Cedarburg Wire and Nail Factory
The Cedarburg Wire and Nail Factory is a former sawmill, grist mill, factory, and hydroelectric plant on Cedar Creek located in the Town of Cedarburg Wisconsin in the United States. The stone mill was built in 1871 at a cost of $21,000 and was originally known as the Excelsior Mill.[1]
While operating under the Excelsior name the mill produced both flour and lumber.[1] The mill used the hydropower of the Columbia Mill just upstream by way of a flume. In 1885 a large fire consumed all the wooden buildings and gutted the stone main mill building causing the mill to shut down.[2] In 1890 it was bought by John Weber, who also owned the Columbia Mill just upstream.[1][3] The same year the Cedarburg Wire and Nail Company was formed and the mill was retooled to make drawn steel products.[1] At some point between the mills completion and 1910 the mill received its own dam and hydropower,[4] the dam was reconstructed in 1930, and a hydroelectric generation scheme was installed consisting of a vertical Francis turbine and a 125Kw generator to provide power to the factory.[5][6] The wire and nail factory and hydroelectric scheme continued to operate until the 1960s.
From the 1960s through the 1970s a sewer carried waste oil including PCBs from Mercury Marines Cedarburg factory to the Ruck Pond above the Wire and Nail Pond.[7][8] The contamination was also carried downstream to the Wire and Nail Pond where it settled into the sediment of the millpond.[8] In the 1990s the hydro electric plant was reactivated but was shut down a few years after due to reliability issues.[5] In 2017 the PCB contaminated sediment was dredged from the pond in a large effort to clean up Cedar Creek.
See also[]
Mill Name | Year Built | Products Produced | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Concordia Mill | 1853 | Grain | Dam washed out and removed 1996 |
Excelsior Mill, later Cedarburg Wire and Nail Factory | 1871 | Grain, lumber, drawn steel, hydroelectricity | |
Columbia Mill | 1843 | Grain | Demolished |
Cedarburg Mill | 1844 | Grain | Rebuilt 1855 with current stone structure |
Hilgen and Wittenberg Woolen Mill | 1864 | Textiles |
References[]
- ^ a b c d "The State: Early history of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin: Excelsior Mill - Cedarburg Nail Company". digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ "4807 COLUMBIA RD | Property Record". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ Gierach, Ryan. (2003). Cedarburg : a history set in stone. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-7385-2431-3. OCLC 53883880.
- ^ "Image 1 of Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ^ a b Petition of Cedarburg Hydroelec Corp for declaratory order on nonjurisdiction of FERC over Cedarburg Milldam Hydroelec Proj under EL94-4, https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search, Docket EL94-41-000.
- ^ "Dam Inspection - Report". dnr.wi.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ Writer, Richard Wronski, Tribune Staff. "QUAINT TOWN'S TAINTED CREEK TO GET CLEANUP". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ a b "CEDAR CREEK Site Profile". cumulis.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- Buildings and structures in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin
- Limestone buildings in the United States
- Grinding mills in Wisconsin
- Industrial buildings completed in 1871
- Hydroelectric power plants in Wisconsin
- Sawmills in the United States
- Wisconsin building and structure stubs