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We welcome your public domain historical images of places in Sturgeon Bay to add to our gallery. Please email them to us, along with information about the image.

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Carferries - originally for rail cars - but City of Saginaw 31, 1929 was large, modern, for tourists with Pullman-style staterooms, dining rooms w/ lake views, facilities for private automobiles.

Baseball Team 1911 Sawyer WI

German M.E. Church, Sawyer

1911, population 5,000, bikes and horses

Double-postcard, 1906 Sturgeon Bay

Tacoma Beach pavilion -- who knows the history?

Fruit Growers Canning Factory, Sturgeon Bay (undated)

Sturgeon Bay Bus Depot 1940s

Bus Line Schedule 1946

Sawyer, circa 1923

State Fish Hatchery, Sturgeon Bay, circa 1930s

Sturgeon Bay High School, circa 1930s

29 July 1966, 22 cents per nine pound pail, Raymond Rios and Harold Wolf, Sturgeon Bay

Undated postcard, real photo, postmarked Sturgeon Bay. Sent by Mr/Mrs Emil Krueger. Could be vicinity of Carlsville. Do you know?

Teweles & Brandeis Granary, west side, circa 1944 after big warehouse fire that destroyed whole warehouse and long end of dock. Ice-covered bay in foreground. Door County Historical Museum.

Thirteen Warships, September 1943

Pinney Bldg, 3rd and Michigan, 1910 postcard

Garland St (now Jefferson St), 1912 postcard

Condensary. Milk Truck Drivers and Milk Trucks. Courtesy Nancy Markowski (DC History Geeks)

Cooperative Orchard. Undated postcard.

1939, Green Bay & Western RR in Sturgeon Bay

Nana Brandeis (daughter of Isidor & Fanny), Belle Soukup and Marie Spinette writing to Kathryn Gottwerth, 1906.

Wally Wagener, Waldo Pharmacy, ca 1905. Name on back is R (Rudolph) Soukup, a pal and school principal/superintendent who also helped create the greenspace at the high school.

Sherwood Point Lighthouse, ca 1935

Boilermakers #449, Sturgeon Bay parade, ca 1915

Steel Bridge (Michigan Street Memorial Bridge), photo postcard, undated

Ahnapee & Western, Sturgeon Bay, 1935 (H. W. Pontin)

Bathing Scene, Cabot Lodge, undated (Kennedy)

Daughter Sylvia Hansen, parents Wendell and Bertelle, of Bertelle's Birds 'circus', postcard dated 1950

Goettelman-Warner Co., Sawyer (undated)

State (now Oak), ca 1911. Goettelman's (left). Some years ago, far left bldg was hardware store; far right D.C. Pisha Insurance. Near right Lenny's Standard. Near left Lavine's Liquor. (thanks J.K.)

Circa 1930, docks in Sturgeon Bay

Public Library, circa 1941

1905 postcard placing order with Teweles & Brandeis from L. Teweles Seed Co. in Milwaukee (founded by Ludwig, son of Moses of our own Granary) for peas for wholesale distribution.

July 11, 1943: In three years, Sturgeon Bay population jumped from 5,000 to 13,000.

Alcoa Seaprobe, built 1970 in Sturgeon Bay for Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. For ocean research, with search pod to sweep ocean floor and transmit data; could core, drill, sample to 18,000 ft.

Before the Dorchester, it was the Door County Memorial Hospital (undated postcard)

Tree-lined 3rd Ave, 1913 postcard. I believe sent by Katie Goettelman, daughter of Andrew of Nasawaupee.

The Cove, postcard written 1914. Can anyone translate German? Note center child in photo identified as Chas Goettelman.

The Pines, undated postcard

1925, Fruit Growers Canning Co., Sturgeon Bay

1972, Municipal Launching Ramp, Sturgeon Bay

Holiday Motel-Hotel, Sturgeon Bay (undated)

Downtown Sturgeon Bay, 1906 postcard

1958 35mm slide, from Sturgeon Bay's west side looking across toward today's shipyard

1958 35mm slide, Sturgeon Bay's westside waterfront

Postcard, sent 1947

Postcard, undated

Postcard, undated (pre-1931)

1958 photographer admired the bridge

1951, Lilia Curti of Mexico City, Mission Council, at Sturgeon Bay cherry orchard

Postcard, 1906, Sturgeon Bay neighborhood

Sturgeon Bay Jail and Courthouse, note "built in 1878", postcard

Leathem Smith Lodge, postcard, 1950

1958, View from Potawatomi Tower, postcard

Paul's Nautical Inn, Sturgeon Bay, undated postcard

Jacobs Farm, off Tacoma Beach, west side, postcard (postmark looks like 1909)

Small excerpt of the 1918 Door County Soil Survey

Maple Ave in Sawyer (Lansing-Kendale blocks), undated postcard

Maple Ave in Sawyer (Kendale-Ithaca blocks), undated postcard

From Lyon Bros. grain elevator business, west side

Sturgeon Bay waterfront, circa 1920s

Door County Fair, circa 1982

Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, 1985

Sturgeon Bay Fish Market, undated box

July 1940, Untitled. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720295.

