Minniska Mineral Spring

Minniska Spring is one of the last remaining mineral springs available to public view in Waukesha. It was opened in 1897 and originally known as Hazel Spring, It was restored in the early 1990s by the Waukesha Landmarks commission, and officially rededicated on May 20th, 1995. The spring is currently located amidst apartments on Mac Arthur Ct.

Minniska spring originally opened under the name Hazel spring in 1897. An invitation to the grand opening of the spring was sent out, which contained an illustration of the spring and the surrounding area. The name Hazel Spring lasted only about a year, as in March of 1898 the name was changed to the Minniska Mineral spring. An article about the spring detailing information on the bottling process and the spring itself can be found in the Waukesha Freeman newspaper for July 14th, 1898. The article describes the updated equipment at the spring's bottling plant, telling of how the new equipment was helping to decrease manual labor, saying that with the new machines one person can accomplish as much as three people could with the old process. The company bottled water and other beverages under the names Minniska, Hazel, and Cybelle. Crates baring these names can be seen in an interior photo of the Minniska spring bottling plant taken in the late 1890s. The company went out of business near the 1920s.

In 1970 the existence of Minniska spring was brought to the attention of historian and collector John Lauber, who conducted research and brought the attention of the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum to the spring. It was planned soon after this that apartment building would soon be built on the site. A deal was made with the Waukesha Landmarks Commission that would put $5,000 towards restoration of the spring, as it was in ruin after being left neglected for over 20 years. The main work in restoring the spring started in 1990, and the restoration would be the biggest project the Landmarks Commission had carried out up until that point. The spring was officially rededicated on May 20th, 1995, but updates were added in the early 2000s, such as in 2002 when security lights were added to the spring and a pump was installed to help the spring drain properly. A reproduction of a Minniska spring advertising sign hangs over the spring, and the spring is still available to public view.

Schoenknecht, John Martin. Great Waukesha Springs Era 1868-1918. Edition 1. Waukesha, WI. John M. Schoenknecht, 2003.

Waukesha Freeman, July 14th, 1898