January 31: The Milwaukee Bridge Wars

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader Podcast. Today is January 31st, and our story is the Milwaukee Bridge Wars. Their rivalries were the stuff of legend. The Hatfields and the McCoys, the House of Lancaster and the House of York, Junotown and Kilburntown.

Maybe legend is a stretch for the latter, but in 1840s Wisconsin, the animosity between Junotown and Kilburntown was no laughing matter. Fueled in large part by the rivalry between the town's respective founders, the Catholic Solomon Juno and the Protestant Byron Kilbourne, citizens of the two towns spent the better part of five years warring over the bridges that spanned the Milwaukee River.

Juno Town lay to the east of the river, Kilbourne Town to the west. In order for trade to flourish, it was important that those bridges be well placed. Kilburn, however, didn't want to see any flourishing trade in the more Catholic Junotown. His hope was to make the town dependent on his own, so that he could exercise control over both towns. Accordingly, when the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature ordered a new bridge built over the Milwaukee River, Kilburn opposed the plan. When his opposition failed, he and the citizens of Kilburn Town destroyed the newly built bridge.

In retaliation, men from Junotown destroyed two smaller bridges along the river, cutting off Kilburntown from trade in the east and south. There were riots and fires, and more than a few injuries, although thankfully, no one was killed. The dispute finally ended on January 31, 1845, when a treaty united the two towns, as well as Walkertown to the south, into the modern-day city of Milwaukee.

Milwaukee elected Juneau as the town's first mayor. He served one term. Then, in 1848, when Kilbourne was elected to the same office, Juneau moved north, leaving behind the town he had founded, as well as St. Peter's Parish and St. John's Cathedral, which were built upon land he had donated to the church. He died in 1856.

Kilbourne served two terms as mayor, and eventually retired to Florida, where he died in 1870. The Milwaukee Bridge Wars remind us that conflict often precedes progress. Rivalries, if handled poorly, can escalate, but with vision and compromise, even deeply divided communities can unite. Like in this story, as Catholic and Protestant leaders ultimately found a path to reconciliation.

How do we respond to conflict in our own lives? Today, identify a disagreement or conflict in your life. Then, take one step this week to work toward understanding, compromise, or resolution. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, February 1st, for another story of faith and courage in America.