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    By Scott Knickelbine On the night of October 8, 1871, a whirlwind of fire swept through northeastern Wisconsin, destroying the bustling frontier town of Peshtigo. Trees, buildings, and people burst into flames. Metal melted. Sand turned into glass. People thought the end of the world had come. When the "tornado of fire" was over, 2,500 people were dead, and Peshtigo was nothing but a smoking ruin. It was the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history. Kids’ book.
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    By Reverend Peter Pernin Rev. Pernin was the parish priest for Peshtigo and nearby Marinette, whose churches burned to the ground. He published his ac-count of the fire in 1874. The late William Converse Haygood served as editor of the Wisconsin Magazine of History from 1957 to 1975. He prepared this version of Father Pernin's account on the occasion of the Peshtigo Fire's centennial in 1971.
  • By John Textor This is the story of the November 1847 sinking of the propeller ship, Phoenix, from a new perspective. Most of the fatalities were of new Dutch immigrants and this book tells of how life might have been different had the catastrophe not happened.
  • By Oostburg Historical Society Hundreds of photos of the village of Oostburg. Designed as a companion book to Oostburg, Haven of Hope.
  • By Bernard Michaels A story of the settlement of the northern Kettle Moraine in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin focusing on the town of Mitchell.
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    Prisoner 19053

    $12.00
    By Robert Matzner Sheboygan resident, Robert Matzner, had a very important story to tell. Friend, Larry Vogel, helped him to put pen to paper. The result is Prisoner 19053, the true story of Matzner’s three years in Nazi concentration camps. Matzner, a native of Poland, lost most of his family to the Nazi’s Final Solution. He somehow survived the horror and came to the United States and Sheboygan with his family in 1949. Robert and Larry have written a remarkable document, a story full of sadness and hope which will touch all readers. The introduction, written by Robert’s son, Murray, is a poignant tribute and a great beginning to Prisoner 19053.
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    The Random Local History Reader is filled with odd and interesting history. What is the real story of the Dead Horse? Who was the Black Terror of Sheboygan? Have you ever read an obituary for an outhouse? Learn the meaning of the term, Yeggman. Find out why Cupid was baffled. And read the full story behind the murder of revered, early teacher, John Sexton. Great reading for quiet time, you’ll enjoy every story and photo included in this random collection of historical gems.
  • Rebuilding a Railroad in the 21st Century: Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, documents the rebuilding of an 11-mile rail line in Sheboygan County, after being dormant for nearly 30 years.  This was more than just a fix-it-up job, but the replacement of the entire line from the ground up with new track built to modern standards to handle heavy loads.  It also required one trestle to be completely replaced and others reinforced.  Adding to the generous amount of photos, there are “before” and “after” photos taken at dozens of locations, and it won’t seem possible that these photos were taken at the same location. Also included is the history of this line from the pre-civil war era to current times.  Old rail dating back over 150 years was found and included is the story that these old rails tell.
  • By Howards Grove Historical Research Group, Doris Henschel.

    Ada was one of four small trading places (Howard, Franklin, Edwards and Ada) in the township in 1912. Ada consisted of a hotel, cheese factory, store and blacksmith. The population of town Herman in 1910 was 1,913, the majority of whom were Germans. This hamlet, located on the old Calumet-Sheboygan Plank Road twelve miles northwest of Sheboygan has a name of unknown origin. The post office was established on January 13, 1868, with Anton Goepfert acting as the first postmaster. Operations were discontinued on November 18, 1873. It was re-established on August 31, 1877, and once again discontinued permanently on April 30, 1909. William Maurer was the last postmaster. The book is full of history and wonderful memories.

  • The story of the Milwaukee Northern . . . Sheboygan's interurban link to the rest of the world by Peter Fetterer. Available by about November 30, 2018.
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    SCHRC Knit Scarf

    $10.00
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    By Mary Jane Gruett Twelve year old Derk Van Vliet began the adventure of a lifetime in Holland in 1847. He left his home, his friends and his faithful dog, Bello, to begin a new life in America. But, disaster struck as his ship came within sight of its destination, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Phoenix, a Great Lakes steamer, normally delivered immigrants to their new homes. But, on Derk’s voyage, the doomed Phoenix, was part of an historic disaster which would cause Derk to question everything about life. He would have to forge ahead to find a new life and search to find courage deep within himself.
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    By Bill Wangemann.

    This is a collection of Sheboygan City Historian, Bill Wangemann’s 2005 and 2006 Sheboygan Press articles. Topics include Memories of Railroads, Electric Rail or the Interurbans, maritime stories- The Burning of the Niagara and The Mysterious Loss of the Pere Marquette 18, movies, TV and drive-in theater, Garton Toy and its fire, the stumpff fiddle and so much more.

  • The Sheboygan County Connection is a collection of forty-one stories about the way folks from Sheboygan County are connected to the greater world. Most were seen as Sheboygan County History columns in the Sheboygan Press from February to October 2014. Extra information and photos have been added. Topics range from ice fishing and the brutal winter of 1936 to the advent of Rocky Knoll and citizens’ participation in the Manhattan Project.
  • This is the second volume in a series. It contains more than fifty stories about Sheboygan County citizens and the amazing ways they participated in important history. Topics range from the 1950s bomb shelter scare to the opening of Road America and Clif Tufte to the opening of the Erie Canal in the 1830s.
  • Sheboygan County Connection III is the continuing record of the lives of Sheboygan County residents and their adventures in history. Read about dozens of historic happenings experienced by residents from the death and autopsy of victims of Ed Gein to the mysteries of Sheboygan's Rancho de las Flores, refugees of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the architect for the construction of the first Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, Illinois and history of outhouses. These stories ran in the Sheboygan Press from November 2015 to October 2016.
  • This is a compilation of articles run in the Sheboygan Press during late 2016 and early 2017. Story titles include: What we used to do at Sheboygan's zoo Remembering Sheboygan County’s forgotten places Interurbans’ meteoric rise, then fall Remembering American wars from the Home Front Memories from a town of Mitchell farm Recalling Sheboygan's unsavory 1920s, 1930s Quirky forgotten laws abound in Sheboygan When bootleggers smuggled margarine Pinehurst Farms boasts rich history Letters to Santa offer look into kids' lives Discovering stories of lost places in Sheboygan County Remembering the architectural trend of octagon houses Appreciation of Grassroots art emerges in recent decades Advertisements reflect culture, paint picture of past Passengers on Orphan Train found home in Sheboygan Dozens of brothels housed in county in early 1900s How Sheboygan cleaned up after hosting brothels
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    Sheboygan County has a rich and varied Native America past.  When the first Europeans arrived, there were probably only about a thousand Indians permanently residing in Sheboygan County, perhaps another thousand during the fishing season on Lake Michigan.

    These Indians had relinquished their title to the land by various treaties made with the United States, from 1831 to 1833, but remained here for a number of years until they gradually moved to other locales, as their former hunting and fishing territories disappeared.

    What is known of the Indians of Sheboygan County comes mostly from the perspective of white settlers. The Native Americans neither kept nor left any written records; they had no written language forms. What is known of their manner of life, their history and traditions, has come down to us in their myths and legends, through archeological remains, and in the accounts of explorers, missionaries, traders and early settlers. The records of even their white observers are scattered and scanty. They are mainly recitals of their own activities, their references to the Indians usually being only incidental. Much valuable information concerning the life and characteristics of the Indians has been obliterated, although some remains.

    This book will share a sampling of the written information gleaned from the archives of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

