Back in April of 2016 I posted an article about the Brooklyn Fire house in Oshkosh. Not long before that David Groth a fellow Waters devotee shared a picture of the De Pere city hall and engine house, it was astonishing how much the De Pere building looked like the Brooklyn fire house. There were a few differences such as the balcony above the center door, it was greatly simplified on the De Pere building and was later removed perhaps for maintenance reasons. The entry door to the right was simplified as well and lacked the round light above it as in the Oshkosh fire house.
I’ve been unable to find any written information on the De Pere city hall, no newspaper articles, or written histories. Photographic evidence is all there is to go on and based on that I feel the De Pere city hall was indeed the work of William Waters and was erected about 1871. As to its’ longevity, photos show that it was still standing and in use well into the 1940’s or possibly the early 1950’s.
