Sheboygan County cheesemaking history shaped by these German immigrants who arrived in the 1840s
SHEBOYGAN - During the great immigrant wave to Wisconsin in the 1840s, Heinrich Bodenstab moved his family to the United States in 1846 — and he would eventually have a connection with cheese in Sheboygan County.
The family immigrated initially to Albany, New York, but soon headed west to Wisconsin. Bodenstab, who ran a medical practice in the town of Herman, purchased a large plat of farmland just outside of what today is Howards Grove.
Bodenstab, married to Annette (nee Jasper), had five children. Two of his sons, Frederic and a younger son Julius, farmed the property prior to the Civil War.
Julius, who was born in 1834, joined the Union Army, serving first in the Wisconsin Infantry, 27th Regiment, Company C, later transferring to Company I. After leaving the Union Army in August 1865, he returned to the family farm, purchasing 160 acres from his father's holdings, according to the Sheboygan County Historical Museum.
Around 1867, according to tax records, a cheese factory building was likely built on the property, where Julius began to produce cheese.
The facility was situated well, as the delivery door was a few feet away from the road.
The building was entirely dedicated to cheesemaking, as the house appears to have been located directly next door.
Double plaster and lathe walls on the two-story portion and brick-lined walls on the one-story portion helped insulate the building from temperature swings.
He would continue to run the farm and produce cheese until selling the farm and factory to Henry Fischer around 1875. It was reported that Fischer would continue cheese production for a period of time. The property remained a well-regarded farm in the area.
Fischer's son would eventually take over the farm, running it until 1946 when Alfred Reinemann bought the farm.
Bodenstab continued to live in the area for about 12 years after selling the property and factory. He couldn't resist cheese, it seems, because in 1878, he established yet another cheese factory. The facility, known as the Howards Grove Cheese Factory, was one-half mile east of his original facility.
Sheboygan history: Sheboygan storefront, today home to Black Pig restaurant, was once occupied by Montgomery Ward
Bodenstab would sell that factory to Jacob Schumacher in 1881. He would remain in the area until he was appointed the Postmaster of Franklin in 1885. By the early 1890s, he would relocate to Milwaukee. Juliuis Bodenstab would die in 1916 at the age of 82.
It wasn't uncommon to hear of several cheese factories in a small area. At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of little cheese factories dotted the Sheboygan County landscape. In the early years of Wisconsin's agriculture, cheesemaking was a sideline for many farmers because crops were deemed more important. Unforeseen circumstances that included weather and pests changed that direction in Wisconsin.
More Sheboygan history: Sheboygan's first three mayors, all born in eastern states, led the fledgling city
In 1988, the Bodenstab Cheese Factory was donated to the Sheboygan County Historical Society. The building was moved in its entirety from the original location on the corner of county Highway A, just west of Howards Grove, to the museum facility that year. After it arrived, the foundation was rebuilt and the building was restored. The building was dedicated July 10, 1989.
According to Museum Director Travis Gross, the building in recent years has seen repairs and renovations to help bring the building's past to life.
Today, the Bodenstab Cheese Factory continues to educate visitors of early cheesemaking in Wisconsin.
To see a virtual reality image of the inside of the factory, click here.
Gary C. Klein can be reached at 920-453-5149 or gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @leicaman99.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan County cheesemaking shaped by German Bodenstab family