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    By Earl and Charmaine Kneevers During the late 19th and early 20th century, there was a relatively strong Socialist movement in the United States. Sheboygan, Wisconsin was one of those cities that had an active Socialist Party. The movement believed in public ownership and democratic management of the basic means of production and distribution. It had strong ties to the organized labor movement of the time. A strong leader of the Sheboygan movement was Fred Kneevers, whose history as a struggling worker with a family to support and with Socialist beliefs, brought him into the hotel and restaurant business to support his family when known Socialists were not welcomed in privately run businesses. The Kneevers' Hotel was a successful meeting place of the Socialists.
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    On a cold, cloudy evening, February 20, 1919, Zion Reformed Church in Sheboygan was reportedly "packed to the doors" to hear a concert. The highlight was to be a cantata performed by the Zion Choir, but the program listed them as "assisted" by a new entity: the Sheboygan Community Orchestra, led by John Schmidt, "who certainly needs no introduction," according to the anonymous review published the next day in the Sheboygan Press. In the months to follow, that body of players would be performing on their own, and by the time of their third concert they would be calling themselves the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra. They are still the SSO, one hundred years after their founding in the fall of 1918: the oldest symphony orchestra still functioning in the state of Wisconsin. They have performed continuously, except for pauses during the Great Depression and in the midst of World War II; and though they were called the Sheboygan Civic (Symphony) Orchestra from 1936 to 1973, there has been a continuity in both personnel and musical vision, linking one generation to the next over a 100-year span.
  • By Bill Wangemann Sheboygan deserves its reputation as a conservative city, quiet and law abiding. But here are some stories from the past that have been swept under the rug or lost overboard. Venture into the mists of the Lake Michigan Triangle that have swallowed boats, planes and entire tribes. Investigate speakeasy shootings, safes burgled by a flyswatter, poisoned Christmas candy and the hoax that had militiamen firing on their own cattle. Or just sit down with some bizarre anecdotes about a hometown you though you knew, from the town’s first baseball game to the man freed from jail by a jug of whiskey to the deputy sheriff who had to enforce Nicholas Hoffman’s first bath in fifty years.
  • By Mary E. Meyer

    This book is a concise history of the port of Sheboygan, complete with photos of the harbor and the ships that plied its waters.  Histories of harbor industries included.

  • By Edmund Schulz Spring Corners is located at the intersection of County Trunk M and the Manitowoc-Sheboygan County Line, now known as County Line Road in the Township of Meeme in Manitowoc County and the Township of Herman in Sheboygan County. A spring flows continuously at Spring Corners, a place where people have come from far and near for a cool drink and to fill their water jugs for home use. This spring is part of a line of springs that form the Spring Valley
  • Across time, cemeteries have acted as places of burial and remembrance, but they also provide vivid records of community history. Whether large or small, well maintained or neglected, historic cemeteries are an important part of our cultural landscape. The vast richness of expression through form, decoration and materials inform our understanding of the individuals buried in historic cemeteries and their cultural significance. The very stones that mark the graves form a museum of their own.

    A church’s stained glass windows, to some degree, play much the same role to a community. They tell the story of some element important to the life of parishioners. They uplift, beautify and instruct.

    This volume will introduce readers to some of the most interesting and beautiful stained glass windows and cemetery monuments in the county. We’ll discuss the background and history of each form of expression and much more. Consider this a primer to Sheboygan County’s treasures.

  • by Peter Fetterer

    The railroads of Sheboygan County have left behind a legacy of stories … some tragic, some humorous, and some almost unbelievable.  The stories bear testimony to the men and women who worked on the early rail lines that served the county … the engineers, firemen, brakemen and conductors who ran the trains … the shop men and track gangs who kept them running … the station agents, freight handlers and railroad officials supporting the operations, and the passengers and hobos who rode the rails.

    The railroaders working these lines for nearly 150 years and the passengers riding their trains have been an integral part of our history. These are some of their stories … tales from the rails of Sheboygan County.

  • An entertaining compilation of great newspaper articles following the history of the railroad in Sheboygan County.  Some are humorous, some are serious, and some are downright shocking.  Great reading for the railroad enthusiast and amateur alike. 2016 Reprint.
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    By Edwin L. Fisher Because of the prominence and close connection by virtue of the Sheboygan County Historical Society occupation of his 1852 mansion, it was thought more should be known about Judge David Taylor and his family. As a Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice, he was one of the most important early settlers in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. As research proceeded so much interesting family-related information became available that the story expanded.
  • Since 1953, August brings Bratwurst Day, a celebration of sausage and of our collective German heritage. The brat is a social food in Wisconsin where Germans first introduced it to the New World. We have brat fries on weekends like folks have BBQs in the south and Chicago has its deep dish pizza. It is part of a deep food tradition. Few things identify one’s German heritage more than making sausage. Sausage was a means of survival for our German ancestors during the winter months, as well as a way to use precious meat scraps and pay homage to their porcine good luck charm. This book documents the long and varied history of some of Sheboygan's nearly forty meat markets and sausage producers. We’ll revisit sausage-making in the county and remember the heyday of 1950s Bratwurst Days.
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