To name a street

Did you ever wonder why streets are named after specific people and then ask what they did to deserve this high distinction? Having a street with your name on it is one of the most exemplary ways to be recognized. The street name goes down in history with people regularly saying the street name and wondering who it was.

In numismatics, the Village of Iola in Wisconsin named one of its streets for Chet Krause in 2005. Dr. Chet as we know was the founder of Krause Publications in Iola who published many numismatic publications. He was a great supporter of the hobby in Wisconsin and around the world and a staunch village supporter.

Recently I was able to add an 1864 illustrated receipt from Milwaukee to my collection. It was from the Badger State Variety Store in Market Square. What grabbed my attention was the name of the issuer of the receipt; “A. Meinecke.” The name is unusual and I remembered Milwaukee has a street by that name.

Could it be the same person? A little sleuthing showed it was.

Adolph Meinecke (1830-1905) was the owner of the Milwaukee Willow Works which produced wicker baskets, wicker furniture, and other willow ware as well as toys. The willow was grown on his 37-acre farm bordered by W. North Ave., N. 15th Street. and N. 20th Street. In 1887, he decided to subdivide his willow fields and he named the eastern-western street that bisected the new subdivision Meinecke Ave. East of 15th Street, the area was called Lee Street. But he wanted the land from 15th Street to the city limits to be known as Meinecke Avenue.

Our receipts used to look a little more complicated. Supplied photo

To ensure this would happen, he donated three 60’ x 120’ lots on North Avenue near N. 19th Street with the stipulation that if in the future his street name was changed, ownership of the lots would revert to his family. The city agreed and shortly thereafter built a fire station, Engine House 13 on the donated land.

In 1930, Milwaukee renamed many streets. Only one name for a street was allowed, so, the street names Meinecke/Lee had to be changed, and the decision was made to change the entire street name to Lee Street from one end to the other. Meinecke had been dead for more than 20 years when the street name changing took place and the city was unaware of the stipulation on the land he donated. Adolph’s grandson Ferdinand did remember and notified the city. The city did not want to give up the donated land and ultimately reversed its change.

The street continues today into Wauwatosa and here they have kept the Meinecke name on it all the way to N. 124th Street and the Milwaukee River on the other.

Meinecke was a great business and cultural leader in Milwaukee with his business employing over 300 people. He was VP of the Wisconsin Humane Society and the Milwaukee National Bank. His factory was on N. Front Street, a one-block-long narrow street that ends at the Pabst Theater. His accomplishments made him deserving of having a street named after him. Of course, donating the lots certainly helped with getting it named. The two-cent adhesive Internal Revenue Bank Check Stamp at the bottom of the receipt was required on financial documents issued at the time to help pay for the Civil War.

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