Jones Island was an early Milwaukee settlement for Polish fishermen who formed a community there. Jones Island is located just south of the present Summerfest grounds.

Pabst Brewery

Workers putting the finishing touches on City Hall in 1896

Pabst Mansion

The city also has a number of historical churches.  St. Stanislaus Catholic church was built in 1873 and St. Josaphat’s Basilica in 1901 by Polish immigrants.  St. Josaphat’s Basilica church is beautifully designed with stained glass windows, and features one of the top five largest domes in the world. 

Other attractions include Miller Brewery tours, Mitchell Park Horticultural Domes, Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin Black Historical Museum, and Milwaukee Art Museum.  Milwaukee is also home to the Brewers baseball team and the Bucks basketball team.

Economical

After the fur trading business died off and the union of Juneatown and Kilbourn, Milwaukee became a major port city, exporting and importing goods.  By 1860 Milwaukee was the largest shipper of wheat in the whole world.  During this same time period the brewing industry was being created by the Germans.  The Germans owned about 24 breweries by 1856, with Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, and Blatz being the most popular.  Although only one major brewery, Miller, still remains in Milwaukee today, it was beer that is said to have made Milwaukee famous.  Around the time of the end of the Civil War the wheat market had declined greatly.  Milwaukee saw rapid industrialization with the manufacturing of steel and iron, meatpacking, and tanning.

Although thousands of immigrants arrived to take many of the jobs, people worked harder and longer in unsatisfactory working conditions for very little pay.  An average mill worker would work 10 hour days, 7 days a  week for only $1.25 per day.  It was during this time that labor unions began to organize demanding 8 hour work days and much better treatment.  In 1886 a massive strike by iron mill workers caused most of the city to be closed down.  The local militia was used to try to control the situation but the strike ended with 9 casualties.  The policy of Prohibition in 1919 left a damaging effect on Milwaukee’s economy for many years to follow.  Nearly all of Milwaukee’s bars were forced to close down and the breweries were either shut down or began producing other products.  Due to this and the Depression years, there was a rise in unemployment and poverty.  It was not until World War II that Milwaukee had an economic comeback.  The factories of the city produced materials for the war and was known as “the machine shop of the world”.  Once again there were labor shortages.  Immigrants from Jamaica and Barbados were brought in, and for the first time, African Americans were able to easily find jobs in the city, yet still for lower wages than the whites. 

Solomon Juneau was Milwaukee’s first mayor, but only until 1848 when Kilbourn became mayor.  The deadly labor striking incident in 1886 created a greater interest and involvement in the cities government.  The socialist’s involvement in the reform movement gave them access for political gain.  In 1910, Emil Seidel was elected the first socialist mayor of the city and nation.  Seidel's election was the beginning of a socialist era that lasted for the next 50 years to follow.  During his two years of office, Seidel made 8 hour working days standard and increased the minimum wage.  Dan Hoan was the next socialist mayor elected in 1916 and stayed in office until 1940.  During his time as mayor, Milwaukee won a number of awards as healthiest, safest, and best policed big city in the United States.  During the depression, Hoan created new jobs and issued bonds to city employees that could be used as cash.  He also used money from the federal government to build libraries, start recreational programs, and create a public park system.  In 1936 the cover of Time Magazine featured Hoan calling him “one of the nation’s ablest public servants, and under him, Milwaukee has become perhaps the best governed city in the United States.

Social

Milwaukee has grown to become a city with a rich and diverse cultural history.  The city has been committed to preserving many of its historical buildings.  One of the better known is the Pabst Mansion, home of Frederick Pabst, the owner of Pabst beer, built in 1889.  The thirty seven room home is located on Milwaukee’s famous Grand Avenue, and can be toured year round. 

St. Josaphat Basilica Church

In recent years Milwaukee has gained the reputation as a city of festivals.  German Fest, one of the many ethnic festivals of the city, takes place every summer on Milwaukee’s lake front in Maier Festival Park.  It offers food, music, activities, and of course plenty of beer.  Every summer nearly 1 million people attend Summerfest on the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee.  For 11 days Summerfest features live music at one of its thirteen stages, food, and activities that last all day and night.

The Mitchell Park Horticultural Domes