War Exhibit Commemorates 150th Anniversary of Draft Riots

Ozaukee County Historical Society has put together a free exhibit featuring old photos and historical items collected from friends and family of local veterans from the Civil War days.

Port Washington is often recognized as a historical community, though that history doesn't often lead to thoughts of war. "(It's amazing) how many people in Ozaukee County don't even know the extent to which (county residents) were involved in the Civil War," Ozaukee County Historical Society Vice President Allan Buchholz said. Part of that history involves the draft riots of 1862, and Saturday marks the 150th anniversary of the protest. The society is hosting a free historical exhibit starting Thursday through Nov. 16 — but closed on Sunday — and an event at 2 p.m. Saturday will include a narrative recounting the historical day. "A group of us got together and we decided that it was an important point in our history," Buchholz said. "I'm …

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$1M Donation Buys Second Home for Historical Society

An anonymous donation of up to $1 million will allow the Port Washington Historical Society to purchase and renovate the former Business Men’s Club building for use a museum; the society will also occupy the building at 205 N. Franklin Street for use as a

The Port Washington Historical Society is moving, and thanks to a $1 million anonymous donation, the transition will include quite the upgrade. The society is leaving its former home — a small, temporary spot on Grande Avenue — to move in downtown, where it will occupy two historic locations. Historical Society Board President Jackie Oleson called the donation "a transformational gift." "The gift was directed to save another historic building from demolition and devote it to showcasing the history of Port Washington," Oleson said in a press release. "Through the considerable generosity and vision of this family, the Port Washington Historical Society will acquire and renovate the former Business Men’s Club building located at 118 N. …

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Port Historical Society Raising Funds to Purchase Downtown Building

Group hopes to raise $350,000 to pay for the purchase and renovations of its potential permanent home.

Christmas Cookie Sale Benefits Historical Society

The Port Washington Historical Society will sell cookies Dec. 10 to raise money for upkeep of the historic light station museum.

The date is set for the Port Washington Historical Society's biggest fundraiser, a day-long Christmas cookie sale. The volunteer-run historical society operates a resource center with historical archives and artifacts, and a museum at the historic light station that draws many visitors to the area. The cookie fundraiser will run Dec. 10. Historical Society Board Member Judie Jacoby said they plan to use some of the money raised to support basic maintenance of the museum, such as heat, water and electricity. Jacoby said they have done the cookie sales at least two years before with success. "It was one of our first and only money makers," Jacoby said. Jacoby said there are about 50 residents who are members of the historical society, with …

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Deadline Passes for Historical Society to Buy Fire Engine House

RE/MAX United, a Port Washington realty company, will now pursue interested buyers in full force.

A two-week exemption period for the Port Washington Historical Society to purchase the historic fire engine house has ended, leaving Port Washington officials waiting to make a sale to any interested party through a broker. The building is listed for sale with RE/MAX United, and Port Washington City Administrator Mark Grams said the realtor has spoken with a number of interested buyers — though no one has given an official offer. "If we don’t sell (it) that means we've got about a $230,000 hole in the budget we’ve got to fix," Grams said. "That money is going to be used for the rent on the new senior center." RE/MAX will try to sell the building for $249,000 during the six-month sale contract. And as efforts for the sale continue, the Port…

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Port Council Approves Local Realtor to Sell Fire House

Port Washington Common Council's decision to contract with Tom Didier Re/MAX United includes a 14-day exclusion for the Port Historical Society to make a deal.

A controversy that began over a year ago regarding the fate of the historic fire engine house began a new chapter on Tuesday after the Port Washington Common Council approved a local real estate company to list the building for sale. The council voted 8-1 to approve the sale to be contracted with Tom Didier Re/MAX United of Port Washington. The second option had been Milwaukee-based Grubb & Ellis Apex Commercial. Alderman Jim Vollmar voted against the decision; he said he has been against the sale of the building from the beginning, continually voting against it at council meetings. But, he said, if the building is going to be sold — he's glad to see it go to a local agent. The historic fire engine house, 102 E. Pier St., formerly housed…

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Port Common Council Meeting Cancelled

Port Washington Common Council expects to meet next week, instead, but the date has yet to be set pending aldermen's schedules.

The Port Washington Common Council's regular meeting for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday has been cancelled. "I could not get a quorum so I am looking at the week of August 22," City Administrator Mark Grams said about rescheduling the meeting. Grams is waiting to hear from aldermen on their availability before setting a date. With the meeting cancelled, a detailed agenda for the meeting is not yet available, though many Port Washington Historical Society members were hoping to again touch base with the council about the controversial sale of the Historic Fire Engine House building. Check back to Patch's calendar of events to learn which date the meeting is set for during next week. After that, the council meets regularly the first and third Tuesday …

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Future of Fire House Linked to Financial Shortfalls

Port Washington Common Council approves moving forward with the attempted sale of historic fire engine building, while leaving room for negotiations with interested buyers and the historical society.

When it comes down to it, nobody has enough money. The Port Washington Historical Society has long hoped to maintain city ownership of the historic fire engine house building, but it does not have the $250,000 the city says it needs from the sale to fill a hole in the budget — a hole generated by the the senior center's move from the fire house. Interested buyers of the building are also coming up short, scared off by costly repairs needed to sustain the fire house's historical value and other general maintenance costs — generating zero bids by the city's July 27 deadline. Though the historical society presented a plan to fund the needed repairs and maintenance of the building — along with a petition against the sale with about 700 …

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Historical Shocker: No Bids on Fire House

Historical society still will fight to save the old engine house, while the city likely still will seek a sale.

The controversial sale of a city-owned historic fire engine house is at a stalemate, as zero bids came in by Wednesday's deadline. That unexpected development left Port Washington Historical Society members agape with disbelief. City officials gave every impression that "there were people very interested" in buying the historic fire station, said Nancy Haacke, a Port resident and historical society member. Haacke and several others waited at Port Washington City Hall on Wednesday for the opening of the bids, only to be "shocked" that there was nothing to open. "Can you imagine … we were sitting there, there were like six of us and (City Administrator Mark Grams) came in and we were waiting for the opening and ... he said, 'There are no …

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