Solomon Juneau Monument, Milwaukee

The Juneau Monument is a public artwork by American artist Richard Henry Park located on the grounds of Juneau Park, Milwaukee. The base of the statue is made of limestone. On top of the base is a bronze statue of Solomon Juneau.

Solomon Juneau was the first mayor of Milwaukee. Juneau was a French Canadian born in a small village near Montreal, Lower Canada on August 9, 1793. Juneau was a French trader with the American Fur Company. In 1818, the American Fur Company established a trading post in Milwaukee. Juneau decided to purchase the land between the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan and named it Juneau Town.

He was the postmaster and the first president of the Village of Milwaukee. He was elected the first mayor of the City of Milwaukee in 1846. Juneau died in 1856 while making an Indian payment for the U.S. Government at a reservation in Keshena.

Shoe manufacturers Charles T. Bradley and William H. Metcalf, friends of the Juneau family, donated the monument as a gift in remembrance of the first mayor of Milwaukee. The sculpture was unveiled on July 6, 1887 by Juneau’s granddaughter, Hattie White.