Milwaukee Bridge War Ends and City Becomes Unified (1846)
On January 31, 1846, after the Milwaukee Bridge War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified together to form the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Bridge War was a conflict that occurred in 1845 between the east and west regions of what are now Milwaukee, Wisconsin over the construction of a drawbridge crossing the Milwaukee River. In particular, a rivalry grew between Kilbourntown, west-side Milwaukee, and Juneautown, east-side Milwaukee, mainly over the actions of Byron Kilbourn, Kilbourntown's founder, who wanted Kilbourntown to grow in size and prestige at the expense of Juneautown.
Around 1840, the Wisconsin Legislature required the area of Milwaukee to build a drawbridge to replace the outdated ferry system. Kilbourntown and Juneautown feuded over the how, where, and why the bridge should be built. The animosity between the east and west side of Milwaukee grew. Then, in 1845, as the bride was being constructed, a mob gathered at the river base of the bridge in protest and several people were seriously injured.
Eventually, both east and west side Milwaukeeans realized they needed to work together instead of against each other to build the community. They finally ended the Milwaukee Bridge War. On January 31, 1846, the east and west joined together into the City of Milwaukee – two years before Wisconsin became the 30th state in the United States. At that time, Milwaukee's population was around 10,000 people.