| Additional Information: | Surveyed by UWM-CRM in 2021 as part of the CTH C reconstruction project (WisDOT ID 4930-07-71).
The Kewaunee County Highway Department Shop was built in 1935 from plans by Sheboygan architect W.C. Weeks. The building is constructed of brick over a steel frame and displays modest Art Deco-style elements, including a geometric building massing with shallow, blocky pavilions; a stepped parapet; and exaggerated vertical window openings. A two-story office portion is located at the east (front) end of the building. The corners of the front portion are marked by shallow corner piers. The spaces between the piers contain narrow, tall window openings. The verticality is further emphasized through a vertical stripe on the face of each pier formed by a recessed line of header bricks that creates a thin shadow line. The remainder of the building contains six large vehicular bays, interspersed with bays that originally contained large windows. The majority of the window openings and vehicular bays have been framed shut, clad with wood clapboard, and contain small casement or awning windows. A one-story brick addition with a standing seam metal roof was added to the front of the building sometime between 2005 and 2009.
Kewaunee County began considering the need for a new highway shop in 1926, but the plan did not gather enough support from the county board. In 1935, the board finally approved the construction of a new building. The county board declined to pursue PWA funding in order to control the construction without federal oversight; and opted instead to finance the project with a $40,000 loan from the State of Wisconsin Trust Fund. As reported by the Kewaunee Enterprise, “A majority of members were in favor of financing the work locally, on the theory that local labor can be used and all materials purchased from Kewaunee County firms. If the work were done under a federal PWA grant, it was felt that outside relief labor would be ‘imported’.” Contracts for the new highway shop were let in August 1935; ironically, the general contractor selected was from New London, and of the eight subcontractors, five were “imported” from other parts of the state. The general contractor, New London Construction Co., committed to using only local labor for skilled and unskilled construction on the building, but work stalled for several weeks due to a lack of bricklayers and concrete masons. By October 1935 the steel frame was up and the exterior masonry walls were partially complete. The building complete by the end of the year and an informal dedication was held on December 30, 1935 with a “booyah” dinner, speeches from the County Board and Highway Commission, and dancing. (Booyah is a slow-cooked hearty stew, often prepared outdoors in a cauldron over a fire, and regionally specific to Northeastern Wisconsin’s Belgian ethnic communities.)
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| Bibliographic References: | “County Shop Loan is Approved,” Kewaunee Enterprise, August 2, 1935.
“County Board O.K. Given to New County Shop,” Kewaunee Enterprise, July 7, 1935.
“Contracts are Let on County Shop,” Kewaunee Enterprise, August 30, 1935.
“Labor Shortage is Felt on Relief Projects Here,” Kewaunee Enterprise, September 20, 1935.
“Construction Jobs Make Progress,” Kewaunee Enterprise, October 11, 1935.
“Dedicate Highway Shops Monday,” Kewaunee Enterprise, December 27, 1935,
“Dedicate Highway Shop Building,” Kewaunee Enterprise, January 3, 1936.
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