Clio Logo
This is a contributing entry for A Tour Of Historic Cedarburg and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.

Here, we will look at the home of the second main founding father of Cedarburg, William H. Schroeder. His importance to Cedarburg is also important, because of his contributions to the community. His residence, however, is another unique one here due to the situation he was in while working as a bookkeeper.


Building, Photograph, House, Tree

Bookkeepers, 1876.

Art, Painting, Building, Monochrome

William Schroeder, the son of Juergen Schroeder, was the second main founder of Cedarburg next to Frederich Hilgen. He was also, for a time, the head of Cedarburg's post office. Schroeder, along with his father, was originally from Milwaukee, and just like all other immigrants coming to the United States and Wisconsin and Cedarburg. They saw business opportunities in the town and created the town itself. He and his father then moved to the village of Hamilton, which is now part of Cedarburg. William then partook in the various business ventures that put the town on the map. From creating significant roads in the town to helping create and operate the significant mills that made Cedarburg famous.

William also worked as a bookkeeper for a specific company in Milwaukee for a time. When he and his family moved to Cedarburg, he decided to stay and work with the company he was employed in; he decided to commute to Milwaukee every single day. While William commuted, he would live first over the family store his father established. After living there for a while, he decided to build a residence for his family and established his own home in 1885 at a price and cost of $4,000 alone. However, the details of the structure itself are very detailed in their design. The house's clapboards, shingle siding, projecting bays, stained glass, scroll-cut ornament, and spindle and lattice work give its unique Queen Anne style that William used to build his home.

Zimmermann, H. Russell. The Heritage Guidebook: Landmarks And Historical Sites In Southeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Heritage Banks, 1976. 195.

A Walk Through Yesterday: In Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 2005.

Zimmermann, H. Russell. The Heritage Guidebook: Landmarks And Historical Sites In Southeastern Wisconsin/Highlights Of Historic Cedarburg. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Heritage Banks, 1976.

Histories Of Washington And Ozaukee Counties. Western Publishing, 1881. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~wiozauke/histories/Cedarburg.html

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI13385

https://www.officemuseum.com/office_gender.htm