Cedarburg History Museum

Cedarburg History Museum Small town big history. Located in the heart of historic downtown Cedarburg.

The smokestack in the distance of yesterday's postcard belonged to the Hilgen Manufacturing Company located where the Am...
09/03/2026

The smokestack in the distance of yesterday's postcard belonged to the Hilgen Manufacturing Company located where the American Legion and Park now stand on Portland Rd. The plant used the mill run water from Cedar Creek but not with a water wheel but with an innovative steam power. The woodwork produced like molding and sashes, can be found in Cedarburg, Milwaukee and the area.

Circa 1910 colorized postcard of Cedar Creek looking south from the Interurban Bridge. The left side you can see the fir...
09/02/2026

Circa 1910 colorized postcard of Cedar Creek looking south from the Interurban Bridge. The left side you can see the fire department tower and the smoke stack for the Cedarburg Light and Power Company. The Columbia Bridge crosses the creek right in front of the mill. A very similar photograph could still be taken today.

Correction from yesterday's post. The Anvil with the B was installed in the 1980s by Beyer's Coast to Coast. The black a...
09/01/2026

Correction from yesterday's post. The Anvil with the B was installed in the 1980s by Beyer's Coast to Coast. The black and white photograph is from 1975 and shows Beyer's but with no anvil present at all. Thanks to the Beyer family for pointing this out. They also said the anvil was just made out of cedar wood. Catie Barth, whose company did the painting and cosmetic repairs on the building last year, provided this close up view of the anvil today.

Lehmann Hardware Store was built in 1874. The first floor was the hardware store, the second was a residential area and...
08/31/2026

Lehmann Hardware Store was built in 1874. The first floor was the hardware store, the second was a residential area and the third functioned as a lodge hall, specifically for the Sons of Hermann but the G.A.R. might have also met there. Christopher Lehmann, most likely pictured in the interior photo, was a Civil War Veteran, in fact the last surviving one in Ozaukee County. The late Gloria Schroeder wrote in an article about the history of Washington businesses, that Mr. Lehmann enjoyed sitting on a rocking chair in front of his business and welcoming all the passers-by. The anvil at the top originally had an "L" for Lehmann. Notice it used in a float. *EDIT- This was later changed to a "B" for Beyer's Coast-to-Coast, not the Baumann-Hoffman Hardware. Today, it still has a "B" for the current owner of Boulangerie Du Monde occupying one side of the first floor. occupies the other side.

The first photograph is an 1896 photograph of the Louis Hoehn residence (built 1870) on the northeast corner of Washingt...
08/29/2026

The first photograph is an 1896 photograph of the Louis Hoehn residence (built 1870) on the northeast corner of Washington and Columbia. He was a furniture maker / undertaker and that's the business just to the left (north). It has a cameo window in the gable just like the Cedarburg Toy Company across Washington Ave from it built a few years earlier. Taken a couple of decades later, the 2nd photo now shows the next use as the Farmer's & Merchant Bank, a business that went under during the Great Depression, merged into Cedarburg State Bank in Jan. 1935. Two of the arched windows were replaced with one larger arched, picture window, just as it is today. Standing on the corner of our busiest intersection, it's a shining example of preservation right in the center of our downtown!

Watering Washington Avenue, 1910sA horse-drawn street-sprinkling wagon waters Cedarburg's dusty streets on Cleveland jus...
08/28/2026

Watering Washington Avenue, 1910s
A horse-drawn street-sprinkling wagon waters Cedarburg's dusty streets on Cleveland just off of Washington. Horses used for the work were often borrowed from the Cedarburg Fire Department or hired from local liveries. At left, a tavern sign advertises Cedarburg's Weber Brewery; Scheunemann's (now Downtown Dough) can be seen across the street. The inn on the left is now

1910s downtown Cedarburg at Washington and Columbia. Mr. Gerrit's Ice Cream Parlor and Drug Store. Looks like he's drawi...
08/27/2026

1910s downtown Cedarburg at Washington and Columbia. Mr. Gerrit's Ice Cream Parlor and Drug Store. Looks like he's drawing a crowd of interest with children and maybe a wagon parked under the shade. I love the awning with the large lettering of "Ice Cream Soda" and what looks like a hand made sign on a pole on the street. Look closely at the upper right and you’ll spot another interesting piece of old Cedarburg, a windmill behind the Farmers & Merchants Bank on the corner. Windmills like this could provide the power needed to pump water from a well before modern municipal water systems like Cedarburg Light & Water Utility became commonplace. Today, the former ice cream parlor and drug store building is home to Ryloo Boutique.

Rare late 19th century Cedarburg cabinet photographs where the names of those photographed are recorded. Please label yo...
08/26/2026

Rare late 19th century Cedarburg cabinet photographs where the names of those photographed are recorded. Please label your family photos for future generations!

Emma Wirth, on the left in the left photo from c1885, and alone in the right photograph from c1890, is with her sister, Adela. Their father was Charles Wirth, the first President of the Cedarburg State Bank and local Justice of the Peace.

We also see the Sander photography studio used in the older one. He purchased the Podoll Photography business in the Spring of 1885, was here just a few years, and then sold out to Propp, seen on the right cabinet card, in the Fall of 1888. Perhaps this information helps you date some of your Cedarburg cabinet photos.

Approximately late 1910s, the interior of the Cedarburg State Bank, now the PJS Investment Management across the street ...
08/22/2026

Approximately late 1910s, the interior of the Cedarburg State Bank, now the PJS Investment Management across the street from the Rivoli Theater. This was part of a recent donation from the Germantown Historical Society. Thank you for the contribution! It is in such high detail that I zoomed in on the signage. This is before FDIC was brought about in 1933 during the Great Depression and insured your bank deposits. (that might be a Jeopardy answer someday). I am not familiar with this type of Community Mutual Insurance.

The dark and rainy day made me think of these Cedarburg images.Gene and Jacquie Picard, of Colonial Studios, with photog...
08/21/2026

The dark and rainy day made me think of these Cedarburg images.
Gene and Jacquie Picard, of Colonial Studios, with photographs they entered in a 1957 exhibit. Barth's at the Bridge Restaurant used Jacquie's photo of a foggy Columbia bridge over a still Cedar Creek on their menu, also pictured. Cedarburg has seemed to always have talented people capturing the community!

Address

N58W6194 Columbia Road
Cedarburg, WI
53012

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+12627462099

Website

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