Kewaunee County & The Arrival of the Roberts

Just as the cement mixer was pulling out of the drive, threatening storm clouds began brewing in the west. Within seconds, and just as a farm pick-up pulled in, the rain began coming in torrents. A very agile, slightly older fellow jumped from the truck and came running with tarps that were quickly spread over the setting concrete. Emery Roberts introduced himself, told us where the tarps could be returned, jumped back into the truck and continued down the road.

It is said nobody is truly forgotten until his name is mentioned for the last time. Since that July day over 30 years ago when rain was not in the forecast, Mr. Roberts has remained in our minds. Our patio is a wonderful place, in part because of Mr. Roberts' kindness. Over the years, one Roberts or another kept surfacing in all kinds of research projects. In reading about earlier generations of Roberts, it seems the hard-working Emery was always going forward, following in the footsteps of the family that came before him.

Farmer John Roberts arrived in Wolf River* in 1856 and Jonathan Roberts, Wolf River's first blacksmith, arrived a year later. Jonathon set up in a small log shanty in  the newly platted Youngs and Steele Block 11 on land that was later George Sachtleben's shoe and harness shop on the south side of Steele, just around the corner from Jane Lovell's 1st Street Union House. Roberts held the location for some time before moving to larger quarters near the bridge, which was then at the foot of Church Street.

Jonathan, 24, and Joseph R., 17, were living with 20 year old Evan in 1860. They appear to be the sons of Godfrey. The Record referred to Jonathan as John Roberts when it reported that he was still at his craft in 1907. At the time, he was located on S. Water, now called Navarino.  Roberts purchased Lots 4 & 5 in Block 3 from Abram and Elvira Eveland and Roberts, along with Utnehmer and Perlewitz, smithed on that river site for years. Roberts was operating his blacksmith shop as late as 1907.

John married Mary White who was listed as Kate when they sold land to Ed Decker in April 1893. As early as 1861 John Roberts - not Jonathan - bought Lots 14 & 15 in Block 9 in Youngs and Steele Plat** from G.W. Elliott. John sold to Charles Hennemann a year later and Hennemann built his Cream City House, home of the most delectable 5-cent pies. Steele Street Floral is there today. During the late 1870s, one of the Roberts was engaged with Meverden in the tannery along the river on the west side of 4th, the approximate site of Bearcat's Fish Shop today. There was no 4th Street bridge at the time.

There was another blacksmith named Roberts. The Welsh-born Godfrey was listed on the 1860 census with his sons David and George, 14 and 12, respectively.  Early accounts have him living about three miles upriver on the Forestville road. Whether it is indeed true, those same accounts say his wife was the sister of John Jones, a prominent English millionaire and Queen Victoria's private banker. True or not, it made for heady gossip in the sparsely populated area. Joseph Roberts was yet another blacksmith who was running ads for his Forestville shop in 1883. Born in Wales, he too arrived in Wolf River in 1860, married Bertha Paape, and died on Christmas Eve 1905.

John and George are names found throughout the early generations and it gets confusing. George Roberts - but not the one who was a 12-year old boy in 1860 - relocated from Carlton Town to Ahnapee and was contracted to supply piles and timber for harbor work in 1871. The 1870 census for the Town of Carlton says George was 35 and born in Illinois. His 3 year old son, another George, was born in Wisconsin. George and his business partner, Mr. Johnson, got out 1,000 Norway pine timbers 22' to 30' by 12" in diameter. In the days of axes and cross-cut saws, they were busy! The spot along the river that Roberts bought from Math Kumbalek in February 1872 - Lots 1 & 2 in Block 2 - was a good place for that harbor work. There was another Roberts from Carlton who was no doubt connected to George. Thomas R. Roberts was a Civil War corporal in Kewaunee County's Co., A. His short stint in the military began on August 15, 1862 in Captain Cunningham's contingent of county men. Contracting disease, Tom Roberts was sent home to die and did so on November 6.  Also a blacksmith, George D. Roberts sold his 5th Street business in 1902 to move to Baileys Harbor where he intended to open another such venture. George D. appears to be the son of Godfrey.

An 1874 Record  article said John Roberts was remodeling the extra space in his 4th store. Roberts' Hardware stood on the site later purchased by Tifft and Hay, the northwest corner of 4th and Steele. It is not clear whether this is John the farmer or a case of Jonathon being called John.

