the value of an abundant, clean water supply for food and transportation. Settlers, shipbuilders, and city leaders used the same waters to travel greater distances, power million-dollar industries, and even have a bit of fun.
In A City Built on Water, celebrated historian John Gurda expands on his popular Milwaukee Public Television documentary, relating the mucky history of the waters that gave Milwaukee life—and occasionally threatened the city through erosion, invasive species, and water-borne diseases.
Telling tales of brewers, brickmakers, ecologists, and engineers, Gurda explores the city’s complicated connection with its most precious resource and greatest challenge. You’ll meet the generations of people, from a Potawatomi chief to fur traders and fishermen, who settled on the small spit of land known as Jones Island; learn how Milwaukee’s unique water composition creates its distinct cream-colored bricks; visit Wisconsin’s first waterparks; and see how city leaders transformed the Milwaukee River—once described as a “vast sewer” with an “odorous tide”—into today’s lively and lovely Riverwalk.
The success and survival of Milwaukee lies in the rivers that meander through its streets and the great lake at its shore. The area’s earliest inhabitants recognized the value of an abundant, clean water supply for food and transportation. Settlers, shipbuilders, and city leaders used the same waters to travel greater distances, power million-dollar industries, and even have a bit of fun.
In A City Built on Water, celebrated historian John Gurda expands on his popular Milwaukee Public Television documentary, relating the mucky history of the waters that gave Milwaukee life—and occasionally threatened the city through erosion, invasive species, and water-borne diseases.
Telling tales of brewers, brickmakers, ecologists, and engineers, Gurda explores the city’s complicated connection with its most precious resource and greatest challenge. You’ll meet the generations of people, from a Potawatomi chief to fur traders and fishermen, who settled on the small spit of land known as Jones Island; learn how Milwaukee’s unique water composition creates its distinct cream-colored bricks; visit Wisconsin’s first waterparks; and see how city leaders transformed the Milwaukee River—once described as a “vast sewer” with an “odorous tide”—into today’s lively and lovely Riverwalk.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryNature
228 pages, Hardcover
Published May 25, 2018
About the author
John Gurda
44 books36 followersJohn Gurda is a Milwaukee-born writer and historian who has been studying his hometown since 1972. He is the author of nineteen books, on subjects ranging from life insurance to Frank Lloyd Wright and from heavy industries to historic cemeteries. The Making of Milwaukee is Gurda’s most ambitious effort. With 450 pages, more than 500 illustrations, and a cast of thousands, it is the first feature-length history of the community published since 1948. Milwaukee Public Television premiered an Emmy Award-winning documentary series based on the book in 2006.
In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He holds a B.A. in English from Boston College and an M.A. in Cultural Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Gurda is an eight-time winner of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Award of Merit.
In addition to his work as an author, Gurda is a lecturer, tour guide, and local history columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He holds a B.A. in English from Boston College and an M.A. in Cultural Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Gurda is an eight-time winner of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Award of Merit.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 9, 2018
A deep dive into Milwaukee waters in this fresh new book, a fresh water book. John Gurda, the gold standard of Milwaukee history, turns in another five-star story.
A few million years ago, glaciers covered southeastern Wisconsin several times. One of the last lobes, a mile thick, scooped out Lake Michigan. That lobe melted ten thousand years ago, the running waters carved out valleys for the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers, which converge at the mouth.
The first humans around here followed plants and animals that made habitat on the land sculpted by the retreating glacier. The Woodland tribes paddled their canoes for fish, waterfowl, rice and reeds.
With wetlands in front, woodlands behind them and wildlife all around, the natives called their home something like “Milwaukee,” which meant something like “good land,” although a more recent translation suggests “wet land,” writes Gurda.
Later, almost two hundred years ago, early laborers scraped dirt from the high spots around town and used that to fill in the wetlands. And that’s our city, built on water.
American Indians for millennia used the Great Lakes/St Lawrence River system. Voyageurs included Solomon Juneau, a teenage fur trader from Quebec, who became Milwaukee’s first mayor.
Where the three streams converged, the Milwaukee River stood eighteen feet deep and so clear that American Indian spearmen could spot their prey at the bottom. Milwaukee enjoyed the best harbor on the western shore of Lake Michigan with its broad bay and deep river.
Milwaukee’s first settlers developed the rivers following a pattern: dams first, followed by sawmills then grist mills. As the Midwest outgrew its pioneering dependence on water, the use of that resource shifted.