July 1940, Cherry pickers, Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720317.

July 1940, Cherry canning company, Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720341.

July 1940, Untitled, Door County. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720344.

July 1940, FSA Farm Security Administration rehabilitation borrower and part of family. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810685.

July 1940, County supervisor talking to FSA Farm Security Administration borrower who is cultivating corn. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810687.

July 1940, End of the beltline of women removing defective cherries and stems. Canning plant. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810688.

July 1940, Prosperous farmer. Door County, Wisconisn. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810696.

July 1940, Wife of FSA Farm Security Administration borrower working in garden. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810703.

July 1940, Part of the largest cherry orchard in the world. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810755.

July 1940, Loading hay. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810752.

July 1940, Rocky farmland. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810748.

July 1940, Women removing stems and defective cherries. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810712.

July 1940, Interior of cherry canning plant. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810744.

July 1940, Tents for cherry pickers on property of large grower. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810716.

July 1940, Operating machine which seals cans of cherries. Canning plant, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810711.

Circa 1910 postcard, Cedar St, North, Sturgeon Bay

Circa 1910 postcard back, Cedar St, North, Sturgeon Bay

July 1940, Decorations for firemens' convention, Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720297.

July 1940, Street corner, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720298.

July 1940, Sign on road into Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720299.

July 1940, Firemen at convention, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720306.

July 1940, Auto of migrant fruit worker at gas station, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720319.

July 1940, Office of fruit growers coop canning plant, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720336.

July 1940, Cherry pickers getting off truck which brought them back to camp, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017720340.

July 1940, Old rehabilitation borrower with young calf. Door County, Wisconsin. John Vachon, photographer. Library of Congress #2017810706.

Peterson & Hoslett, mercantile store, Sawyer near ferry dock, 1890s-1930s

Cabot Lodge, Idlewild, opened 1915, destroyed by fire 1947.

Hotel Swoboda, razed 1967 for new bank. Earlier site of Northwestern House, 1868-1893 (destroyed by fire). Rebuilt 1901, operated as Hotel Waldo til 1919.

Potawatomi Tower, postcard dated 1956

September 1906: "Flowing water struck at depth of 180 feet. Inexhaustible supply". By well driller Ed. Birmingham at the Warner and Davis cottages on the bay shore.

Bank of Sturgeon Bay postcard, undated

The Bay Shore Inn, postcard, 1938

Potawatomi Tower, postcard, 1970

Sturgeon Bay Public Library, postcard, undated

Sturgeon Bay Savings and Loan, postcard, undated

The Cove (opened 1901), postcard, 1906

The Cove Dining Hall, postcard, destroyed by fire 1933

The Cove Swimming Pool, postcard, undated

Valentine to Nick Jacobs, Sawyer, 1909

The Cove, postcard, undated

Ship Canal, postcard, dated 1885

Courtesy Judy Phillips: Sawyer RR Depot (Green Bay & Western)

Courtesy Judy Phillips: Eva (Mapes) Clark, Sturgeon Bay

Trailer Camp for shipbuilders, July 1943, Edgar G. Mueller photo

Sturgeon Bay Transit, 1940s, routes connecting shipbuilder housing and camps

The Port Light, 1943 and 1945 articles about housing for shipbuilders

The Port Light, shipbuilding employees, 1940s

Gildden Lodge, interior

Glidden Lodge, interior

1905, Rail bridge, Sturgeon Bay, postcard

September 1951, Migrant Family, Sturgeon Bay

Holiday Motel, 1967, postcard

Moravian Church, Sturgeon Bay

Postmarked Sawyer, 1907, sending a photo of Leslie (with kitten) to a young woman Mae Schaeffle, 16, who grew up in California

Postmarked 1908, Cedar Street South, horse-drawn wagon at Dentist

Moonlight at Canal Entrance, postcard circa 1915-1930

Bay View Roller Mill est'd 1885. In 1899 the adjoining granary was brought by water from Little Sturgeon (photo ca. 1920, operated by Bushman Milling Co.) Courtesy M.O.

Ship unloading at Bushman Dock (next dock over from Teweles & Brandeis). T&B elevator visible in the background. Estimated ca. 1950s. Courtesy M.O.

From the west side looking east. (Teweles & Brandeis purchased the east-side Lawrence granary in 1912, seen here on the distant east shore).

1968, Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park

Postmarked 1910, downtown Sturgeon Bay

Tumble Inn, The Pines, 1938

USS Knoxville, launched by Leathem Smith 10 July 1943. Served WWII. Decommissioned June 1946, sold to Dominican Republic Navy. Stricken 1979.

Postcard, 1908, View from bridge

Postcard, 1905. Perhaps for sale at Fritsch Hardware, Skagit Co, Wash.? (brother to brother within Wash.)

