The Door County Historical Museum Continues Street Name Project

Frank Stroh (1872-1939) had a painting and decorating business at his home on Cottage Street, now Louisiana. Like several other businessmen he had his name incised on the sidewalk in front of his business between the present 4th and 5th avenues. Submitted.

The Door County Historical Museum opens for the season May 1, and will be open every day from 10 am to 4:30 pm through Oct. 31. There is much to see for people of all ages. Watch for future press releases to see what’s happening this season.

Last fall, the museum asked the community for their help identifying sidewalk stones on street corners in Sturgeon Bay. Now that the snow is melting, they would like people to revisit this request.

According to a news clipping from 1942, “Names of streets and numbering on houses are becoming somewhat of a confused mess. There are hundreds of houses in the city that have no number, streets that are but a block or two long, and names which mean nothing to one who is trying to direct someone to certain places in the city.”

Before 1943 street names had been incised in the cement of the corner blocks of the sidewalks, probably in place of street signs. Some prominent residents also had their names placed in the cement blocks in front of their homes. The marked corner stones have endured, but during the last few years, many have been removed due to reconstruction of the sidewalks.

The Door County Historical Museum and Archives staff is working on a project to identify and photograph as many of the remaining corner blocks as possible and would appreciate assistance with locating any that still exist.

This summer there will be a display of photos of named blocks (with the current street names) and older homes that may still stand on the corner near them.

If you have information on the location of any of these stones, email the museum at [email protected] or call 920.743.5809 after May 1.