Stables, Not Garages

Work of tearing down the old stable at the rear of the Stebbins Hotel began during September 1933, according to the Algoma Record Herald.

It’s removal marked the passing of a structure believed to have been built about 1870, a time when stables, not garages, had a place in history. That stable had room for at least 20 teams, much like this one behind the Kirchman Hotel.

Places all over Kewaunee County had stables for those who stayed the night, those who came into town just for the day and teams that needed protection from the hot sun or the cold winter winds. St. Paul’s church in Algoma maintained a stable behind the parsonage for church goers.

Stabling with an attendant hostler was necessary for business, but the advent of the railroad, and then the automobile and truck some years later, brought a decline in the need for such facilities.

At one time the Stebbins, then called the Ahnapee House, had another stable on the spot that Harmon Allyn’s Laundromat now occupies. It was considerably larger and could house 50 teams, which was not adequate for hotel purposes. That stable was torn down just after 1900 when a vegetable garden was put in its place. The garden provided fresh produce for the hotel’s dining room.

John Slaby was managing the hotel when the 20-team stable was demolished. His plans included seeding and beautification as soon as debris was cleaned up. Ridding the property of the old stable significantly reduced the fire hazard in that part of the city.

It wasn’t only stables that disappeared. Horse watering troughs at intersections, hitching posts and steps along the streets to facilitate alighting from a buggy are nowhere to be found in today’s Kewaunee County.