This photographer and his trusty horse captured Manitowoc County in photos unlike anyone else at turn of the 20th century
What do a photo of downtown Manitowoc, an image of the Chief Mexico monument dedication and a street scene of Clarks Mills all have in common?
Sure, these are all images of Manitowoc County — but their roots run deeper than that.
The three images, along with hundreds and maybe even thousands more, are imprinted “H.C. Benke.”
It was a love of photography that led Hermann C. Benke (also spelled "Behnke") to capture Manitowoc County and the surrounding communities unlike anyone else at the turn of the 20th century.
Chances are if you’ve seen a photo from that time period, it’s probably a Benke photo postcard.
Benke was born in Germany in 1869. In the 1890s, Hermann, his parents Charles E. and Bertha, and two sisters came to Wisconsin and settled west of Collins on Highway JJ. There, the family owned a general store, where Hermann was the storekeeper and postmaster. He was also the school teacher in the nearby town of Potter. Being a teacher allowed the budding photographer to have the freedom to explore the area during the summer months.
After the death of Hermann’s parents in 1906, the family moved to Manitowoc.
In 1915, Benke moved to Illinois and became a botany professor at the University of Chicago. In addition to photographing his new city, Hermann still made time to return to Manitowoc County, with his camera closely by his side.
Benke traveled throughout Manitowoc County with his trusty horse, Jackson, and his camera, which he purchased in 1886 and had used until his death.
Along with his photography skills, Benke was also a talented writer. He was very good at writing the places, names and dates on his images, which all serve as a great tool in recording the era’s history.
While Benke photographed many families, school children and communities, most of his images that exist today took the form of picture postcards, an exciting trend in the early 1900s. Some of the more popular picture postcards sold more than 10,000 copies. The postcards were used as early forms of advertising for businesses and communities, as well as special notes to faraway family members. With postage at a penny, photo postcards were sent throughout the United States.
Hermann Benke died in Chicago in 1946. He is buried in the family plot in the Brillion Village cemetery.
In his later years, Benke’s business cards held a quote written by William Cowper, an English poet: “Blest be the art that can immortalize; the art that baffles time’s tyrannic claim to quench it.”
More: Manitowoc fire in 1962 was so bright people in Ludington, Michigan, saw light coming from the city.
With Benke’s photos we have a much clearer picture of what life was like more than a century ago.
Just imagine, a hundred years from now your photos could serve as a time capsule of what life is like today. It is now our job to carry on what Benke started and record our communities through photos.
Just remember to label and date your images — the history keepers of tomorrow will thank you.
Amy Meyer is executive director of the Manitowoc County Historical Society.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc picture postcards from 1800s and photographer H.C. Benke
