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Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, WI. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the National Tinsel and Toy Manufacturing Company on the State Register of Historic Places.

The National Tinsel and Toy Manufacturing Company was originally completed in 1918 as a factory for the Tinsel Manufacturing Company, a Christmas tree ornament manufacturer. At this time the company was owned by entrepreneur William C. Protz after he bought the Stolze Manufacturing Company, specializing in the same product, from founder Henry Stolze Jr. Protz went on to purchase the National Toy Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee, merging it with the Tinsel Manufacturing Company to create the National Tinsel & Toy Manufacturing Company in 1920. In 1923, he renamed the enterprise National Tinsel Manufacturing Company. Christmas tree ornaments were manufactured at the building from its original construction in 1918 until 1998, by which time the company had become National Rennoc (operating under an arm called Santa’s Best).

The building conveys the early industrial, labor, and entrepreneurial history of Manitowoc and is associated with innovation within the Christmas tree ornament industry. During the early twentieth century, the company was a major local industry and employer of women. Under William C. Protz, the company grew to become the largest of its kind in the nation and eventually the world by the beginning of World War II. The original 1918 portion of the building and its later additions display the company’s growth, as mergers occurred and manufacturing activities evolved.

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.

Additional information for the National Tinsel and Toy Manufacturing Company is available at: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI57561 

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: www.wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.