Oak Creek Historical Society

Jan Mucha Farmstead

 

Location: 9520 S. Chicago Rd. Oak Creek, WI

Established: 1908

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Jan Mucha was born in Niezychowko, Poland, in 1862 and arrived in Milwaukee in 1885. He married Katarzyna Rewolinski at St. Hyacinth Church in Milwaukee in 1888, working in a coal yard until about 1897 when he and his family (eventually including 12 children) moved to a farm in Oak Creek Township. His children were Helen, Frank John, Sophia, Leon, Sigismund John, Jadwiga, Stella, Sylvester, Joseph, Floryan, Irene and Adam. The family farmed rented land until 1908 when Jan purchased land on Chicago Rd. near Ryan Rd.The farm land seemed to hold little promise but Jan persisted, studying farm journals and trying new ideas.

 

In the words of his daughter Stella:

When I was eight, father bought 30 acres of land primarily all swamp and woods.  I think that the neighbors thought that he was “out of his mind” when he said he intended to cultivate the land and build a home on it. He dynamited the stumps and throughout the lowlands he put in tile drains to secure good drainage (a novelty in that community). In a few years his was the best farm in the community as far as appearance and production was concerned.

 

Jan and several carpenters built a barn, shed and a seven room house. The first floor of the house consisted of a dining room, a large living room with bay windows, three bedrooms and a parlor. The parlor was normally shut off from the rest of the house, used only for special occasions. A large kitchen was constructed in the basement. The house still stands today.