In the eighteen eighties, before refrigeration, brewers harvested ice from the Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers, which turned beer into a year-round production, an advantage over warmer brewing cities such as St Louis and Cincinnati.
The upper Milwaukee River became a retreat on Sundays in the days of the six-day work week. The two-mile stretch between North and Capitol, gave the city a long and narrow urban lake, accessible by foot or streetcar, from the eighteen seventies through the nineteen twenties.
By the twenties, as development of the Lake Michigan shoreline began, the role of the upper Milwaukee River faded. The city built a two-mile long breakwater to protect the shore from the lake's waves and storms, protecting beaches and a lake drive built on landfill.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s municipal sewage lagged for years before an understanding of public sanitation. The Milwaukee River, south of North Avenue, functioned as a stinking open sewer. In time, the city became a leader by developing an activated sludge method of treatment. The Jones Island plant eliminated over ninety percent of solids and bacteria, making money as the innovator by selling Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen, known to the world as Milorganite.
The big payoff for cleaning the water came in the nineteen nineties when the Milwaukee River began attracting empty-nesters and young workers who want to live downtown, on the water. Nine years ago the United Nations named Milwaukee as a Global Compact city for its stronghold of freshwater experience.
A unified vision for a riverwalk evolved thirty-five years ago with the first stretch built a couple years later by Gimbels and Milwaukee. The walk now runs a couple of miles with plans for another mile.
Early Milwaukeeans came here for the good wet lands and stayed to build a city on water.
Over two hundred maps, photographs and illustrations illuminate the story. A twelve-page appendix supports the book with sources, notes and an index.
This book pairs very well with John Gurda’s film for Milwaukee Public Television, which aired three years ago, on Earth Day. https://video.milwaukeepbs.org/show/m... Gurda wrote a column about the documentary: http://archive.jsonline.com/news/opin... I watched the video after reading the book. But watching it before can serve as a three-year-old overview of the story, updated and expanded in the book.
John Gurda’s most recent about Milwaukee’s water published a few days after this book released: https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...
By coincidence, this book rose to the top of my review queue today, the same day that The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published its review: https://www.jsonline.com/story/entert...
(For those of you who read this far: I use Goodreads to track books. This also serves as a good place for comments and summaries because I return here for facts and refreshers, which explains the longer histories.)
A few million years ago, glaciers covered southeastern Wisconsin several times. One of the last lobes, a mile thick, scooped out Lake Michigan. That lobe melted ten thousand years ago, the running waters carved out valleys for the Kinnickinnic, Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers, which converge at the mouth.
The first humans around here followed plants and animals that made habitat on the land sculpted by the retreating glacier. The Woodland tribes paddled their canoes for fish, waterfowl, rice and reeds.
With wetlands in front, woodlands behind them and wildlife all around, the natives called their home something like “Milwaukee,” which meant something like “good land,” although a more recent translation suggests “wet land,” writes Gurda.
Later, almost two hundred years ago, early laborers scraped dirt from the high spots around town and used that to fill in the wetlands. And that’s our city, built on water.
American Indians for millennia used the Great Lakes/St Lawrence River system. Voyageurs included Solomon Juneau, a teenage fur trader from Quebec, who became Milwaukee’s first mayor.
Where the three streams converged, the Milwaukee River stood eighteen feet deep and so clear that American Indian spearmen could spot their prey at the bottom. Milwaukee enjoyed the best harbor on the western shore of Lake Michigan with its broad bay and deep river.
Milwaukee’s first settlers developed the rivers following a pattern: dams first, followed by sawmills then grist mills. As the Midwest outgrew its pioneering dependence on water, the use of that resource shifted.
In the eighteen eighties, before refrigeration, brewers harvested ice from the Menomonee and Milwaukee rivers, which turned beer into a year-round production, an advantage over warmer brewing cities such as St Louis and Cincinnati.
The upper Milwaukee River became a retreat on Sundays in the days of the six-day work week. The two-mile stretch between North and Capitol, gave the city a long and narrow urban lake, accessible by foot or streetcar, from the eighteen seventies through the nineteen twenties.
