Property Record
201 Morse Street
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Antigo Brewery |
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| Other Name: | Sartori Cheese Factory |
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| Reference Number: | 246319 |
| Location (Address): | 201 Morse Street |
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| County: | Langlade |
| City: | Antigo |
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| Year Built: | 1898 |
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| Additions: | C. 1904C. 1909C. 2005 |
| Survey Date: | 2023 |
| Historic Use: | brewery/distillery/winery |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2023: The former Antigo Brewery brewhouse building stands at the northwest corner of Edison Street and 9th Avenue. The building is L-shaped and consists of three distinct volumes that were constructed between 1898 and 1909. The one and one-half story southwest quadrant originally housed the beer cellar and was under construction in 1898; the beer cellar was expanded with a one-story addition into the northwest quadrant circa 1904; and the multi-story southeast quadrant was constructed circa 1909 to house the multiple functions of the brewhouse and the company office. The building is of masonry construction and was designed in the Romanesque Revival style with corbelled cornices and round arch windows. The exterior of the building has since been covered with a cementitious stucco skim coat that obscures the depth and profile of the round arch detailing, stone windows sills, and brick corbelling. Further, the original stepped parapet has been removed and reduced to a flat flush edge. The windows have either been infilled with brick or glass block. A second story concrete block addition was added to the one-story brewhouse volume nearest the intersection. The industrial complex at Edison Street and 9th Avenue was originally developed by the Antigo Brewery Company between 1896 and 1919. Following the onset of Prohibition, the brewery produced near beer for a short time. The Kraft Cheese Company, a Chicago based company, was interested in expanding and chose Antigo as the location of its second plant. In 1923, Kraft acquired and converted the former brewery into a cheese factory. Kraft was a major employer in the City of Antigo until it discontinued operation in 1993. Upon Kraft’s departure, local workers continued operation of the cheese factory as a workers' co-operative, Antigo Cheese Company. In 1995, the co-operative’s Parmesan was ranked number one in the Italian Grana division for the Wisconsin State Fair’s Governor’s Sweepstakes Cheese and Butter Contest. In 2006, Sartori Food Corporation, based in Plymouth, WI, acquired the Antigo Cheese Company, which had gained a reputation as a manufacturer of Italian cheese. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Robert M. Dessureau, History of Langlade County, Wisconsin: from U.S. Government Survey to Present Time with Biographical Sketches (Antigo, WI: Berner Bros. Publishing Co.), 83. Sanborn Insurance Maps 1898, 1904, 1909, 1919. “Peeps at our Past July 29,” Antigo Daily Journal 29 July 2020. “Newsline: Sartori Food Acquires Antigo” Dairy Processor News 1 August 2006. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |