The Ozaukee County courthouse on Monday September 14, 2015
Ozaukee County was created in 1853 by the state legislature from land that had been part of Washington County. The name comes from the Ojibwe name for the Sac tribe and probably means “people living at the mouth of a river.” Ozaukee County is the second smallest county in terms of area in Wisconsin; only Pepin County is smaller.
The county seat is Port Washington, although Mequon is the largest city in the county. Port Washington was founded in 1835 by General Wooster Harrison. The settlement was originally called Wisconsin City. Harrison renamed it Washington, and the town went through at least one more name change before it became Port Washington in 1846. Port Washington was incorporated as a city in 1882. The “port” part of the name comes from the natural harbor formed by Sauk Creek as it enters Lake Michigan.
Beginning in 1839 or so, a number of immigrants arrived in what is now Ozaukee County from Pomerania, one of the provinces of Prussia. They founded a settlement called Freistadt, which has been absorbed into Mequon. There are several societies, choirs and dance groups that celebrate the Pomeranian and German heritage that are based in Ozaukee County.
The Ozaukee County courthouse is located at 1201 South Spring Street in Port Washington. The old courthouse is located at 109 West Main Street in Port Washington. It was used from 1902 until the current courthouse was opened in 1969.
I visited Port Washington on Monday September 14th, 2015 on my way home from the Door County Century bike ride. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I stopped first in the center of Port Washington to see the old courthouse. The clock tower of the building is being renovated, so there was a lot of scaffolding and not much else to be seen. The Ozaukee County administration building is a relatively new addition on the west side of the old courthouse. I walked down to Rotary Park which is on the harbor and walked around a bit to see the marina and the lake.
Then I drove out to the current courthouse which is one of the new “Justice Center” kind of courthouse buildings; the sheriff offices are here as well. The building is very nice: it fits in well with its setting. It’s large but not intrusive. Well, except for the radio antenna of course.
I don’t really have a lot to say in terms of memories of Ozaukee County. My visit to Port Washington is probably the only time I’ve ever been in the county! But the lake shore is very scenic and Port Washington seems to be a nice place. Certainly I enjoyed my walk in the downtown area and in Rotary Park.