This EarthCache is an easy four-tenths of a mile stroll from the parking lot. About half of the distance is asphalt. The remainder is a fairly level grass-covered hiking trail. It is possible to get to the cache in a wheelchair if you are determined and/or motorized! The coordinates will take you to the middle of a bridge spanning Lincoln Creek.
Educational Information: Take a close look at this map from 1836. The area outlined in red is the land that would become Havenwoods. Take note of the location of creeks on this map.
An 1869 plat map shows a creek, identified in other sources as Mud Creek, just south of Havenwoods’ western border.
A 1932 topographic map shows a creek flowing through Havenwoods.
At this point you may be wondering, how does a creek appear out of nowhere? Our best guess is this: as farmers converted the lowland forest to farmland, they needed to drain the land. Lincoln Creek probably started out as a drainage ditch. As more land was cleared, the ditch grew. In November 1930, Milwaukee County Farm Drain No. 21 was established on the north side of Milwaukee. At some point, that farm drain became known as Lincoln Creek.
Slowly during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, the city of Milwaukee encircled the future Havenwoods. Rain fell on impervious buildings, roads, and parking lots. With no place to soak in, the rain followed the slope of the land to end up in creeks and rivers. By the mid-1970s, Lincoln Creek couldn’t handle the volume of water that ran off after big rainstorms.
At some point the creek was straightened and deepened, an attempt to move more water faster, but there was just too much water. Between 1960 and 1986, almost 2000 flooding problems were reported in the Lincoln Creek watershed. Basements, ground-level floors, and yards flooded. Each year brought fewer places for the water to go and more severe flooding. And that brings us to the need for flood control . . .
Look back at William Burt's 1836 survey map one more time. Notice the three wetland areas. By the mid-1970s, those wetlands were long gone. People had spent years converting wetlands to farmlands and then cities. They tried to handle rainwater by making the creeks straight, so they could drain water faster. They even lined them with concrete to increase the water speed. Sadly, it took over 150 years to realize that the best way to handle rainwater is to have open wet places for the water to collect and soak in – similar to those wetlands that William and his survey crew encountered years ago.
From 1970 to 2000, plans to construct flood control ponds at Havenwoods were in the works. In 2000, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District began construction of three detention basins at Havenwoods. The work here was part of a comprehensive plan to reduce flooding in the Lincoln Creek watershed.
This picture from 2002 shows the work in progress. On the right you can see Lincoln Creek. The creek was moved east (to the left in the picture), widened, and sculpted with graceful curves. A berm (middle of photo) separates the creek from the detention basins (left side of photo). Look at the signs near the bridge to find out more about how the creek was engineered to help control downstream flooding.
To get credit for this EarthCache, you must answer these questions:
How does Lincoln Creek enter the property?
How long is the bridge?
Why is the bridge so high and long?
How does the water get into the ponds?
The cache was created by map turtle in 2009.
This cache is part of Trek Through Time,
a geocaching adventure at Havenwoods.