Immigrants to Manitowoc: William Rahr
1868 Rendering of the City of Manitowoc
Nearing the rise of immigration to Manitowoc from Germany in the early 1830s and through the 1840s, many new immigrants wrote home expressing their pride in their new home.
These letters to their friends and family were written with the intent of influencing more and more people to come to the promised land that was America, Wisconsin, and Manitowoc County.
In one letter, William Rahr from Wesel, Germany who immigrated in 1847, wrote to relatives.
“We were not long strangers here. The prevalence of our German element and our language, the hearty reception from upright countrymen, allowed us to feel no longer strange, but calmer and more content. We had finally found a place for our fireside.”
Rahr seemingly felt welcomed upon immigrating to Manitowoc. He wanted his family to follow suit. Next, Rahr discussed the rising and promising agriculture industry in his new home.
“Agriculture does not yet supply the needs of the residents in this great land. The soil is good in the vicinity of the three towns and is excellent as far west as a lake known as Winnebago. Land can be obtained for $10 an acre close to the three towns and for as little as $1.25 an acre 12 miles from the three towns.”
Rahr saw potential in the success of the agriculture industry in Manitowoc, and wanted to share this opportunity with his family and friends.
He then went on to discuss how the town showed “great promise as a shipping center.” Noting the harbor of Manitowoc as a potential area of success.
In addition to writing about the great promises of the land, many new residents of Manitowoc shared traveling schedules with those back home in Germany. Franz Goetzler, an immigrant from Amorbach, Bavaria, emphasized to his family that a trip from New York to Manitowoc could be traveled for as little as $8.50.
These letters, along with many other factors, may have impacted those back home in Germany to come to America and more specifically Manitowoc.
These new residents of Manitowoc County went on to continue their life in the states. For William Rahr, he lived in Manitowoc the remainder of his life. Coming from a brewing heritage, he began a brewery in Manitowoc. With more and more German immigrants coming to Wisconsin in the coming years, there was a demand for better quality beer, and Rahr was able to fill that gap.