Travel Back in Time to Port Washington

When you start researching Port Washington, things get interesting really fast! Did you know that in 1850, the legislature decided to split the county into a northern section, which would remain Washington County, with Port Washington as its seat. The southern section would be Tuskola County, with its seat at Cedarburg. Tuskola never came to be as voters failed to ratified the split, but three years later, Ozaukee County was created. Plus, Abraham Lincoln was reputed to have stayed in Port Washington for some time in 1835. Images from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kenosha History Center, Mead Public Library, Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc., and the Milwaukee Public Library.

This pictorial map shows Lake Michigan, businesses with phone numbers, schools, parks, other points of interest, and includes a brief history of the town. Relief is shown pictorially. The map reads: “Sponsored by the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce.”
Petition for dividing the town of Port Washington, 1848.
Petitioners request to divide the town of Port Washington to create the new town of “Belgium.”
This shows the house where Lincoln stayed on his visit to Port Washington. Lincoln came to Worchester (Wooster) Harrison’s home in 1835 and remained there for some time. The house was moved sometime after 1900 from its original location in Port Washington to 317 Pier Street.
Postcard of man standing in front of barbershop, Port Washington, Wisconsin, early 1900s.
Photograph of the Port Washington Fog Signal and Light in Port Washington, Wisconsin,1937.
Streetcar line in Port Washington, Franklin St, 1919.