Kiel, WI. – The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of Kiel Mill in the City of Kiel, Manitowoc County, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kiel Mill served the area farming community from 1883 until 1983 and stands as the earliest extant testament to the community’s industrial history. The original three-story fieldstone-constructed block was completed in 1883 by German immigrant William Meyer. The site is made up of the mill, powerhouse, small animal building, storage barn, and dam.
Although wheat production statewide was in decline as of the 1880s, Manitowoc County was still among the leaders in the state as of 1890, ranking 5th out of all seventy-two counties. In addition to flour production, the mill also served the community early on as a feed mill, grinding corn for cattle feed. The feed grinding business continued to serve area farmers until 1983, which was longer than most other area mills. Although vacant for the last twenty years, Kiel Mill is currently being rehabilitated for mixed-residential use. The building stands as an excellent example of an early mill, an increasingly rare survivor reflecting early rural history.
The National Register is the official list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
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.
