National Register of Historic Places listings in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin facts for kids
Hey there! Did you know that some buildings, places, and even shipwrecks are so special that they're officially recognized as important parts of history? In Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, there are many such places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list helps protect these cool spots so people can learn from them for many years to come.
There are 41 amazing places and areas in Ozaukee County that are on this special list. Let's explore some of them!
Contents
Historic Buildings and Homes
Ozaukee County is home to many old buildings that tell stories of the past.
Old Schoolhouses and Mills
Bigelow School
The Bigelow School in Mequon is a brick schoolhouse built in 1929. It looks like an old Greek or Roman building, which is called the Classical Revival style. This school taught kids until the 1960s.
Cedarburg Mill
The Cedarburg Mill is a huge, five-story building made of local limestone. It was built way back in 1855! This mill was a gristmill, which means it ground grain into flour.
Cedarburg Woolen Co. Worsted Mill
In Grafton, the Cedarburg Woolen Co. Worsted Mill made special yarn from wool. It operated from 1880 all the way until 1980! The oldest part of the mill is three stories tall with a four-story tower.
Concordia Mill
Another old mill is the Concordia Mill in Cedarburg, built in 1853. This four-story gristmill, also made of local limestone, sits right on Cedar Creek.
Grafton Flour Mill
The Grafton Flour Mill was built by farmers in 1846 to make flour. It even produced "White Lily" flour in the 1880s! Later, it was bought by a wool company during the Great Depression.
Hilgen and Wittenberg Woolen Mill
The Hilgen and Wittenberg Woolen Mill in Cedarburg is a well-preserved group of buildings. It includes an office from 1865 and the main mill. This mill made things like blankets and flannel after the American Civil War when cotton was hard to get. It operated until 1968.
Milwaukee Falls Lime Company
In Grafton, you can find the remains of the Milwaukee Falls Lime Company. This plant, from the 1890s, produced lime, which is used in building and farming. You can still see the old limestone quarry and kilns.
Unique Houses and Farmsteads
Harry W. Bolens House
The Harry W. Bolens House in Port Washington is a beautiful Queen Anne-style home built in 1900. Harry W. Bolens was a very busy man! He was a newspaper owner, an inventor, and even the mayor of Port Washington and a state senator. He invented printing presses, gas engines, and even early garden tractors!
Jonathan Clark House
The Jonathan Clark House in Mequon was built in 1848. It's a simple, charming house with stone walls. Jonathan Clark came from Vermont and built this home.
Isham Day House
The Isham Day House is one of the oldest buildings in Mequon, built in 1839. It's a small cottage with unusual walls made of vertical wooden timbers filled with bricks.
Edward Dodge House
The Edward Dodge House in Port Washington, built in 1848, is also known as the Pebble House. Why? Because its walls are covered in small, colorful cobblestones from the Lake Michigan beach, arranged in cool bands!
William F. Jahn Farmstead
The William F. Jahn Farmstead in Mequon includes a farmhouse from 1855 and several old barns. William Jahn was an immigrant from Germany who farmed and held public jobs in the area.
Edwin J. Nieman Sr. House
The Edwin J. Nieman Sr. House in Mequon is a fancy Tudor Revival-style mansion built in 1928. It was part of a huge fox farm, which was the biggest silver fox breeder in the country at the time!
O'Brien-Peuschel Farmstead
The O'Brien-Peuschel Farmstead in Mequon started in 1846. It has a stone farmhouse and a haybarn from around 1850. A German immigrant family, the Pueschels, bought the farm in 1855 and kept it for over 100 years, adding more buildings like a corn crib and a silo.
John Reichert Farmhouse
The John Reichert Farmhouse was built around 1885 and has a unique "Stick style" design. It even has unusual bay windows that look like they're painted on!
Frank Vocke Octagonal Barn
The Frank Vocke Octagonal Barn in Mequon is a cool eight-sided barn built in 1891. It has a stone foundation and a small eight-sided cupola (a small dome-like structure) on top.
Jacob Voigt House
The Jacob Voigt House is a farmstead of German immigrants. It features an 1855 house with beautifully laid stone walls and a barn with a gambrel roof (a roof with two different slopes) built in 1880.
Wayside House
The Wayside House in Cedarburg is a brick and stone Victorian home. It was started in 1846 by Frederick Hilgen, who is known as the "father of Cedarburg."
Public Buildings and Hotels
Hoffman House Hotel
The Hoffman House Hotel in Port Washington is a three-story Queen Anne-style hotel finished in 1901. It was one of the best hotels in the city during its busy times.
Mequon Town Hall and Fire Station Complex
The Mequon Town Hall and Fire Station Complex is a cool Art Deco-style building from 1937. It even included a pool house and swimming pool, built with help from a government program called the WPA.
Old Ozaukee County Courthouse
The Old Ozaukee County Courthouse in Port Washington is a grand building with a four-story tower. It was built in 1902 and is made of gray-blue Cedarburg limestone.
Payne Hotel
The Payne Hotel in Saukville was built in 1848 as a stagecoach inn. It even had a ballroom on its third floor! It was built by William Payne, who founded Saukville.
Port Washington Fire Engine House
The Port Washington Fire Engine House is a beautiful fire station with a red tile roof and a tall tower for drying hoses. It was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style and built in 1929.
Port Washington Light Station
The Port Washington Light Station is a lighthouse built in 1860. The lighthouse keeper and his family used to live here. Later, it was changed into apartments for the Light Service and Coast Guard.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Port Washington is a Gothic Revival-style church built in 1882. It was mostly made from limestone found nearby.
Stony Hill School
The Stony Hill School in Waubeka is famous because it's where the very first official Flag Day celebration happened in 1885, thanks to schoolteacher Bernard Cigrand.
Historic Districts
Sometimes, a whole group of buildings in an area is considered historic. These are called historic districts.
Columbia Historic District
The Columbia Historic District in Cedarburg is a neighborhood with many old homes and shops. It includes buildings from the 1860s to the 1930s, showing different styles like Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne.
Green Bay Road Historic District
The Green Bay Road Historic District in Thiensville has 11 historic buildings along Green Bay Road. This road was built in the 1830s to connect Milwaukee with Fort Howard. The buildings here include old houses, a blacksmith shop, and a printing shop.
Hamilton Historic District
The Hamilton Historic District in Cedarburg was once a busy stop on the Green Bay Road from Milwaukee. Many of its buildings, like the 1847 Ranken-Schleifer house and the 1861 Hentschel General Store, are made of stone.
Main Street Historic District
The Main Street Historic District in Thiensville features ten important buildings. These include the Commercial House Hotel from 1895, the Village Hall and Fire Department from 1914 with its hose-drying tower, and the Bublitz Grocery from 1920.
Port Washington Downtown Historic District
The Port Washington Downtown Historic District is the old business center of the city. It has buildings from the 1850s to the 1950s, showing many different architectural styles like Italianate, Queen Anne, and Art Deco. You can see old hotels, saloons, banks, and even a seafood restaurant here.
Washington Avenue Historic District
The Washington Avenue Historic District covers much of old downtown Cedarburg. It includes the Cedarburg Brewery Complex from 1847, the Stagecoach Inn from 1853, and several churches and stores built in the 1800s.
Shipwrecks
Ozaukee County also has some amazing historic sites hidden underwater in Lake Michigan!
Island City (schooner) Shipwreck
The Island City (schooner) Shipwreck is an 81-foot sailing ship built in 1859. It sank in a storm in April 1894 while on its way to Milwaukee, and two men were lost. It lies about 9 miles southeast of Port Washington.
NIAGARA (steamer) Shipwreck
The wreck of the NIAGARA (steamer) is about one mile off the shore of Belgium, Wisconsin. This huge 225-foot steamboat was built in 1846. It caught fire and sank in 1856, tragically taking the lives of 60 of its 300 passengers.
NORTHERNER Shipwreck (Schooner)
The NORTHERNER Shipwreck is an 81-foot sailing ship built in 1850. In 1868, it was damaged and started leaking badly. It sank off Port Ulao while being towed for repairs. It's about 5 miles southeast of Port Washington Harbor.
SENATOR (steam screw) Shipwreck
The SENATOR (steam screw) Shipwreck is a massive 402-foot steamship built in 1896. In October 1929, it was carrying hundreds of Nash cars when it crashed into another ship in heavy fog and sank quickly. Seven men were lost.
TENNIE AND LAURA (Shipwreck)
The TENNIE AND LAURA (Shipwreck) is a 73-foot scow-schooner built in 1876. In 1903, it sank in a storm about ten miles from its destination, Milwaukee, while carrying lumber. One crewman was lost.
These are just some of the fascinating historic places you can find in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin! Each one has a unique story to tell about the past.
Images for kids
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The Bigelow School in Mequon
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The Harry W. Bolens House in Port Washington
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The Cedarburg Mill
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The Cedarburg Woolen Co. Worsted Mill
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The Jonathan Clark House in Mequon
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Buildings in the Columbia Historic District in Cedarburg
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The Concordia Mill in Cedarburg
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The Covered Bridge in Cedarburg
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The Isham Day House in Mequon
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The Edward Dodge House in Port Washington
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The Grafton Flour Mill
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Buildings in the Green Bay Road Historic District in Thiensville
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Buildings in the Hamilton Historic District in Cedarburg
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The Hilgen and Wittenberg Woolen Mill
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The Hoffman House Hotel in Port Washington
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The William F. Jahn Farmstead in Mequon
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Buildings in the Main Street Historic District in Thiensville
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The Mequon Town Hall and Fire Station Complex
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Remains of the Milwaukee Falls Lime Kiln
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A drawing of the Niagara steamer
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A drawing of the Northerner schooner
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The O'Brien-Peuschel Farmstead in Mequon
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The Old Ozaukee County Courthouse in Port Washington
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The Payne Hotel in Saukville
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Buildings in the Port Washington Downtown Historic District
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The Port Washington Fire Engine House
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The Port Washington Light Station
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The John Reichert Farmhouse in Mequon
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St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Port Washington
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The Stony Hill School in Waubeka
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A drawing of the Tennie & Laura scow-schooner
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The Jacob Voigt House in Mequon
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The Washington House Inn in Cedarburg
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The Wayside House in Cedarburg