By the twenties, as development of the Lake Michigan shoreline began, the role of the upper Milwaukee River faded. The city built a two-mile long breakwater to protect the shore from the lake's waves and storms, protecting beaches and a lake drive built on landfill.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s municipal sewage lagged for years before an understanding of public sanitation. The Milwaukee River, south of North Avenue, functioned as a stinking open sewer. In time, the city became a leader by developing an activated sludge method of treatment. The Jones Island plant eliminated over ninety percent of solids and bacteria, making money as the innovator by selling Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen, known to the world as Milorganite.
The big payoff for cleaning the water came in the nineteen nineties when the Milwaukee River began attracting empty-nesters and young workers who want to live downtown, on the water. Nine years ago the United Nations named Milwaukee as a Global Compact city for its stronghold of freshwater experience.
A unified vision for a riverwalk evolved thirty-five years ago with the first stretch built a couple years later by Gimbels and Milwaukee. The walk now runs a couple of miles with plans for another mile.
Early Milwaukeeans came here for the good wet lands and stayed to build a city on water.
Over two hundred maps, photographs and illustrations illuminate the story. A twelve-page appendix supports the book with sources, notes and an index.
This book pairs very well with John Gurda’s film for Milwaukee Public Television, which aired three years ago, on Earth Day. https://video.milwaukeepbs.org/show/m... Gurda wrote a column about the documentary: http://archive.jsonline.com/news/opin... I watched the video after reading the book. But watching it before can serve as a three-year-old overview of the story, updated and expanded in the book.
John Gurda’s most recent about Milwaukee’s water published a few days after this book released: https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...
By coincidence, this book rose to the top of my review queue today, the same day that The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published its review: https://www.jsonline.com/story/entert...
(For those of you who read this far: I use Goodreads to track books. This also serves as a good place for comments and summaries because I return here for facts and refreshers, which explains the longer histories.)
October 5, 2018
A well-written, accessible book that goes over the history of Milwaukee through an interesting lens. Lots of good research, cool photos, and thoughtful discussion and analysis. Touches on many time periods and topics, nothing too deep, but a wonderful overview!
April 4, 2023
Niche target audience reached! I loved this book so much. The people who also fit within the niche target audience I think would include: my dad, my 3rd grade teacher Ms. Post, and Lucy if she ever checks Goodreads again. Other people who would fit into this audience: cool people who love history and love Milwaukee!!!!!!
I want to meet John Gurda, shake his hand, and talk for hours about his research process. He provides a very comprehensive, well-written history of Milwaukee and its relationship to the water. This book alone proves that my obsession with Milwaukee is not opinion, it's FACT!!
"Milwaukee County has without question one of the finest park systems in urban America, outstanding for its beauty as well as its size. That beauty begins at the lakefront. Urban shorelines in other Great Lakes cities have often been surrendered to high-priced housing or high-volume roadways. In Milwaukee County, more than half of Lake Michigan's frontage remains in the public domain. It is a system built on water, reflecting and reinforcing a connection with the natural world that would gladden Charles Whitnall's heart. "We are seeking," he wrote, "to conserve not only God's country but Humanity."
I mean, come on? How beautiful is that. So lucky I call this place home.
I learned so much. I now know that so many street, park, and building names are named after first settlers and entrepreneurs. Lapham. Uihlein. Pfister. Layton. Cudahy. You get the point. Memories also resurfaced from my 3rd grade Social Studies unit on Milwaukee (shout out again to Ms. Post). Like the Solomon Juneau / Byron Kilbourn feud???? Soooo fascinating. The section on tanning factories brought back flashbacks of when we were watching a documentary and Ms. Post did not warn me about the hanging dead cows. Very scarring for 8-year-old Soraya. The origin of the CreamCity nickname! The creation of Lincoln Memorial Drive! The Urban Ecology Center! So many of my favorite things were mentioned.
One chapter that was particularly interesting was the one on Jones Island. I had never heard about it before (which I don't feel bad about, given that it no longer exists and is just part of the port now), and it would be such an interesting backdrop for a novel.
I learned that the gross little fish that sometimes die on the beach are actually invasive species from the canal bypassing Niagara Falls to the St. Lawrence Seaway. #classicsaltwaterL Also, the founder of Earth Day was a Wisconsin senator #classicwiscodub
If you hang out with me at all, I have probably mentioned that Milwaukee has the best tasting water in the world. And I have always believed this to be true, but now I have proof! Because we used to have horrible water. Like in 1993 there was the worst outbreak of water-borne disease in American history. Since then, Milwaukee's drinking water has become some of the most thoroughly tested and best tasting in the country. COLD HARD PROOF.
