Prior to his death, Hamilton made arrangements for his extensive collection and records to be donated to the State Historical Museum in Madison. The collection of more than 1,700 copper items, made by Indigenous Peoples 6,000 to 3,000 years ago, was considered one of the most important gifts of its kind received since the Society’s founding in 1846.

Manitowoc County has many older buildings that have been repurposed for new uses by individuals, businesses and others.

A small two-story cream brick house at 701 Marshall Street on Manitowoc’s south side is a recent example of new uses in old spaces. The building was originally constructed in 1854 as a private residence on a 46 × 120 foot lot on the southwest corner of Marshall and S. Seventh Streets, about one block east of First German Evangelical Lutheran Church, two blocks south of William Rahr’s Eagle brewery and within easy walking distance of Manitowoc’s downtown area.

On June 19, 1894, The Manitowoc County Chronicle reported Andrew Allen, head lighthouse keeper at Twin River Point, had informed the Two Rivers newspaper that a steel tower was to be erected that season, replacing the old brick structure which, according to the U.S. Lighthouse Board, continued ‘to crack and crumble.’ By the end of October 1894, work on the tower was fast nearing completion.

Interestingly, the replacement tower was the discontinued Chicago River Light Station, built in 1859 and part of the U.S. Lighthouse Board exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

After the fair, the skeletal iron tower was dismantled and shipped to Twin River Point, where it was reassembled. During reconstruction, metalwork was added at the base to increase the tower’s height and enclose the spiral staircase.

On August 31, 1913, the three vessels, towed by the tug Duncan City, left Chicago en route to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco in 1915 to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. The long voyage would require the vessels to go through the Great Lakes, the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean, down along the Florida coast to the West Indies and through the Panama Canal to California, stopping at many cities and ports along the way.

In October 1876, Jasper Hanson received a letter from his son, who sailed aboard the schooner. The letter read: “Dear Sir: I have just found time to write you a letter. We arrived here in safety. You remember you did not think we would; you said the ship was too small; but we had a terribly rough passage, as it blew a fierce gale all the time we were on the ocean. We saw only two days of fine weather out of twenty-seven days. When we leave here I think we will go to Spain or Italy for nuts and wine, taking coal out, occupying about four or five months for making the trip, so I will not be home for some time yet.” Three months later, the schooner arrived at Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Mary A. Gagnon, a fishing and towing tug, was built for the Gagnon brothers (Joseph, Jonas and Peter) in 1874. The boat was named in honor of their mother Marie Ann (Boisvert) Gagnon.

The wood-hulled tug had a keel length of 48.3 ft.; beam, 12 ft.; and depth of hold, 5.8 ft. The first lake tugboat out of Two Rivers was launched on July 21, 1874, less that nine weeks following its commission. After launching, the 18.5-ton tug was towed to Manitowoc to receive her engine, rudder and other gear at the Richards Iron Works.

The Waverly was constructed on the site of the old Two Rivers House, acquired by Mr. Bartelme from Michael Gebhardt in 1887. Needing more room and modern facilities, Bartelme moved the two-story frame building to a vacant lot owned by Capt. Pilon near the Walnut (now 17th) Street bridge.

The new two-story hotel, 40 × 80 ft., was constructed of solid cream brick, with two-foot-thick walls, set on a rock-faced limestone foundation, quarried at Sturgeon Bay.

German immigrants brought the song-festival, or Saengerfest, tradition to Wisconsin and Manitowoc County during the nineteenth century. National, state and regional Saengerfests drew hundreds of singers from local Saengerbunds for public concerts attended by thousands of people.

Local committees made preparations to welcome the guests and give them a proper reception. Streets were decorated with garlands of evergreens, flags and arches with electric lamps that were illuminated at night to beautify the city.

Henry Baetz was another prominent Manitowoc resident of German descent. Born July 27, 1830 in Stockhausen, Hesse-Darmstadt (modern day Germany), Henry received a common school education and served two years in military service before emigrating to America in 1852.

