Help Us Preserve Frankenmuth’s History!

Frankenmuth Historical has always relied on the generosity of members and residents who,
over the years, have donated approximately 95% of our collection. At times, they have even
bid at auctions and donated their purchases to the Museum. They not only made it possible to preserve many important artifacts, but also to document and preserve the stories which these artifacts illustrate.

A few “illustrations” are still needed to tell the stories of Frankenmuth, Frankentrost, Richville
and Frankenlust. Although no list can be complete, the following are objects we hope to add
to the collection.

• Locally made items with information on their makers (examples: Springerle boards, handmade tools, women’s crafts, Fraktur work, small quilts/wall hangings.)

• Toys and childhood objects.

• Photographs of school interiors and children at play.



• Clothing, especially work clothes, Bavarian Festival Princess Dirndls, black wedding dresses, and German immigrants’ clothing.
• Holiday decorations, holiday-related recipes, and photographs.
• Objects, documents and photographs relating to being German in Frankenmuth from 1917-1946 (scrap brigade, bond sales, and relief efforts).
• Objects, documents, photographs and stories relating to clamming or cutting ice
  on the Cass River.
• Objects, documents and photographs relating to local rifle clubs (Schuetzenverein).

• Objects/documents relating to midwifery or to the following doctors: Kahn, Sarles, Friedrich.
• Objects, documents and photographs relating to political opinion in Frankenmuth before 1910.
• A Gus Beyerlein fishing rod.
• Letters (English or German) and anything written in Old German Script.
• Minutes of Frankenmuth clubs and bands.
• Diaries.
• Business ledgers.
• The following issues (only) of Der Lutheraner: 1846, 1849, 1850, 1855, 1856, 1858, 1866,
  and 1868.
• Books with Frankenmuth Township Library bookplates.

• St. Lorenz and public elementary school yearbooks.
• Frankenmuth High School yearbooks (1963, 1973, 1974, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2008).
• The following schoolbooks (English or German):



Towns/Holbrook readers (1860s).
Sheldon’s readers (1880s).
Thompson’s arithmetic (pre 1883).
Mitchell’s geography for Michigan.
Pinneo’s grammer (pre-1883).
Whitney/Lockwood grammar (1904-1916).
Parley’s United States History (1860s).
W. C. Hewitt’s Civil Government (post-1887).
“Yaggy’s Anatomical Charts” (post-1887).
Webster’s speller (1870’s).

Aerial images of Frankenmuth

Identified photographs of St. Lorenz confirmation classes for years:
1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1911, 1913, 1927, 1931, 1933, 1938, 1939, pre-1900 and post-1941 and identified photographs of St. John’s, Frankenmuth confirmation classes (any year).

Photographs of following businesses:

The plastic shop on North Main.
Topham welding on North Main.
Sugar beet weight station and freight house on Hubinger Street.
Herman Hoerauf Radio.
Jakob Bickel thresher barn on Franklin.
Cooper Shop on the SE corner of Main and Genesee.
G. A. Bickel blacksmith shop on the NW corner of Main and Tuscola.
Wirth building on Tuscola.
Veitengruber Watch Repair on Tuscola.
Weber Jewelry on Tuscola.
Heine and Denkhaus harness and shoe repair.
Frankenmuth City Office when it was 465 S. Main Street (top of the hill).
Frankenmuth Florist (after 1911 and before 1974).
Louie Goetzinger property on S. Main.
Herb Schluckebier Garage on Main.
Nuechterlein Mortuary on S. Main (on the hill).
Fred Goetzinger property.
Hubinger’s Central Grocery.
Schmunk store on S. Main.
Tourist Camp (downtown, near the river).
The electric control house downtown near Main Street.
Hessig Shoe Repair.
J. M. Leickham cigar factory.
Hubinger’s ice house.
Schreiner blacksmith shop.
The buildings that were once in Zehnder’s parking lots.
The milk station at the north end of the Main Street bridge.
Fire truck barn across from Carling Brewery.
Heine General Store.
Wakeman house on Jefferson.
Fritz Bickel house on E. Tuscola.

… and anything you consider important about life in Frankenmuth today!

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