[milwaukee-electric] Re: 1930s Transport Company Map, Showing the Creeks

[Gary Schnabl]

On 7/11/2010 6:45 PM, Ken and Tracie wrote:
> One map I have shows it that way, a 1927 TM map. Another map shows it
> flowing into the other Lincoln Creek tributary (the one originating in Holy
> Cross cemetery)  near about 54th, just north of Capitol Drive. No guarantee
> the latter map was accurate. That may have been a proposed re-routing and
> they just put it in the tunnel instead and the map maker jumped the gun.
>    
I did not know there was a cemetery at 54th. The older creek between 
52nd and 53rd, south of Capitol Drive, was heading roughly NNW, so that 
might have been the very same creek in the cemetery. There was a church 
and school on the odd side of 5200 West Capitol (corner of 53rd), and 
that former creek would have have to go right through that property once 
before probably its being shunted into a sewer or having its source of 
water dried up.

Somehow, I stopped noticing the (two?) small creeks in the area west of 
Fond du Lac around 1955, when I started delivering papers near there.



> Looking at the Google Earth map, the tunnels for the creeks from McGovern
> Park and Holy Cross Cemetery via Dineen park, actually enter Lincoln Creek
> almost directly across from each other at 47th Street, not 45th. My mistake.
> I should checked the street numbers before my last posting.
>    

 From my own spelunking as a kid, there was a rather large (stinking) 
storm sewer just south of the southern Congress and a bit west of 47th. 
Reports still indicate its being polluted. At about that same point, 
there was a straight trench going due NS and emptying into the creek 
from the north. The current maps show it being rerouted and bent during 
its final 700 feet or so. I assume that the CCC simply dug that trench 
at around 46 1/2 Street for rain runoff. It was mostly a "temporary" 
stream during the early 1950s, except after a rainfall.

The area to the north of the creek at the 47th Street dam was a rather 
steep hill, considering the short horizontal distance, with a small 
woods there. It probably took in much of the north side of the creek 
from 46 1/2 Street to until about 49th Street or a bit to the east of 
that. There was just one (farm?) house there, either on 47th or 48th 
Street, facing to the east with a fence around it and backing on the 
creek. I remember that a rather cute girl about my age lived there...


Gary

> I know that there was concern about moving "Old Smokey" (the Milwaukee Road
> 4-8-4 steam locomotive # 265) to Capitol Court due to the tunnels. It was on
> display on the South Side and had to be moved. Capitol Court management
> initially wanted it, but changed their mind.
>
> As we all know, it wound up at the Illinois Railway Museum.
>
> K.
>    
-- 

Gary Schnabl
Southwest Detroit, two miles NORTH! of Canada--Windsor, that is...

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