Cedarburg History Museum

10/09/2026

We have a Washington House Inn ledger from the time period of Conrad Horneffer, the first owner. The ledger starts October 9, 1866, 160 years ago today!

There are entries for room, board and rent but also for a lot of groceries. Some familiar names in this first page entry are Fred Beckmann (who later ran the Wisconsin House in town and the Jonathan Clark House farm), Dr. Hartwig (our first practicing doctor and the chief examining physician for the county during the Civil War), Jacob Frolich (who was a shoemaker in town and the home/store today is the ). Justus Lauterbach is also on record, a tailor who had just come to Cedarburg after the war and whose building today is .

10/07/2026

Some things just belong together: fall leaves, orange and black, and Cedarburg High School. 🍁🧡🖤
CHS cheerleaders Kathy Gall, Chris Strand, and Kathy Schroeder, circa 1968–69. From the Picard Collection.
Who else has memories of Cedarburg High School football games back then?

10/04/2026

How about that Brewers' game last night! Let's get another one today!

Here's a 1936 piece of music written when the American Association Milwaukee Brewers won the Little World Series. There is no known recording of the music, so with the help of area talent, it was recorded fresh! View it on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8GMtogi2As

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In 1936, the United States was several years into the Great Depress...

10/03/2026

So glad to have the Wisconsin Wheelmen with us again today! Wisconsin was and still is a major bicycling state. Glad we don't have to ride those high wheel bikes, but we can join a club for fun if we want too. Some of these members also joined us for the Fourth of July parade!

Stop back tomorrow for "Rods N Relics" car club! Weather might be even a touch warmer than today.

10/02/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGRytmz0xBE

This Preserving Cedarburg History video was made by the community in 2000. It does a wonderful job of both showing and telling some of our history and heritage. Sadly, many of those who are recorded in the video have passed away. This weekend at their annual Gala, the Greater Cedarburg Foundation is showing an updated video that they've made! We are excited to view it Saturday evening. Nolan Video was instrumental in producing the new video.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin: Preserving Yesterday's History Today. Histo...

10/02/2026

Sketches of the Town of Cedarburg by Ruth Cook. We will be honoring Ruth at our Collector's Weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Other art by Ruth is also on display. She will be there herself Sunday afternoon. Additionally, there will be many artifacts to touch and try out in the museum from the player piano and typewriter to juke box and coffee grinder. The Wisconsin Wheelmen with their big wheel bikes will be on hand Saturday and Rods N Relics antique car club will be there Sunday!

10/01/2026

☕ Happy International Coffee Day!
Coffee was already popular in America by the mid-1800s when European pioneers came to Wisconsin, but the Civil War helped make it a lasting daily ritual. Coffee was an important part of a Union soldier’s daily ration.
Many soldiers brought that coffee habit home after the war, and by the late 1800s it had become firmly woven into American life. Across Wisconsin, hand-cranked grinders like this Enterprise coffee grinder turned roasted beans into fresh grounds for the morning pot. Try it for yourself while visiting the Cedarburg History Museum this weekend of October 3rd and 4th. Thank you to the Cedarburg Coffee Roastery for supplying the beans!

10/01/2026

Texaco Station, originally Wadham's, in Cedarburg on Portland and Columbia right next to the Cedarburg Mill. These 1977 photographs show a different color to the original and current red roof pagoda. Those boxy stand-alone gas pumps, the sky blue Pepsi machine and the Firestone radials. If you look closely to the left of the second photo, you can just make out a sign for Don's Resale in the back of the mill. Remember those days? I bet you still thought gasoline prices were high at the time though. Nostalgia.

09/30/2026

In 1939 the Kiekhaefer Corporation took over the former Thor Manufacturing plant. Early photos are pictured here. The building also came with 300 outboard motors that needed to be repaired. Those Thor Outboards had been sold through Montgomery Ward under the Sea King brand. If you'd like to learn more about the history of the local business, we are selling 75th anniversary books of Mercury Marine in our gift shop.

09/29/2026

Grateful to the many volunteer hours who helped compile these census records for Cedarburg, Wisconsin which we now host on our website. We have typed them as spreadsheets for easier viewing and research purposes. There may be some mistakes so we welcome any corrections. https://www.cedarburghm.org/cedarburgcensus