In its first edition in 1883, the Kewaunee Times reported that Christian and James Roberts had just purchased the Ahnapee Drug Store. Dr. James A. Roberts practiced in both Algoma and Kewaunee where he and Christian had another drugstore. Christian married Kewaunee's Lizzie Wallender and James A. was involved in county government, elected coroner in 1886.

Evan Roberts was 20 when he arrived in Wolf River. Listing his occupation as a laborer, Evan bought land following  his 1860 arrival and then sold it to David Campbell. Evan seems somewhat elusive, but he must have been a carpenter because it was he who remodeled a house purchased in 1892 by his brother George D.

The 1870 Clay Banks census indicates 38 year old George M. Roberts was a fisherman. Living in household was another fisherman, Elijah Phillips. George had a son who was also George M., a 16 year old born in Maine.

George M. Roberts owned one of the six known piers in the Town of Clay Banks. His pier was at the foot of what is known as Mt. Lookout. It was one of Clay Banks' ghost piers in a forgotten community that existed only during the lumber boom following the Civil War. George M. operated a boarding house and pier in addition to his sawmill on Woodard's Creek where the small body of water that formed behind the dam was called Mirror Lake. When Roberts purchased his pier in the 1870's, he built a logging road along the lakefront north of Mt. Lookout. Because Roberts' logs were rafted out to waiting ships, it would seem his pier was probably not as long as the other Clay Banks' piers. Roberts made the Door County papers in 1873 when he rescued the crew of The Glenham, a ship loaded with bark that had just left Clay Banks' pier.

An August 1936 Algoma Record Herald reported the purchase of Mt. Lookout, Clay Banks' most historic site, and recounted its history. The paper said that when a sawmill was erected on the old mill stream in 1856, the creek was diverted across the road and a wooden dam was built. Then a water-wheel was constructed. As water became low late in summer, an engine and boiler were put in to run the mill. George Roberts - the one born in 1845 - said it was his father who purchased the land from the government and built a cabin on the creek bank.*** Roberts' property had a number of owners including Lee Woodward for whom the creek appears to be named. The article went on to say that Mr. Roberts, Sr. was the one who opened the road north of Mt. Lookout and up the hill. It was written that was the road on which logs for the mill were hauled and later brought down the hill to be made into rafts that could be towed to Spear's mill in Sturgeon Bay.

Clay Banks' historian D. Weimer said, "The creek bed goes north under the road, but there is another creek bed that runs parallel to the road!  One of those, probably the one running next to the road, is likely the streambed from the original mill.  My bet is the one next to the road, in the south ditch and the cedar trees." The lay of the logging road remains evident. Weimer further points to "the remains of a tram road running through the lawn" of a nearby home and felt the road served to transport logs from above the dam down to the mill.

One hundred fifty years after the arrival of Kewaunee County's first Roberts, descendants can be found all over Kewaunee and Door County. Glancing through a phone books reveals a couple of Johns, a James, Ivan and Tom. No Georges. More than likely, most of them are like Emery.

* Wolf River was the first name of the place that was renamed Algoma from Ahnapee in 1897. **Youngs and Steele Plat makes up most of today's downtown Algoma. It runs from the lake and river and includes the east side of 4th, making it a triangular plat. ***Patent searches do not indicate that a Roberts Patented any land in Clay Banks. Samuel and Benjamin Roberts did receive Door County land as a result of their military service, but the land was in the northern part of the county. George Roberts Patented two parcels in Kewaunee County's Town of Carlton.

Kewaunee County's Connection to the Titanic: The Minahans

When love-stricken Leonardo DiCaprio was gloriously shouting from the bow of the Titanic that he was king of the world, nobody was thinking of Kewaunee County. Why would they? Titanic was a movie that put a little romance in a tragic event. But, what was romantic in the drownings of over 1,500 people? What was romantic when people were lowered into lifeboats in the dead of night only to watch the ship split in half, knowing loved ones ere drowning? The screams and the struggling survivors in the water being pushed away from the overcrowded lifeboats paddling through floating corpses to flee the carnage were indeed remembered by two who had something to do with Kewaunee County, but DiCaprio had nothing to do with that.

Dr. William Minahan was one of about 1,500 casualties on the ship that was too big to fail, and he had Kewaunee County interests. Minahan and his brothers John and Hugh owned a maple syrup camp near Scarboro. Though William Minahan lost his life, his wife Lillian and the brothers' sister Daisy survived. They never forgot that night.

