Highlights Archives
Historic Electric Streetcar on the Move Again
Every May across the nation, communities celebrate Historic Preservation Month. This year's Wisconsin Historic Preservation month poster features Sheboygan Light, Power & Railway Company Car #26. The Cincinnati Car Company constructed Car #26 in 1908. It served the city of Sheboygan and other Sheboygan County communities for 30 years. Streetcars were essential to suburban living by allowing people to live further from the city. Larger cities commonly offered public transportation and interurban lines developed by the 1880s and 1890s. Horse-drawn carts were the earliest form of the interurban, however, most interurban lines were electrified by the 1890s. Lighter, curvilinear and wood-constructed cars were manufactured by the beginning of 20th century. Car #26 is an example of these wooden cars, which typically consisted of a vestibule at either end with both a smoker and coach compartment in between.
By the 1930s, most interurbans were on the decline as automobiles and buses took over public transportation. The last interurban streetcar in the city of Sheboygan ran in November 1938. After the dismantling of interurban lines, the remaining cars were generally sold to other interurban lines or to private parties. A private individual purchased Car #26 and used it as a summer home for a short time. The Doedens family purchased the car in 1947 and continued to use it as a summer haven. The car was passed down in the family and, in 1988, Paul Doedens donated the car to Friends of the East Troy Railroad Museum in East Troy, Wisconsin. Ten years later, Dan and Carolyn Doedens and Don Lenz, under the auspices of the Friends of the East Troy Railroad Museum, organized the Interurban Car #26 Restoration Association. Through volunteer efforts and a widespread campaign, funds were raised to finance the significant work needed to restore Car #26. The car now operates in conjunction with the East Troy Electric Railroad Museum in the village of East Troy, Walworth County. Car #26 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 2006. You can find more information about early transportation in Wisconsin suburbs by visiting our Wisconsin History Explorer.
Wisconsin's Historic Preservation and Archaeology Month offers many opportunities to celebrate your community's history and heritage. All over the state, activities are being held that remind us of the important historic resources that give meaning and a sense of place to our communities — and focus attention on how critical it is to make sure they are preserved. There is still time to catch several historic preservation and archaeology events this May. See our events calendar for more details.
:: Posted May 23, 2007
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