Standing-room-only crowd of 5,000 was on hand in 1934 to dedicate Sheboygan’s new post office, completed in 1938

Gary C. Klein, Sheboygan Press
·4 min read

SHEBOYGAN — In 1836, before Sheboygan became a city and Wisconsin a state, the first post office was created here. Charles Cole was Sheboygan's first postmaster, according to the city's website.

In the coming years, the post office's importance grew as the city grew. In the year the Sheboygan post office was created, Sheboygan County was established.

In the early days, the Pony Express delivered mail to various post offices on roads created by the government for the postal system. Later, stagecoaches and trains picked up the pace after the American Civil War, according to history.com. Even steamships delivered mail to boats on the Great Lakes. Ships carried mail up and down the east and west seaboards for delivery in those areas. Airplanes also came into play in the early 20th century.

The post office building you see today on North Ninth Street, finished in 1938, is a relatively new building compared to the 1880s building it replaced. The 1930s building was part of a Works Progress Administration project and was dedicated Jan. 8, 1934. The building cost $157,071.48 not including the land and architect fees. The land was bought for $81,250.

Sheboygan's 1880s post office building's small size became a point of contention in the 1920s. In 1927, according to a Sheboygan Press clipping provided by Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, John F. Enz of the Sheboygan Business Men's Association wrote to U.S. Sen. Irvine E. Lenroot. Enz claimed the city was being treated unfairly in regards to money spent on U.S. Post Office buildings.

A view of the old U.S. Post office when it was located at 8th and Jefferson. The structure was built in the 1880s and was replaced by the current U.S. Post Office building on 9th Street in the 1930s
A view of the old U.S. Post office when it was located at 8th and Jefferson. The structure was built in the 1880s and was replaced by the current U.S. Post Office building on 9th Street in the 1930s

In his letter, Enz said Oshkosh, Marshfield and Wausau were getting necessary appropriations for new post office buildings. He said in his letter that Sheboygan should get the same consideration in getting a new U.S. Post Office building built. One of the concerns was to handle the increased parcel business the post office was seeing in that era.

By 1933, money was approved to build a new building on North Ninth Street. The building, finished by 1937, was designed in the Neoclassical style by Sheboygan architects E.A. Stubenmach and James A. Wetmore.

Plans were announced for the Ninth Street Post Office in December 1931, according a Sheboygan Press clipping from Katie Reilly of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. The article had a sketch of the new building from Sheboygan architect E.A. Stubenrauch who designed the facility. The article said it would be one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.

The two-story structure was designed to be completely faced with Bedford stone. On the first floor, the plans called for the lobby, money order department, postmaster's office, assistant postmaster's office, office of the superintendent of mails and large work room.

On the second floor, the original plans called for offices for the post office inspector, internal revenue department, civil service department and the war department.

The basement would be areas for a storage room, records room, bathroom facilities and the boiler.

Late in 1932, the foundation excavation was under way, according to a Press clipping.

The interior of the Ninth Street post office has seen technology changes through the years, yet it features the murals that were part of the original decorations.

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On Saturday, Jan. 6, 1934, the building was dedicated with a standing-room-only crowd of an estimated 5,000 people jammed in the workroom of the facilities where the ceremony was held.

The honored speaker was Chief Inspector K.P. Aldrich of the United States post office department. Aldrich went to great lengths to describe the quality of Wisconsin. He said the postmaster general nor the assistant postmaster generals could attend the event.

A crowd assembled on the steps of the Sheboygan Post office, Monday, January 8, 1934, for the dedication of the building which would not be completely finished until 1937 in Sheboygan, Wis.
A crowd assembled on the steps of the Sheboygan Post office, Monday, January 8, 1934, for the dedication of the building which would not be completely finished until 1937 in Sheboygan, Wis.

Aldrich is quoted in the Sheboygan Press, Monday, Jan. 8, 1934 as saying: "Personally, I am always overjoyed to have an opportunity to visit the great state of Wisconsin. Within its confines is everything that brings happiness and contentment to mankind. Here, where once were the illimitable forests, are now great cities, beautiful farms and great factories producing foodstuffs and materials that are so well known they bring Wisconsin's name as a land of plenty and progressiveness into the smallest hamlets of the United States and other countries.

"Crystal lakes, powerful rivers and beautiful landscapes entrance the eye," Aldrich continued. "Great forests are even yet supplying timber for the country. Summer resorts of peerless beauty are in her hills and along with her shores. No wonder that a native of Wisconsin who once leaves it feels like an exile, and visitors who come here always want to return."

Today, that building continues the constitutionally mandated function that has been known by the slogan: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Gary C. Klein can be reached at 920-453-5149 or gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @leicaman99.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: A Sheboygan Post office has been in operation since 1836