Jones Island (Martin)
c. 20th century
An island formed with the meeting of the three rivers that make up the Milwaukee harbor, Jones Island was settled by Polish and German immigrants in the 1870’s. These new American’s created a unique, multicultural community on the island. They made their living by fishing and the island developed into a successful fishing “village” that thrived at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, as a deed for the land had never been written the city considered these residents squatters. Milwaukee began to transform the island in 1920 evicting the fisherman and turning Jones Island into a utilitarian space. The Polish fisherman held out under the pressure to leave until the early 1940’s but eventually even these very dedicated people had to leave. This one time eclectic community eventually became an island complete with a sewage treatment plant for the citizens of Milwaukee, as well as a series of docking ports creating an industrial and incredibly useful space for Milwaukee to grow into a modern city throughout the reminder of the 20th century.
