Estabrook Park
LocationShorewood, Wisconsin, United States
Coordinates43°05′54″N 87°54′17″W / 43.098293°N 87.904689°W / 43.098293; -87.904689
Area126.25 acres (51.09 ha)
Created1916 (1916)
Operated byMilwaukee County Parks Department
Websitehttps://county.milwaukee.gov/files/county/parks-department/Park-Maps/Estabrook1.pdf

Estabrook Park is a Milwaukee County park in the village of Shorewood, Wisconsin and is home to the 1,081 ft (329 m) WITI TV Tower and the historic Benjamin Church House.[1] It was named for Charles E. Estabrook, a distinguished Wisconsin lawyer and politician,[2] and is located on a nearly 125 acre, strip of land between the Milwaukee River and the former Chicago and North Western Railway, now converted into part of the Oak Leaf Trail.

Amenities

There are picnic areas, soccer fields, a disc golf course, a softball diamond, a dog park, a beach volleyball court, a skatepark, and the Estabrook Park Beer Garden.[3]

History

The riverside site was home to the Milwaukee Cement Company from 1875 to 1911.[2] The park was established in 1916, and the first parkway in the Milwaukee River Parkway system was added in 1927. Significant development took place in the early and mid-1930s, led in part by the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1937 Milwaukee County constructed a dam at the park to raise water levels for recreational purposes.[4] A year later the Benjamin Church house was restored and moved to the park in 1938.[1] The WITI TV Tower was erected within the park in 1962. In 2018 the dam was removed.[4]

Pond

There is a small pond, sometimes called Estabrook Park Lagoon, covering about 1 acre (0.40 ha) to a maximum depth of 6 ft (1.8 m) and with a small island near the north end.[5] It is reported to contain panfish, trout, goldfish, chinese mystery snail, and Eurasian watermilfoil.[6] There have also been sightings, depending on the season, of painted turtles, red-eared sliders, common snapping turtles, muskrats, American bullfrogs, American toads, Canada geese, mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teals, great blue herons, green herons, red-breasted mergansers, hooded mergansers, pied-billed grebes, ring-billed gulls, and belted kingfishers in and on the water. Canada geese, mallards, and wood ducks have been observed to lay eggs, incubate them, and hatch broods of goslings and ducklings.

Beer garden

"Estabrook Beer Garden brought back the tradition of public beer gardens to Milwaukee."[7] "Estabrook Beer Garden is part of the Milwaukee County Park System, developed and operated under contract by ABC Estabrook INC d/b/a Estabrook Beer Garden."

Disc golf

There is a 20-hole disc golf course covering much of the northern end of the park.

Antennas

There are four broadcasting antenna in and near the park: one, free-standing tower antenna located entirely in the park at the south east corner, and three triangular lattice guyed mast antenna located just across the Milwaukee River from the park, each with a guy-wire anchor located in the park. From north to south, they are:

Milwaukee Formation exposed along the river

Geology

The park comprises a mostly flat plateau at about 650 ft (200 m) above sea level, a bluff descending about 50 ft (15 m) to the Milwaukee river at about 600 ft (180 m) above sea level, and some flat areas along the river bank. The Milwaukee Formation is exposed on the descent to the river.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Shorewood Landmarks". Milwaukee County Historical Society. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  2. 1 2 "History of Estabrook". Friends of Estabrook Park. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  3. ↑ "Estabrook Beer Garden". Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  4. 1 2 "Estabrook Dam Removal". Milwaukee Riverkeeper. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  5. ↑ "Estabrook Park Lagoon". Lake-Link Inc. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  6. ↑ "Estabrook Park Lagoon". Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  7. ↑ "Beer Gardens". Milwaukee County. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  8. ↑ USGS (2018). Milwaukee, WI (Map). USGS.


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