Sheboygan Falls

Book excerpt: Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, originally platted as the village of "Rochester," took shape in the late 1830s and 1840s. Settled by Yankee businessmen from the East, "Sheboygan at the Falls" was strong from the beginning, surviving even the national financial panic of 1837. As the village grew up along the Sheboygan River, this reliable source of water ensured rapid growth of industry and population and the accompanying prosperity. A city of Greek Revival and Cream City brick architecture, Sheboygan Falls boasts two districts listed on the National Historic Register. The Cole Historic District is the largest Greek Revival District west of the East Coast. Its five buildings were built between 1837 and 1846. The largely original downtown business district of the city includes buildings that once housed a tannery, a cheese bandage factory, a rake factory, a woolen mill, a Temperance Hall for teetotalers, and a Free Hall for women.