Minahan's brother Dr. John Minahan served Algoma and appears to have been practicing in Ahnapee before 1891 when a newspaper article reported that he was going to New York to further his education, after which time he intended to return to Kewaunee County. About 1900, his office was upstairs in the Boedecker Drug Store, the building on the southeast corner of 4th and Steele. His location was convenient for those patients who required medications and most convenient for those needing an excuse to use Boedecker's answer to a " one armed bandit." The building on the northwest corner of 4th and Clark, the Rouseabout today though remembered by many as Red Zastrow's bar, was built about 1900 by Dr. McMillian, the man who brought x-rays to Algoma. John Minahan practiced there in the early 1900s, a time during which he also practiced in Casco. John Minahan was a busy man as he was also an attorney who covered his bases advertising as physician, surgeon and lawyer. It is unclear just how long Dr. John was in Algoma, but he was there in 1909 when he signed this blogger's great-grandfather's death certificate. He owned property in Algoma at least to 1916 when he still had the orchard on the south side of Fremont just east of its intersection with Frank. John Minahan was born in Green Bay and died in January 1941.

John Minahan practiced in Casco, at least during 1901 and 1902, and, no doubt, longer. Brother Hugh was there too, operating the Casco store known as H.A. Minahan & Co. It is quite likely that Dr. John saw patients in quarters in Hugh's store. It is also possible John Minahan practiced there with his cousin Dr. P.R. Minahan who bought Dr. G.A. Hipke's Casco practice in 1899. P.R. served Algoma as well and located in an office in the Lidral & Andre Hardware building at the northwest corner of 4th and Steele. Hugh was another Minahan attorney. Earlier, in 1894, Hugh Minahan and Charles Slama formed a law partnership in Kewaunee where Hugh married a Kewaunee girl, Clara Moore. Hugh died in San Diego in 1936.

The maple syrup camp owned by the Minahan brothers was east of Luxemburg, off Kewaunee County Highway A near Scarboro. Over the years, the camp was operated by a number of owners, mostly notably the Milton Thibaudeau family. The Minahans had business interests throughout northeast Wisconsin, and probably beyond. The stone barn in the Town of Chase, near Pulaski, is on the State and National Historic Register. Dr.Minahan once owned that too.

About 35 or 40 years ago this blogger was in Lena helping an elderly aunt. It was on the anniversary of the Titanic,  the same day as some family birthdays. Aunt Dee was a teenager in 1912. She called to mind that  overcast, damp and dreary April 12, 1912 and said it was a day that was eerie. There were those predicting something bad would happen. “Just mark my words.” Two days later when news of the terrible event was well-known, there were a number of Lena residents there to say, "I told you so," pointing out is was they who predicted such a catastrophic event.

One would think that as obscure as Kewaunee County is on the national stage, there wouldn't be much associated it. But, there isn't much that lacks some kind of connection.

 

Pictures: The top photo is the cover of Ken Marshall's Art of Titanic, a book of his beautiful paintings. The photo of William Minahan's crypt in Allouez Cemetery was taken by this blogger.

Kewaunee County Summer: Get It While It Lasts!

Algoma's spectacular Crescent Beach and boardwalk was photographed in mid-May.

Living in Wisconsin means summers are short. Sometimes there isn't much time to get it all in. Summer means festivals, church picnics, outdoor concerts, family reunions, trips, baseball games,  the county fair and more. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, there are all kinds of events, most notably Algoma’s Shanty Days and Kewaunee’s Trout Festival, though most of the smaller communities have unique events as well. Throughout the county’s history, summer has brought people together in social activities, though in the early days “summer” started with steamer traffic just as soon as the ice broke.

Harriet Hall was 9 when she settled with her parents Orin and Jane Bennett Warner in the wilderness called Wolf River, Wolf River trading post or by the Ojibwa name that asked, “Where is the River?” The Potawatomie sometimes referred to the area by a word that meant “bear’s head.”* But, whatever it was called, it didn’t matter to the few residents who were always glad to see a traveler and get the news. When a traveler or a new settler had a violin, that was a reason to dance and, according to Harriet, there was always good, homemade beer to ward off the thirst.