Thanks to Charles B. Whitnall and FDR, Milwaukee has one of the largest percentages of public parks, greenways, and beaches. Also, former mayor Dan Hoan helped a lot with this, and my favorite bridge in Milwaukee is named after him! It's all connected!!!
I believe I've finally exhausted my thoughts, so I leave you with one final note. Everyone needs to visit Milwaukee. Now thanks to this book, I have even more fun facts to share as a tour guide. You won't regret it.
I want to meet John Gurda, shake his hand, and talk for hours about his research process. He provides a very comprehensive, well-written history of Milwaukee and its relationship to the water. This book alone proves that my obsession with Milwaukee is not opinion, it's FACT!!
"Milwaukee County has without question one of the finest park systems in urban America, outstanding for its beauty as well as its size. That beauty begins at the lakefront. Urban shorelines in other Great Lakes cities have often been surrendered to high-priced housing or high-volume roadways. In Milwaukee County, more than half of Lake Michigan's frontage remains in the public domain. It is a system built on water, reflecting and reinforcing a connection with the natural world that would gladden Charles Whitnall's heart. "We are seeking," he wrote, "to conserve not only God's country but Humanity."
I mean, come on? How beautiful is that. So lucky I call this place home.
I learned so much. I now know that so many street, park, and building names are named after first settlers and entrepreneurs. Lapham. Uihlein. Pfister. Layton. Cudahy. You get the point. Memories also resurfaced from my 3rd grade Social Studies unit on Milwaukee (shout out again to Ms. Post). Like the Solomon Juneau / Byron Kilbourn feud???? Soooo fascinating. The section on tanning factories brought back flashbacks of when we were watching a documentary and Ms. Post did not warn me about the hanging dead cows. Very scarring for 8-year-old Soraya. The origin of the CreamCity nickname! The creation of Lincoln Memorial Drive! The Urban Ecology Center! So many of my favorite things were mentioned.
One chapter that was particularly interesting was the one on Jones Island. I had never heard about it before (which I don't feel bad about, given that it no longer exists and is just part of the port now), and it would be such an interesting backdrop for a novel.
I learned that the gross little fish that sometimes die on the beach are actually invasive species from the canal bypassing Niagara Falls to the St. Lawrence Seaway. #classicsaltwaterL Also, the founder of Earth Day was a Wisconsin senator #classicwiscodub
If you hang out with me at all, I have probably mentioned that Milwaukee has the best tasting water in the world. And I have always believed this to be true, but now I have proof! Because we used to have horrible water. Like in 1993 there was the worst outbreak of water-borne disease in American history. Since then, Milwaukee's drinking water has become some of the most thoroughly tested and best tasting in the country. COLD HARD PROOF.
Thanks to Charles B. Whitnall and FDR, Milwaukee has one of the largest percentages of public parks, greenways, and beaches. Also, former mayor Dan Hoan helped a lot with this, and my favorite bridge in Milwaukee is named after him! It's all connected!!!
I believe I've finally exhausted my thoughts, so I leave you with one final note. Everyone needs to visit Milwaukee. Now thanks to this book, I have even more fun facts to share as a tour guide. You won't regret it.
March 27, 2022
This book was neat! It totally appealed to my nerdy obsessed with Milwaukee side and was super informative and interesting.
November 15, 2018
I have often driven through Milwaukee and have enjoyed the majesty of Lake Michigan but never appreciated the role of water in the city’s development and culture until reading “Milwaukee: A City Built On Water”. We notice the Lake but pass over the rivers that feed into it. In fact, Indian settlements were placed along the three rivers that flow through the modern city.
Water has been an essential element of Milwaukee’s life and work. In the days before efficient roads and railway, the Lake and rivers were the highways on which explorers, traders and shippers moved their passengers and cargo. The Welland and Erie Canals opened the Great Lakes to Atlantic shipping while southernly routes connected them to the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico beyond. Milwaukee’s brewers drew on its fresh waters while tanners, meat packers, brickmakers and machinery production relied on abundant water to prosper. Sadly, residences and heavy industries utilized water to carry away their waste. I was surprised to learn that the rivers provided the earliest water parks with the Lake then regarded as too wild and cold. As industry has moved from Milwaukee, waterfronts that previously were polluted and barren are now covered with flora and provide picturesque views for modern offices and residences.