He came to Wisconsin and first settled at Two Rivers, where his brother Andrew opened a blacksmith and wagon shop. Henry subsequently moved to Manitowoc in 1856, where he was a real estate and insurance agent. In 1859, he became a naturalized citizen and married Emma Lindemann of Prussia.

According to The Manitowoc Pilot, the Turners’ Festival “was a successful affair and passed off pleasantly to all concerned . . . The Delegates, about 250 in number were all hearty and strong looking young men, and show plainly the good effect of simple and rational exercise.”

The Turner Society, or Turnverein, was founded by German teacher and patriot Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in Berlin in 1811 to promote physical improvement (“sound minds in sound bodies”) and social reform. Turner is the German word for gymnast; Verein means club or union. The Turner motto was Frisch, Frei, Stark, Treu (Alert, Free, Strong, Faithful).

The first floor with a 16-foot ceiling consisted of a public lobby (south side), spacious workroom (north side) and money order and registry room (west side). The lobby was illuminated with ornamental bronze electric fixtures. A postmaster’s office and stairway to the basement were located on the east side. The basement had a “swing room” for clerks and carriers and rooms for the postoffice inspector, civil service, internal revenue collector, janitor, a coal-fired boiler for steam heat and public toilets.

During its many years, the Hotel Hamilton hosted meetings, wedding receptions and society events. In 1948, the hotel welcomed Coach Earle Neale and the Philadelphia Eagles football team of the National Football League when they arrived for a week of training at Walsh Field. The Eagles had previously trained in Two Rivers during 1941 and 1942.

The company, originally known as the Manitowoc Art Glass Works, was founded by brothers George and Joseph Tremmel, glass cutters from Oshkosh, and Frank Bouril of Kewaunee County in 1904. Offices were located in an old wooden store building at 804 York Street. Advertisements in The Manitowoc Pilot indicate the company offered ‘Glass of Every Description’ for residences, public buildings and churches.

Gottlieb and Friedericke Lutze with their children Edward, August and Clara arrived in America in 1849. Learning of other German Lutherans from the Province of Saxony that had settled in rural Manitowoc County, they purchased 80 acres for $105 in Section 19, T17N, R23E, Town of Centerville. They began clearing the land and during the next two years built a housebarn for both people and livestock under one roof.

Mr. Wentorf was both a local photographer and a collector of historical photographs. The images focus on local landmarks, industries, institutions, special events and people going about daily life in Two Rivers. Many of the photographs include group shots of organizations and civic groups.

Fortunately, St. John Lutheran Church was not affected by a disastrous fire which destroyed nine buildings in the thriving port of East Two Creeks on October 5, 1918. The fire destroyed a blacksmith shop, general store, dance hall and tavern, hotel and other nearby structures.

On July 24, 1901, about 500 employees including pickers and field hands of the E. J. Vodra Canning Co. celebrated the close of the pea canning season at Picnic Hill. The workers marched from the plant to the picnic grounds in groups representing the different departments, led by a band.

While many of the early settlers grew a small garden for vegetables and potatoes, Hiram was the first to farm intensively. In 1838, his crop of oats was taken to Green Bay, a distance of about 45 miles, to be ground into flour. Over time, McAllister’s farm on Plank Road, west of the Green Bay Road, at Four Corners (present-day intersection of Menasha Avenue and North Rapids Road) became the “finest developed in the county.” For this reason, he is considered the pioneer farmer of Manitowoc County.

In April 1902, two small city streetcars were unloaded at the C&NW depot in Manitowoc. In appearance, the cars (29 feet–4 inches long with 28 seats) were “handsome in design,” painted “a pretty red color” and numbered “3” and “4.” Other city streetcars and larger interurban cars (42 feet–4 inches long with 44 seats) for the Two Rivers run arrived later.

On Saturday morning, February 26, 1927, four men were injured and considerable damage was done when the ‘Snowflake Limited’ derailed a mile south of Two Rivers on the branch line of the Chicago & North Western Railway Co. The Chronicle reported, “The wreck was a bad one and caused considerable loss and delay.”