The following “timeline” is an attempt to reconstruct, with documented evidence, the sequence of events that led to the creation of Goat Island:
•22-May-1879 – “The water has got so low below the Dam near the Crawfish bridge that there is an island in the center of the stream.”
•8-Nov-1933 – “The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a short-lived job creation program established by the New Deal during the Great Depression in the United States to rapidly create mostly manual-labor jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter of 1933–34. President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the CWA and put Harry L. Hopkins in charge of the short-term agency.
•30-Nov-1933 – “The forerunners to a group of 70 men were put to work shoveling gravel Tuesday as the city began to utilize its share of labor allotted here in the appropriation to alleviate unemployment by starting a crew of 12 men. Only one project will be attempted here, the dredging & walling in of the Rock River from the dam to the Jct. of the Crawfish River. On the West Side of the river a 6′ mortarized stone wall will be built from the west end of the dam to the abutment of the Crawfish Bridge. This will necessitate much grading & filling in, all of which will be done with hand labor. On the east side of the river a similar wall will be erected to run from the east end of the abutment of the gates to join the present wall fronting the river on the Stoppenbach property. In addition a dredging machine has been acquired to dredge 2 channels in the river on either side, the surplus dirt to be thrown in the center of the river bed where an island will be erected. These 2 channels will provide sufficient depth so that the current will keep the river bed from accumulating with weeds & slime & giving off that distinctive & unpleasant odor so prevalent during the summer months. The cost of the project will be $24,000 of which $18,000 will be for labor.”
7-Dec-1933 – “Workers on the city relief project are rushing the erection of the protecting walls to have the bases constructed before the advent of stormy weather. The city payroll now embraces 75 men, working 7 1/2 hrs. per day, 4 days a week. The dredging machine is expected to arrive sometime Wednesday.”
21-Dec-1933 – “85 men are now employed on the Rock River CWA Project. The wall on the east side has been completed with the exception of an outlet for the dredge, & over 100′ of the west wall is completed. The dredge has begun work on the island. Approx. $5,200 has been spent for wages so far, $1,700 for trucks hauling materials & $1,000 of materials from local dealers as in shovels, picks, forks cement, etc.”
25-Jan-1934 – “The wall on the west side of the river has practically been completed & the next step will be the construction of a stone & cement abutment at the north end of the proposed island in the shape of a “V” to be about 80′ long to shelter the island from the ravages of spring torrents.”
22-Feb-1934 – “The flag was raised on the protecting wall of the island & a tree of the Christmas variety was planted.”
31-Mar-1934 – “The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a project created under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The CWA created construction jobs, mainly improving or constructing buildings and bridges. It ended on March 31, 1934, after spending $200 million a month and giving jobs to four million people.”
5-Apr-1934 – “Spring flood waters damaged the point of the island built as part of the CWA project. The point of the island cracked off Tues. carrying with it a portion of 10′ to 15′ of the wall on both sides.”
18-Apr-1935 – “Jefferson’s Alphabet Island is being improved. Rows of willows have been set out along the outer edges & 40 elm trees, 10′ to 12′ in height, have been purchased & are now being set out. It will also be seeded this year.”
22-Aug-1935 – Plans are being made to transfer the Rock River Island between Jefferson & Fort Atkinson from the Federal Government to Jefferson County for recreational purposes.
If you are interested in making any donations to help us raise & nurture our goats & the Goat Island Habitat, please email us at [email protected]