Author John Gurda has supplemented his entertaining and informative narrative with a host of photographs, maps and drawings that bring hues and visual images to the written word. Among my favorites are the then, black and white, and now, vivid color, photos of the same scenes.
Each reader can choose the segment of the book that most appeals to him or her. As hard as it is for me to pick just one, I like the sections of the nature of Lake Michigan and Milwaukee’s streams. We drive through Milwaukee on the way to Door County, our Wisconsin Happy Place. The one thing we have noticed there is the alewives’ die-off. The sections on invasive species explains how alewives and the introduction of coho and chinook salmon have changed life in Lake Michigan while mussels have covered the bottoms and, just hoping, will provide a feast for native whitefish.
“Milwaukee: A City Built On Water” is an easy and enjoyable read. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and how water and people can make a beautiful home together.
I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review.
Water has been an essential element of Milwaukee’s life and work. In the days before efficient roads and railway, the Lake and rivers were the highways on which explorers, traders and shippers moved their passengers and cargo. The Welland and Erie Canals opened the Great Lakes to Atlantic shipping while southernly routes connected them to the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico beyond. Milwaukee’s brewers drew on its fresh waters while tanners, meat packers, brickmakers and machinery production relied on abundant water to prosper. Sadly, residences and heavy industries utilized water to carry away their waste. I was surprised to learn that the rivers provided the earliest water parks with the Lake then regarded as too wild and cold. As industry has moved from Milwaukee, waterfronts that previously were polluted and barren are now covered with flora and provide picturesque views for modern offices and residences.
Author John Gurda has supplemented his entertaining and informative narrative with a host of photographs, maps and drawings that bring hues and visual images to the written word. Among my favorites are the then, black and white, and now, vivid color, photos of the same scenes.
Each reader can choose the segment of the book that most appeals to him or her. As hard as it is for me to pick just one, I like the sections of the nature of Lake Michigan and Milwaukee’s streams. We drive through Milwaukee on the way to Door County, our Wisconsin Happy Place. The one thing we have noticed there is the alewives’ die-off. The sections on invasive species explains how alewives and the introduction of coho and chinook salmon have changed life in Lake Michigan while mussels have covered the bottoms and, just hoping, will provide a feast for native whitefish.
“Milwaukee: A City Built On Water” is an easy and enjoyable read. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and how water and people can make a beautiful home together.
I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review.
April 13, 2025
This is a really well written book about the history of Milwaukee as it relates to its unique location in relation to Lake Michigan and rivers that run through the area. I have lived in the area since I was 7 years old but I have to say that I wasn't even aware of this part of Milwaukee's history.
I did recognize many of the locations. It was so interesting to know the history behind them. If Milwaukee had not taken the bull by the horns and solved the water and sewage problems this would be a terrible place to live! I was aware of the changes as they were taking place but to look back on it and then know what it looks like now is truly eye opening.
John Gurda's writing style makes this a very readable book.
I did recognize many of the locations. It was so interesting to know the history behind them. If Milwaukee had not taken the bull by the horns and solved the water and sewage problems this would be a terrible place to live! I was aware of the changes as they were taking place but to look back on it and then know what it looks like now is truly eye opening.
John Gurda's writing style makes this a very readable book.
October 3, 2018
Excellent...I don't believe there is a book authored by John Gurda that isn't! Basing the history of Milwaukee by using Lake Michigan, the 3 rivers, and various streams highlights just how important it is not to backslide and treat our water as an expendable source to be used & dirtied.
Good companion to read along with Dan Egan's "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes".
Good companion to read along with Dan Egan's "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes".
May 3, 2021
Coming from Wisconsin I never understood how much Milwaukee depended on water. We definitely studied as a kid but only in Waukesha County area which had a neat water history all its own. But learning about the industry's and the recreation that built up from this city and also the horrible damage that was done trying to come up with a sewage problem definitely make this book in interesting read.
June 6, 2019
This is a great book. John Gurda has the ability to write about history in a very engaging way. Anybody who has an interest in Milwaukee would do well to read this book, especially as we try to figure out how to care for the great water resources right on our doorstep.
August 6, 2018
An excellent history of Milwaukee's use - and abuse - of the water resources on which it grew. Highly recommended.
August 8, 2018
Got this from the library, but after receiving it I realized that I wasn't really interested in reading another book by John Gurda about Milwaukee.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2019
Fascinating history of Milwaukee’s relationship with its water. Loved the chapter on Jones Island— had no idea about its shantytown past.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews