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Welcome to Sheboygan County

Wisconsin Genealogy Trails

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Sheboygan County's county seat is Sheboygan.

This county is situated on the shore of Lake Michigan. It contains fourteen townships, and parts of townships of two. Of this about seventy per cent was originally covered with heavy timber, nearly half of which has been cut off; twenty-four per cent openings and five per cent marsh. In the eastern part of the county, along the Sheboygan and Onion rivers, the timber is pine and hard wood; on the low lands, elm, basswood, ash, etc; but in other portions it is hard wood, in which oak, maple, beech and ash predominate. There are occasional swamps of tamarack and cedar. Along the streams in the eastern part the surface is rather broken, but becomes gently rolling as it retires from them. In the western part is a range of hills and hollows known as "The Kettles" where the soil is gravel or sandy loam. On this gravelly soil of the Kettles and on the clay soil of the heavy timber regions an excellent quality of wheat is raised. All kinds of farm crops are extensively raised, so that a large surplus is sent to eastern and southern markets. Hay is largely an article of export, thousands of tons being shipped annually to the lumber regions. The dairy and stock raising are becoming the leading business with many farmers, and will eventually be the most important branch of agricultural industry in the county. The native and cultivated grasses flourish and furnish the best of food for dairy purposes. Butter and cheese is extensively shipped to eastern markets. There are over twenty cheese factories in successful operation, and this branch of business is yearly extending. Of late years an extensive business has been done in raising peas for the St. Louis and Philadelphia markets. If cut at the right time and properly cured, they retain their green color and are canned and sold as green peas. For this purpose they bring double the price of ordinary peas. The acreage of crops for 1875 was, of wheat, 41,377 acres; of oats, 15,297; of corn, 7,539; of barley, 4,177; of rye, 1,061; of hops, 60; total, 72,511 acres. The value of the agricultural products are estimated as averaging about $2,000,000 yearly. The value of its manufactures amounts to nearly the same. The chief articles manufactured are flour, lumber, wagons, leather, furniture, woolen cloth and blankets, etc. Owing to superior commercial facilities, commerce is extensively carried on. Population in 1875, 34,021; consisting of 20,564 natives, 9,105 Germans, 2,077 Swiss and French, 1,011 Irish, 370 English and Scotch, 347 Canadians, 260 Norwegians, and 287 of other nationalities. Number of schools, 117; children of school age, 13,966.  
[Source: "The State of Wisconsin: embracing brief sketches of its history"; By Edmund Theodore Sweet; Publ. 1876]

Bird's Eye View - Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin

Townships
Adell * Cascade * Cedar Grove * Elkhart Lake * Glenbeulah * Greenbush * Herman * Holland * Howards Grove * Kohler * Lima * Lyndon * Mitchell * Mosel * Oostburg * Plymouth * Random Lake * Rhine * Russell * Scott * Sheboygan * Sheboygan Falls * Sherman * Waldo * Wilson *

Cities
Sheboygan * Plymouth * Sheboygan Falls

Villages
Adell * Cascade * Cedar Grove * Elkhart Lake * Glenbeulah * Howards Grove * Kohler * Oostburg * Random Lake * Waldo

Towns
Greenbush * Herman * Holland * Lima * Lyndon * Mitchell * Mosel * Plymouth *
Rhine * Russell * Scott * Sheboygan * Sheboygan Falls * Sherman * Wilson

Census-designated Places
Gibbsville * Greenbush * Hingham

Unincorporated Communities
Ada * Batavia * Beechwood * Cranberry Marsh * Edwards * Franklin * German Corners * Gooseville * Haven * Hayen * Hulls Crossing * Idlewood Beach * Johnsonville * Mosel * New Paris * Ourtown * Parnell * Rhine Center * St. Anna (partial) * Silver Creek * Weedens

Ghost towns
Kennedys Corners * Winooski