Little Kohler, or Kohler, is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in the Town of Fredonia in Ozaukee County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States.

Transportation

Little Kohler is located at the intersection of County Highway H (Kohler Drive, Fredonia-Kohler Road), Belgium-Kohler Road, and County Highway E. County H had been designated as Wisconsin Highway 84 before the highway was decommissioned.

History

Martin and Theresa Koller and their children settled in the area in the 1840s, having emigrated from

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. The community was originally named Koller, after them. In 1912, the

Kohler Company Kohler Co., is an American manufacturing company founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and El ...

created a planned community in an area of

Sheboygan County Sheboygan County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At ...

formerly known as River Side. They named the village

Kohler Kohler is an occupational surname of German origin. It means "charcoal burner". Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Kohler (born 1952), Australian journalist *Anton Kohler (1907–1961), German chess player *Berthold Kohler (born 1961 ...

after the family company. At some point, the community of Koller began to be called Kohler as well. Residents of the Kohler in Ozaukee County then began referring to their community as "Little Kohler" to differentiate the two. Little Kohler is the location of the former Camp Fredonia, an Allied

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

that held 330 German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

guarded by 46 U.S. combat veterans under the command of Captain Ray Thill, a native of

Belgium, Wisconsin Belgium is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located along Interstate 43, the village is one of the northernmost communities in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 2,245 at the 2020 census. Beginning in the ...

. The camp opened on June 15, 1945, and closed in January 1946. The headquarters was located in the Louis Glunz Hall on Fredonia-Kohler Road, while the prisoners slept in tents in a fenced enclosure. Most of the prisoners worked on local farms harvesting peas and sugar beets. Some were contracted to work at canneries in West Bend, Thiensville, Saukville and Belgium.

Attractions

The Pineview Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is located in Little Kohler. St. Mary Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church was built in Little Kohler in 1849. This parish merged with those in Fredonia and

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

in 2001.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin