Surprise Reveals Unique Mishicot Photos
Looking east near the intersection of Main St. and Jackson St. in Mishicot. In approximately March 1904, flood waters covered the village and encroached on nearby homes and businesses. Courtesy of the Mishicot Historical Museum.
An early view of what is today the Mishicot Village Park looking southeast. Flooding from the East Twin River submerged the entire village. Courtesy of Mishicot Historical Museum.
By Michael Steeber and Michael Jindra
In May of 2021, a surprise package of photos arrived at the Mishicot Historical Museum. Upon closer inspection, the photos are believed to be the best collection of early (turn of the twentieth century) Mishicot photos found so far. The photos may have been lost if not for Laurel G. Brandt, 78, of Sparta WI who discovered his grandpa’s scrapbook and donated it to the museum.
His grandpa, Gustave Vater, was the pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Mishicot from 1902 until 1908. It was during his time in the village that high waters swept through the streets. The flood, which likely occurred in late March 1904, “completely submerged” much of Mishicot and forced many families adjacent to the river to leave their homes, according to an article in The Manitowoc Daily Herald.
Recognizing the significance of the event, Pastor Vater walked a circle around the village with his camera, capturing photos from all directions. Those broad landscapes depict an early Mishicot nearly unrecognizable today save for a few landmark buildings. Some buildings have never been seen in photos before. The pictures reveal large sheets of ice floating through the village past buildings and trees. Water threatens to wash out the South Main Street bridge, and deserted streets lie eerily silent.
The flooding is certainly unlike anything Mishicot has experienced in recent memory, worse than large floods in years like 1959 and 1966. “Grandpa enjoyed photography, so most of these photos were taken by him,” wrote Brandt. Over the years, Pastor Vater’s photo collection was passed to his daughter, Mabel, and later to her son, Laurel. The scrapbook also contains street scenes from Mishicot and Rockwood (where he also pastored), surrounding farms, local villagers, postcards, and Confirmation classes at St. Peter’s Church, totaling more than one hundred photos. The images offer a rare look into early rural life, in an era just before the automobile took over, so horse and buggies predominate. German was still the church language, as seen on his wedding certificate.
The Rockway Bridge (today covered) in Mishicot near the turn of the 20th century. Passersbys with horses and wagons watch as a large object splashes in the water. Courtesy of Mishicot Historical Museum.
Gustave Vater (1875–1953) was originally from the Milwaukee area and attended Lutheran seminary before coming to Mishicot. He married Emma Ida Kloszinski, the daughter of a Rockwood area farmer, at what is now Rockwood Lutheran Church, and had three children in Mishicot — Mabel, Louis, and Chris — and another four — Victor, Gerhardt, Gertrude, and Lothar — after moving to Prairie Farm, WI and later Cataract, WI. The 1904 photos of Mishicot’s flood are annotated and available to view online at: https://archive.org/details/@mishicot_history
About the authors:
Michael Steeber is a writer and designer passionate about local history. He is a native of Mishicot.
Michael Jindra is a native of Mishicot whose ancestors settled on Mishicot and Whitelaw/Branch area farms between 1850 and 1870. He is a cultural anthropologist currently living in Pocatello Idaho.