In the later 1850s and again following the Civil War, Capt. Henry Harkins ferried people up-river to the county line home of Joseph McCormick, or even as far as Forestville, for a night of dancing. At dawn he brought folks back down river to begin the day’s work that followed dancing until the sun came up. Plying the river during the dark night or following a trail along its course was the path to disaster. Some would say those early people knew how to party, however all night parties were also respect for the darkness. Eighty or so years later when Dr. Suess wrote The King’s Stilts, he described the king as one who, when he worked,  really, really worked, and when he played, he really, really played. Suess could have based the king on the people of Ahnapee.

Although culture and refinement was said to have come to Wolf River with the 1854 landing of Simon Hall's wife Desiah, the daughter of Hanford and Elsie Smith, it took another two years before the settlement had an event about which it could boast. That first notable social occasion was the marriage of Mary Yates to Captain Charles Fellows. While the Yates-Fellows wedding was big in the small settlement, the July 4, 1858 picnic was an even bigger celebration. Held above Hall's Mill, it was the earliest settlers’ first picnic and dance.

One of Kewaunee County's largest and most impressive early social gatherings was the 1858 house warming for Mr. and Mrs. James Slausson who had moved into their Lake Street home in Kewaunee. Printed invitations were sent to everyone in the county and it seemed as if most made the trip to enjoy the party.

Other dances and parties followed, always with homemade beer. Harriet Hall often said that Wolf River was a fun-loving, music-loving community with dances such as quadrilles and waltzes, and she reminisced how Irish Sam Perry "could dance." For years following the large influx of immigrants, it seemed as if preferences in music and dance steps led to billings for American dances or for German dances. There were, however, those who felt the dances reflected the differences between the Yankees and the foreigners.

Nearly twenty years after the 1858 Independence Day party at Hall's Mill, Ahnapee celebrated the country's centennial largely because of Wenzel Wenniger. DeWayne Stebbins had just taken over the Ahnapee Record and tried stirring up interest in Independence Day, but to no avail. Then Wenniger got involved. Wenniger owned the hill, known as Wenniger Heights, on the north side of the river. On that property Wenniger built Wilhelmshoeh, a dance hall, bowling alley, two saloons - one brick and one frame - and shooting gallery. The bowling alley featured iron balls and wooden pins. Called the music pavilion, the hall was regularly used for dances and concerts and, on the last Saturday of each month, for cattle shows. It was an opportunity to buy and sell at "fair prices." Surrounding the hall was a grove of hundreds of trees, used for picnicking, a bandstand and a beer stand. Entertainment was important and sometimes came from distant areas. Before Wenniger purchased the property, it was called a “resort”  known as Summer Gardens.

Arranging the Independence Day festivities that centennial year, Winneger engaged the Ahnapee Brass Band to play for the picnic at Wilhelmshoeh. The Ahnapee String Band played for the ball on July 3 in Weilep's Hall* on the corner of Second and Steele. The First Baptist Church held a dinner and there was a centennial party and program at the school. The Record spoke of "good times" at Dettloff's and at Burke's in Pierce Town and of celebrations in Kewaunee and Sturgeon Bay. The village added to the celebration by wrapping itself in bunting, displaying flags and holding dances, ice cream socials and fireworks. Over the years,

Ahnapee was the site of number of bandstands besides Wenniger’s – on 4^th, on Steele and along the lake - where the various village musical groups delighted appreciative audiences.



The photo from the L. Schwedler Andre collection dates to about 1915 when the bandstand was near the site of Algoma's present bandstand. At the far right is the first lighthouse on the end of the north pier. The pier and lighthouse were less than 20 years old at the time of the photo. The railroad and ferry depots are in the background. In 1915, the power pole and  fire hydrant were signs of progress and added to the photo's story. The women are not identified but one is no doubt a Serrahn.

As Ahnapee grew, culture and social life grew with it. Arriving immigrant populations brought more music and social societies. There was even theater in the popular McDonald Hall, and in the smaller halls as well. The Lutheran Church was opposed to what it called secret societies, such as the Knights of the Iron Band. The Sons of Herman was accepted and the Sons of Herman were not accepted. It was a German organization and it depended on who was approving or disproving. Bohemians congregated in the Sokols, and the St. George Society was the Bohemian men’s Catholic organization. The Baptists spearheaded the Temperance Society, which frowned on alcohol, and the Girls’ Friendly Society raised funds putting on community dinners. There were sporting organizations.

Baseball had such a following that the steamers carried as many as 900 passengers to games at Kewaunee, Sturgeon Bay and Two Rivers.
 

One would think that all was right, but it was not. The celebration of Independence Day 1880 was anticipated by the entire town. Heralded as a celebration that would be the largest ever, the event was advertised in nearby towns with the notice there would be "no end" of amusements for young and old. The day began with a 38-gun salute, one shot for each state in the union. There were games, bands, a parade, dancing and fireworks, but the festivities did not hide feelings of ill will within the community.

Judge Charles Griswold Boalt** was one of the speakers. In his address he seemed to be pointing out that those with less than he, financially and intellectually, should not infringe on others such as himself. Boalt’s speech railed against a minimum wage. He talked about the ignorant people accepting communism and a religious fanaticism that seemed to be directed toward Catholics. The industrious Germans were often praised by the papers, but Judge Boalt complained about them and other immigrants as well.
 

Though the Fourth of July was usually celebrated, there were years when Americans - meaning those who came from such places as  New York and Pennsylvania -  and German immigrants held their own dances, possibly due to the ill will in Ahnapee. In 1881, some said the celebration was "humbug" because it was controlled by the "damn Yankees." Fireworks continue today, but they are in the sky met with oohs and aahs.
 

Ahnapee residents celebrated Decoration Day with ceremonies befitting the veterans both alive and dead. The celebration in 1871 was no exception. Graves of deceased soldiers were decorated with flowers and evergreens. About 200 people visited the cemeteries, a number limited only by the capacity of the conveyances. Chief Marshall Major William Henry was assisted by Michael McDonald. Both men had served in the 14th Wisconsin. Captain F.W. Borcherdt, 21st Wisconsin, commanded the firing party. Rev. Overbeck gave a prayer and brief address at each grave. Flowers were scattered by 30 young ladies dressed in white, and Ahnapee's Liederkranz sang appropriate hymns. After it was all over, the Enterprise made the comment that "no village its size gave more to the soldiers than Ahnapee."

 

The following year was much the same. Major Henry again served as marshall but prayers and remarks were given in German only as Rev. S.H. Corich, who was to give prayers and remarks in English, was absent. Four hundred people and 37 teams were in the 1873 parade. At the services Michael McDonald commanded the column, J.H. Leonard was the Officer of the Day and Civil War veteran Chauncey Thayer*** commanded the firing squad. Elder T. Wilson gave the address.
 

Decoration Day 1876 was celebrated with a parade consisting of a large number of people, color bearers, the Ahnapee brass band and a firing party. They processed to the cemeteries and heard remarks by church elders. During the Civil War, when 1 of every 17 served, social life continued with such events as Donation Parties. Widows and orphans were assisted by the funds raised. Looking critically at some of the events, it could be said a bunch of “do-gooders” was making themselves feel good, but whatever the situation then, Kewaunee County has never forgotten its veterans.

 

By the mid-1880s, Civil War vets reuned at Kewaunee County fairgrounds, which was then in Kewaunee. Luxemburg is now the site of Kewaunee County’s fairgrounds and the scene of the ever-popular fair and weekly races. Kewaunee County's first fair, November 23 and 24, 1860, was held in the dance hall of the Steamboat House* in Kewaunee. The weather was cold, the turnout disappointing and the men and women of Kewaunee took most of the prizes. In the span of  150 years, there were years when there was no fair. Over all those years, the fair changed to the anticipated summer event that it is today.
 

Today’s papers list the events that those of 1870 would not comprehend. They would, however, recognize summer and social activities. They would empathize that winter always looms and for many winter frequently means isolation. Not foreseeing advances in transportation, they would surely tell today’s residents to hitch up the wagon and get out there because it is summer, and there is always plenty to do in Kewaunee County.
 

Notes:.*Weilep's Hall still stands as the remodeled and refurbished Stebbins Hotel. **Charles Griswold Boalt was said to have come to town with $400,000 in his pocket. That made him the richest man in town in those days and he was one with whom most did not trifle. His one term as a county judge earned him "Judge Boalt," rather than "Mr." The community of Bolt was named for him, first being named Boalt. For more on Boalt/Bolt, see Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2008 by Kannerwurf, Sharpe & Johnson. ***Chauncey Thayer was the first Kewaunee Co. enlistee in the Civil War. Kewaunee's Steamboat House was on the approximate spot of the hotel best remembered as the Karsten.

