Skip to Main Content

Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection

A guide to help users learn more about the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection and how to navigate it.

Collections in the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection

The Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection contains historical materials housed at the UW-Green Bay Archives that pertain the the Green Bay Estuary and it's waterways. Additionally, part of building the digital collection was making connections in the Green Bay community and digitizing relevant materials from local individuals.

All the materials listed here, with the exception of community donations that were scanned and returned, are available to view at the UW-Green Bay Archives. Only a portion of the collections relevant to the Green Bay Estuary were digitized and added to the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection. If you would like to view other related materials held by the UW-Green Bay Archives, or if you have questions about the collections listed here, please contact archives@uwgb.edu.


19th Century "Old Door" County Coastal Settlements, 1991

Two maps of nineteenth century Door County coastal settlements, which were produced by UW-Green Bay alum Tom Hucek. The maps show various types of settlements, such as bays, lighthouses, harbors, and lumber communities. Each has a brief historical note that includes dates, populations, previous and contemporary place-names, short histories about the location, as well as industries and businesses that had existed.

View in the Collection


Dennis Jacobs Postcard Collection, circa. 1900-1990 (Community Donated Collection)

A collection of vintage postcards, dating from approximately 1900 through the 1990s. The postcards show the Bay, Bay Beach Amusement Park, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, the Fox River, the East River, Baird Creek, and much more. Among these postcards is a small collection of real photo postcards from 1910, created by photographer Harry Bethe.

View in the Collection


Fort Howard Paper Company Records, 1919-2009 (UWGB Mss 21)

A collection that contains the records of the Fort Howard Paper Company, a Green Bay paper manufacturer that was located downtown by the Fox River. Digitized for the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection were a variety of relevant photographs, the majority of which were aerial views of the company along the Fox River (spanning from the 1930s-1990s), as well as images of changing water levels, ships making deliveries, and the mouth of the Fox River.

View in the Collection


Fox/Wolf River Environmental History Project Records, 1925-1997 (UWGB Mss 08)

A collection of oral histories, photographs, and research files compiled by UW-Green Bay alum Paul Wozniak. The oral history interviews added to the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection discuss subjects such as pollution, fishing, trapping, local area wildlife, environmental conservation, and more. Dates of the interviews range from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, but the interviews often focus on the 1930s through the 1950s.

In the Fox/Wolf River Environmental History Project Records there are a total of 67 interviews. Of the 67 interviews, 12 were digitized, fully transcribed, and are key-word searchable. Three interviews also had accompanying photographs that were digitized and included with the relevant oral history interview.

View in the Collection


Green Bay's West Shore Coastal Wetlands: A History of Change, 1976

A dissertation written by Timothy Bosley, a UW-Green Bay graduate student in Environmental Arts and Sciences in 1976. The thesis examines historical changes, including both natural and human influences, in the wetland areas along the west shore of Green Bay. The dissertation also includes photocopied maps and reproductions of aerial photographs, which were given to the UW-Green Bay Archives as the Timothy Bosley Collection and are included in the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection.

View in the Collection


Jackie Reimer Ryan films, circa. 1930s/1940s (UWGB Mss 24)

Home films donated by Jackie Reimer Ryan, from De Pere. The films are of the Reimer family during the 1930s and 1940s. There are many scenes of the Bay of Green Bay, including swimming, boating, and playing on beaches in Brown and Door County. Footage also includes snow skiing in the Mahon Woods, which is now part of the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Memorial Arboretum.

View in the Collection


Jean Bouche Papers, 1866-1940 (Community Donated Collection)

A collection about a commercial fisherman named Curtis Allen from Kewaunee County who fished in Lake Michigan. Items include photographs of Allen's fishing vessel, the Elsa M., as well as an 1866 insurance appraisal list made by the Board of Lake Underwriters, which captures information about ships that sailed the Great Lakes.

View in the Collection


Northeastern Wisconsin Aerial Photographs, 1938-2000 (UWGB Mss 16)

A collection of black-and-white high altitude aerial photographs, taken by the United States Department of Agriculture, of land and communities in Northeastern Wisconsin, 1938-2000. For the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection, all images pertaining to the Bay of Green Bay and Fox River watersheds were digitized from Brown and Door County.

The value of these photographs is that they show relevant coastal geography over a large span of time, recording changes to both the waterways and the land.

View in the Collection


SPC Photo Collection, circa. 1905-1976

A collection of photographs and postcards specific to Northeastern Wisconsin. Subjects and locations relevant to the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection include rivers (such as the Fox and East Rivers), lighthouses, fishing, ship canals (such as Sturgeon Bay and the Fox River), Long Tail Point, the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, the De Pere Lock and Dam, Dutchman Creek, and much more. The relevant photographs and postcards in the collection date from approximately 1905-1976.

View in the Collection


The State of the Bay, 1990; 1993

Two issues of a publication produced by the UW-Green Bay Institute for Land and Water Studies in the 1990s, that are part of the Harris and Reed-Green Bay/Fox River Scientific Collection. Each of the issues provides detailed data on the condition of the Bay of Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

View in the Collection


Steve Holschuh Visual Materials, circa. 1940-2014 (Community Donated Collection)

A collection of photographs and home films showing the Bay and the Fox River, taken primarily from the East shore, circa. 1940s-2000s. Images and footage includes water skiing and boating, impacts of the 1973 Green Bay flood, and views of Point au Sauble and Long Tail Point.

View in the Collection


Tank (Atkinson's) Farm Marsh Records, 1971-1982 (UWGB Mss 22)

A collection that contains documents pertaining to the application, depositions, and hearings regarding an effort put forward by the City of Green Bay to fill Tank (Atkinson’s) Farm Marsh in order to build rail spurs (1971-1982). The records also contain correspondence, publications, and maps of the Bay Port industrial area.

View in the Collection


UW-Green Bay Facilities Management Records, 1962-2016 (UWGB Series 36)

A collection that contains documents pertaining to the building and growth of the UW-Green Bay campus. Added to the Green Bay Estuary Digital Archives Collection were various oversized aerials and maps pertaining to the Bay of Green Bay, the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, and Mahon Creek, including original development and land acquisition drawings from the 1960s and 1970s.

View in the Collection


Copyright to all the materials listed above belongs to the individual(s) who donated them. They are shared strictly for non-profit educational purposes. Commercial or any other use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited. For general use inquiries and permissions, contact archives@uwgb.edu.