Where would Milwaukee be without Solomon Juneau? How long would it have taken for Milwaukee to begin growing? Who would have been the one to take that initiative? Who knows! It was Solomon Juneau who literally put Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the map.
The Beginnings
Like many that shaped early Wisconsin, Solomon Juneau was from Canada. He was born in 1793 near Montreal and grew up to seek his fortune in the area that would be Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He became a fur trader and settled down in Green Bay while travelling to the Milwaukee area multiple times on business as his boss owned a fur trading post on the Menominee River. Eventually, Juneau rose enough in the ranks to buy out his boss and take ownership of the growing fur trading company. While doing this, he became a United States citizen, changed his name from his birth name Laurent Salomon Juneau, and married the old boss’s daughter.
On to Milwaukee
Juneau moved to the Milwaukee trading post and began expanding not only his business but the area that was beginning to grow up around the three rivers. He saw the potential that was there with the location and the setting.
In fact, Juneau because the king of firsts for Milwaukee. He was the first settler of the area to erect a log house which showed permanency. From there, he erected the first frame house showing civilization. He then began entering smart partnerships to expand the area and encourage growth. One major development was the selling of land and enticement of settlers to the area east of the Milwaukee River. He built two story houses and the first hotel known as Belleview House.
He did not stop there. He helped organize the first elections for officials and was elected himself to the positions of Commissioners of Roads and Director of the Poor. It was not long as the area grew that a post office was needed. Once it was built, Juneau was elected the very first postmaster and served in that role form 1835 to 1843.
This was not enough as a town that was growing into something major and had the potential to be big a newspaper was needed. This was the lifeline of many communities who used it to communicate with the outside world and to keep abreast of things happening in their own areas. He began the Milwaukee Sentinel.
On he went to become the first mayor and the first president of the Village of Milwaukee. He worked with others to build the first courthouse in the county.
Being the first was not what he limited himself to. He believed in good relations with the natives of the area. He was the liaison for the government and the native tribes. He learned to speak Menominee and even Potawatomi very well. It was on a mission for the United States government to the natives that he developed possible appendicitis and died. Many including chiefs from the various tribes attended his funeral and have homage to a man who was the heartbeat of Milwaukee for many decades.
Sources:
wisconsinhistory.org
uwgb.edu
expressmilwaukee.com
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