Joseph Stenz’s Modern Grocery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Name/Title

Joseph Stenz’s Modern Grocery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Description

This large mounted photograph shows Joseph Stenz’s “Modern Grocery” in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The storefront is prominently marked “The Modern Grocery” and “Joseph Stenz,” while the awning gives the address as 591 Main Street. A horse-drawn delivery wagon parked in front advertises Ethen Allen Flour and identifies the business as “The Modern Grocery, Jos. Stenz,” at 193 S. Main Street. That address matches an advertisement for the store in a 1909 Fond du Lac city directory. Fond du Lac appears to have renumbered street addresses around the turn of the century, suggesting that 591 Main and 193 S. Main may be old and new numbers for the same storefront. A photograph published in the Fond du Lac Reporter in 1995 shows this same building from a different angle and identifies the scene as the east side of Main Street, across from the courthouse, around 1901. Nearby businesses in that image also carry addresses in the 100s, further supporting the possibility that Main Street had already been renumbered by that time. The original photograph was scanned in two sections and digitally merged in Photoshop.

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1900 - circa 1910

Time Period

1900s

Place

City

Fond du Lac

State/Province

Wisconsin

Create Date

September 19, 2026