Plumb—Early Harbor History of Wisconsin 193 
pended nearly a half million dollars and the result is a twenty- 
foot channel and a breakwater. 
A more important harbor is to he found at Racine, twenty- 
three miles south of Milwaukee. A survey was made here by 
the government in 1837 but all efforts to secure an appropriation 
failed until 1844, when $12,500 was allotted to it. Four years 
prior to that, however, since legislative memorials and individ¬ 
ual petitions had proved unavailing, the city commenced work 
on two piers and before 1844 had voted at a harbor meeting $10,- 
000 in taxes and subscriptions and $25,000 in bonds. The 
county extended aid also and an agent was sent to Washington 
at a salary of four hundred dollars a year to solicit money. In¬ 
dividuals guaranteed the city loans in one instance, in expecta¬ 
tion of national assistance and the act of 1843 permitted city 
harbor works to be sold to the general government. In fact such 
a start had the local undertakings obtained that, when the gov¬ 
ernment did begin appropriating money, sarcasm was aimed at 
it for playing the part of an assistant in connection with “a 
little village.” By 1845 the harbor was so well advanced that 
vessels could enter it, although the old bridge-piers were still 
usdd long afterwards. In 185Q a prominent citizen, Philo 
White, published a lengthy account of Lake Michigan improve¬ 
ments, in which he particularly recommended Racine for gov¬ 
ernment aid. A board of harbor commissioners, three in num¬ 
ber, were appointed six years later but their activity was inter¬ 
rupted by the Civil War. IJp to 1879 the locality had spent 
about $60,000 while the government, which assumed full charge 
of the work in 1866, has appropriated ten times that sum, re¬ 
cently completing a protection breakwater. 
The metropolis of the state, Milwaukee, owes much of its past 
and present importance to its harbor, whose situation, one hun¬ 
dred miles from the foot of the lake has given it. great advan¬ 
tages. As early as 1834 attention was called to its improve¬ 
ment and Captain Berrien made a survey and recommended 
that the government take action. The same year also witnessed 
the construction of a pier by the first resident, Solomon Juneau, 
and the building of the first vessel, while a lighthouse, estab¬ 
lished in 1838, was the first government improvement. The 