3rd and Michigan, Aug 6-7, 1940 - the theater (now Park Place Mall) was showing "Our Town" / "40 Little Mothers". On the paper's front page, news from Europe in small print under "Washington".

1966, Amphibious vessel, Peterson Builders, about to head to Virginia. Street sign says Walnut.

Undated postcard, Cabot's Lodge

Undated postcard, Cabot's Lodge Cabins

Undated panorama

Cedar St Looking North, 1906 postcard

Cedar St Looking South, 1906 postcard

Stroh Block Building, ca 1892 while in operation as The New York Store (photo courtesy Seth Taylor)

Undated, Sturgeon Bay shipyard

1943, Leathem Smith Escort Vessel

Wagener home (Wagner Drugstore family). Hubert & Jennie Wagener, 600 3rd or 84 Pine. Hubert was a pharmacist, Waldo then his own. Also City Council, Postmaster, Co. Food Administrator.

3rd & Michigan, December 1985

Postcard sent in 1953.

1962 ad in Motor Boating (Chubb & Son Yacht Insurance)

Merchant's Exchange Bank, 3rd and Michigan, still here

Post Office, still here

Union Hotel built 1900, renamed Carmen in 1927, demolished 1965 for bank. Cedar (3rd) and Garland (Jefferson).

"We sent yous some fish" from The Cove.

Undated postcard, downtown Sturgeon Bay

1969 aerial (US Geological Survey) of Leathem Smith Lodge area (previously Hotel Commodore, Lucerne Hotel). Golf course by Langford & Moreau.

1938 aerial (University of Wisconsin) of Leathem Smith Lodge area (previously Hotel Commodore, Lucerne Hotel). Golf course by Langford & Moreau.

1939 article, Green Bay Press Gazette

Goodrich Line "Carolina", 1910 postcard

High School, May 1906 postcard

Juddville-Sturgeon Bay Stage, courtesy Judy Phillips, her great-grandmother's collection

Leathem Smith stone quarry, circa 1914, courtesy Judy Phillips

Sawyer Wharf with Teweles & Brandeis Granary, circa 1911, courtesy Andy Laurent

Leathem Smith stone quarry, courtesy Judy Phillips

Bay Ship's M/V St. Claire, 1975

Sawyer Aerial circa 1940, courtesy Andy Laurent

Train bridge from what is now Bay View Park or the railroad spur. Courtesy Helen Bacon.

My dad worked for Leathem Smith son in law in the building in the back. The pic is from 1942. From Helen Bacon.

The big snowstorm of January 1947! Taken from in front of the post office looking towards Third. Courtesy Helen Bacon.

The big snowstorm of January 1947! Taken from in front of Prange’s (Younkers/Bliss) looking towards Michigan. Courtesy Helen Bacon.

From the Pulse Jan. 18, 2019, written by Gary K. Soule. Sturgeon Bay shipyard photo shows Christy Corp, taken by Herb Reynolds Jan. 3, 1952. Note railroad turntable. Note shipyard tug, car ferries.

"Collection of Dan Luedke" Depot Sawyer, Wis

Door Theater 1940s

Downtown Sturgeon Bay 40s-50s

National Geographic historical footnote…

November 1, 2021, National Geographic published a great article, The surprising history of America’s ‘pick-your-own’ farms, by Dustin Renwick. It includes some fantastic 1933 photos, of women orchard workers, of women in a cannery, washing dishes at a campsite in Peninsula State Park, and two women on the Potawatomi State Park lookout tower. National Geographic allows anyone to read three free articles online each month, so enjoy this one!

John Vachon historical footnote…

In 1940, photographer John Vachon came to Sturgeon Bay for the Farm Security Administration. Born in St. Paul, MN, “John Felix Vachon (1914 – 1975) was an American photographer. He worked as a filing clerk for the Farm Security Administration before Roy Stryker recruited him to join a small group of photographers who were employed to publicize the conditions of the rural poor in America.” His dozens of Sturgeon Bay photographs (a fraction of them previewed in this gallery) can be seen at the Library of Congress.

A Wisconsin historical footnote…

Our website’s text is in Franklin Gothic font, designed in 1902 by Morris Fuller Benton. Benton was born in 1872 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a prolific American typeface designer who headed the design department of the American Type Founders, and was its chief type designer from 1900-1937. Benton’s grandfather Charles moved to Milwaukee in 1853, becoming part-owner and editor of Milwaukee Daily News. Benton’s father Linn Boyd invented many of the most important type founding technologies of the day, holding 18 patents for printing equipment.

Searchable newspaper archives…

The Door County Library has created a digital archive of historical newspapers, which is fully text-searchable. If you’re looking for a bit of historical information, try it out: Door County Library Newspaper Archives. Thank you to the Library staff.

Do you have a favorite historic place or structure in Sturgeon Bay? We welcome your knowledge and stories!

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