Sources:  An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001, Johnson; The History of Commercial Development in Algoma, WI, Vol 1, 2008, Johnson, Nell, Wolske; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County, c. 2008 Kannerwurf, Sharpe & Johnson collection and the collection of L. Schwedler-Andre.



 

 

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Ahnapee, Algoma and Furniture Meant to Last

Algoma is not regarded as a furniture manufacturing center today, and it never really was, however, the manufacture of chairs, tables, bedsteads and bureaus filled a niche early in the community's history. Until the coming of the railroad in 1892 and the increasing reliance on motor vehicles in the 1920's, furniture manufacturing provided village residents with incomes for about 60 years. It was furniture that was built to last. And it did.

When William Perry opened the Ahnapee Chair Factory in 1860, it was the first manufacturing plant for anything other than lumber. Located near Hall's Mill*, the factory moved into the Sterret building on the northwest corner of State and 4th in November 1870. Eighteen months later, the Enterprise reported that Ahnapee Manufacturing Co. was erecting machinery for turning out bedsteads and chairs. Over the years that company was sold and resold and resold again.

J. Anderegg and Co. took over the company in 1873. According to the Enterprise the new management included John Densow, Frank Feuerstein, William Boedecker, P.M. Simon and Simon Haag, and with those men there was sure to be an increase business. The Record noted in August 1878 that at least 2/3 of the community's businessmen had owned the establishment at one time or another during its 18 years. The table at the left is stamped "Patent, March 25, 1875.

Six years after Perry organized the chair factory, he and Rufus Wing opened a broom handle company. During the factory's construction, Perry was ridiculed by those who were sure the company would be a failure. Perry was a good businessman who was not easily discouraged. Those who predicted failure were proven right. Though the factory was completed, broom handles didn't make for a lasting business.

Today's Netto Palazzo was once Detjen's furniture factory. Herman Detjen had his beginnings in the early 1880s. In July 1890 he opened Detjen & Co. furniture store in the Seibt building at the northwest corner of 4th and State Streets. By then he was also manufacturing doors and other wood products, changing the company name to Ahnapee Manufacturing Co. Two years later the Record called attention to the factory's new patented dust collection system that took dust and shavings to the fire room for burning. The company again made news when it purchased a sanding machine and a machine to groove locks in drawers. The dresser at the left has those locks in all drawers.

As early as 1881, Kumbalek and Pies were manufacturing and repairing harnesses while also advertising their furniture making. Most of their ads pointed to their coffins, a sideline of most furniture manufacturers.

Ahnapee Veneer and Seating plant came about in 1892 on the approximate site of the old chair factory on the east side of the South Branch, just below the old Hall's Mill dam site. The plant built church pews, benches for railroad stations and any other kind of seating one wanted. The Veneer and Seating plant was a success from the beginning and is known as Algoma Hardwoods today, though seating is no longer part of the business. The plant was operating as Algoma Plywood and Veneer during World War ll when it distinguished itself with boat hulls, airplane wings and noses.

In May 1897 the wealthy Charles Griswold Boalt announced he'd build tables for both Herman Detjen and Paul Gablowsky. Gablowsky operated a planning mill and produced mostly cheese boxes, though he was also known to build coffins. Gablowsky was even advertising how much money his coffins could save a family. After all, they were locally made. A year after Boalt began manufacturing the tables, Gablowsky announced he'd make kitchen cabinets with zinc lined drawers, one of which was so large that it could hold 100# of flour. All that for $10.00.

Plumbers Woodwork made toilet seats for most of 100 years. To some, the manufactured wooden seats were regarded something special. For some, having that quality ranked as furniture. In the 1920s Algoma Wood Products was producing office and hotel furniture in the Navarino Street building constructed for the purpose. The building was eventually acquired by the Plywood as Plant 2 and is now Cape Townsend.

Area craftsman and hobbyists still build pieces of furniture, but furniture manufacturing in Algoma is long-gone. Many area residents enjoy beautiful pieces of old furniture handed down in families or found at area yard sales. Most don't realize the pieces were made in Ahnapee/Algoma with virgin maple, oak, hickory and black walnut cut from the thick forests that once made up Kewaunee County. Each piece has its own story to tell. And many do. The stamp below is on the underside of the table above.

* Hall's Mill was on the South Branch of the Wolf - now Ahnapee - River, beyond what became The Plumbers and then Olsonite.