Potawatomi Tower Achieves National Historic Status

Photo by Len Villano

It’s now official. The Potawatomi State Park Observation Tower has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Secretary of the Interior, and listed on the State Register of Historic Places by the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office. The Sturgeon Bay Historical Society Foundation, which has been fighting to save the neglected tower from demolition, received the notification in a Feb. 5 letter.

The tower is now entitled to the benefits and protections of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and will receive limited protection from encroachment by federal or state assisted or licensed projects of state facilities development projects. This may also open eligibility to apply for matching grants for research, restoration, acquisition or stabilization, according to the notification letter.