WHAT WE DO
The Sheboygan County Historical Research Center serves the public by collecting, preserving and making available the written documentation and images of Sheboygan County. It is our mission to help you.
The Research Center is open to the public four days each week, free of charge. Research assistants will help you with your research journey, guiding you through the process, making sure your visit is a success.
Small fees may apply to extra services like copies and photos.
Please help support our center by making a donation below.
WE ARE UNIQUE
What’s the difference between the Research Center and the Sheboygan County Museum?
The SCHRC is a private archive. It is a sister organization to the Sheboygan County Historical Society and Museum. The two organizations work very closely together, but are, in fact, two distinct entities with similar purposes. The Sheboygan County Historical MUSEUM collects 3D artifacts (chairs, clothing, farm machinery) associated with Sheboygan County. Sheboygan County Historical RESEARCH CENTER collects paper history (maps, photos, newspaper articles, scrapbooks) of the county. An easy way to remember is – If you dust it, it goes to the museum. If you file it, it comes to the Research Center.
Library Collections
The stacks in the library at SCHRC contain church records and a massive collection of obituaries 1830s to present. The German language newspaper, Plymouth Post, 1890-1930 have been translated and indexed. SCHRC has yearbooks from most high schools in the county, good general county history, biographies, diaries, marriage license applications, hundreds of family genealogies, company records and catalogs, private research collections including those of Sheboygan County’s WPA projects; Sheboygan County during WWII, On the Home Front; Peter Laun’s research collection; Sheboygan County plat maps and city directories, Civil War history, Spanish-American War history and so much more.
General Information Files
SCHRC has over 20,000 general information files (newspaper clippings, one of a kind family items, past research correspondence, small genealogies) focusing on family surnames, local business and industry, Sheboygan County towns, villages and cities, local landmarks, clubs and organizations, landmarked properties, churches and much more. The information in each family file is not necessarily specific to one family. You will have to sort through to find your family. A specific family file is created only when the amount of information collected necessitates its formation. If we do not have a family file for your family, not to worry; there are many other avenues to explore! Consider it to be the perfect opportunity to start a family file of your own. New files are created every week and existing files are added to constantly.
Photo Collection
The photo collection at the Research Center surpasses the 500,000 mark; they’re prints of all sizes, tin types, slides and negatives. They’re numbered and indexed, cross referenced and identified. All are available for research.
SCHRC also has 100,000+ photos from the Plymouth Review and the Falls News. New to the collection is the latest segment of Sheboygan Press photos. These two collections are not yet integrated into the main collection.
OUR STAFF
The Research Center is managed by a staff of five. They are Steven Rogstad, Executive Director, Mary Parrish, Administrative Assistant, Katie Reilly, Lead Researcher, Michele Barry and Richard Stoelb, Research Assistants.