Horneffer Residence/German Free School

This building is another crucial building to understand here in Cedarburg. This was a residence, yes, but it was also used as a school that helped German immigrants speak German while getting adjusted to United States culture in the 19th century. But this would also create controversy during World War 1 when the United States got involved.

Conrad Horneffer came to the United States from Germany in 1843, six years before Wisconsin became part of the Union. His reputation in Cedarburg would be known for establishing and building the largest structure in town, the Washington House Inn. He would become the proprietor of the building; his name still influences how the inn is operated today. Except he didn't come bearing a wealthy fortune, he used to own a harness shop and was also a very well-skilled leather constructor. He built the Washington Inn because of the boom in population that Cedarburg was experiencing, as well as because the town is a day's journey to Milwaukee, and as well as for it is convenient for that journey. His inn would be established in 1846. At the same time, his residence would be built years later.

When Horneffer moved out of the residence, the building would be used as a dance hall until 1864, when Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church purchased the building. Their purpose for this was to institute a school where German could be freely spoken. This school, for decades, would be the only school in Cedarburg for those students who were having trouble adjusting to the United States. Just a reminder, this was also because of growing anti-German sentiment among Americans in the nineteenth century due to the heavy nativism from political groups like the Know Nothing's who were very hostile to Germand Irish immigrants. During the Civil War, German immigrants and German-Americans faced intense hostility and were frequently attacked for being cowards on the battlefields of Virginia and at Gettysburg. 

However, this hostility would continue into the twentieth century when the United States entered World War 1. The German Free School was still operating in its connections with Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. Anti-German attitudes in Cedarburg would bubble up again, and an anti-German government in the town would be formed called the Cedarburg Bund; this government formed on the cause of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1917 as well as the leaking of the Zimmermann Telegram months later, lead the United States to declare war against Germany. These actions would lead Americans, including those in Cedarburg and Wisconsin, to suspect their German neighbors were spies for Germany. But because of the heavy influence of Germans in the town, some did not want to go to war against Germany, primarily because of family connections in Germany. But again, they also believed that what the Kaiser was doing in causing the war was wrong and did not have a problem fighting against the German government. Violence would occur; it is very plausible that during German parades, there would be hecklers as well as those who assaulted and beat German-Americans. German-Americans in town protested the local government's renaming of certain German foods and creating anti-German propaganda.

Most of this change in town was also due to a German parade that showed a flag that looked like the German flag. A passenger spread this rumor on the interurban who was from Milwaukee. Once this happened, Cedarburg was accused of being un-American and supporting Germany. This was not true, of course, since many of the young men in town were very patriotic and volunteered in the army to prove their loyalty to the United States like their ancestors did in the Civil War. Young men like George Ayers sacrificed his life in 1918 on the Western Front; Peter Wollner died of an accident in October of 1918, and the American Legion Post here in Cedarburg is named after him. It is also possible that both of these men went to the German Free School, where they were educated. Once the war ended with an American victory, the school would continue until 1932, when it closed. 

The details of the building are also fascinating, as the corners of the building show themselves in precise detail. There are also dressed quoins that have been cut intentionally to create an influence of a raised corner column known as a pilaster. The windows on the building also have windows on the first floor that have been completely altered from the original windows and their place. Because of the detail of this building, nothing can compare to the human stories and history that surround it. It is one of the prominent buildings here in Cedarburg, as to why Cedarburg came about and how it has come from the hostility of WW1, The Civil War, and anti-immigration attitudes to what it is today.

Gierach, Ryan. Cedarburg: A History Set In Stone. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. 118-122.

Cedarburg History; Legend And Lore. Edition 1st. Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Library Of Congress, 1976.

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

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

Trimpey, E. B, photographer. A pile of German textbooks, from the Baraboo High School, burning on a street in Baraboo, Wisconsin, during an anti-German demonstration. Wisconsin Baraboo, 1918. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016652885/.

Trimpey, Edwin B, photographer. Pile of ashes in street after burning of German textbooks from the Baraboo High School, Baraboo, Wisconsin during an anti-German demonstration; text on ground says "Here lies the remains of German in B.H.S.". Wisconsin Baraboo, 1917. [or 1918] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016651362/.

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, German Free School, Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, 13387.