Founding Father
Daniel Whitney
In 1829 Daniel Whitney was one of the top fur traders in
our area. As a trade he acquired a large plot of swamp land
and on it built many structures; a General Store, a lumber
mill, and houses for all his workers plus many other
buildings and businesses. Whitney called his new town
Navarino.
Five years after Whitney had his new town bustling, John
Jacob Astor foreclosed on lands that the fur traders in his
company had owned. This was much better land, up on
the hill. Astor had Judge Duane Doty plat the land and
name it Astor.
There was a fierce rivalry between the two towns until De
Pere was named the County Seat. Then in 1838, the
boroughs of Navarino and Astor united to form the city of
Green Bay. The border between the towns was Walnut
and Doty streets, so actually most of what we call
Navarino was the town of Astor. Today many beautiful
historic homes still stand in Astor, but progress has taken
many of Navarino's. A few still remain, look for these
treasures.
Melissa Hauk
Vice Chairman/Commisioner of the Green Bay Historic
Preservation Commission
Brown County Historical Society Preservation Committee
NNA Historian
Walking Tour Handbook
There is a Walking Tour handbook highlighting some of the historic homes in Navarino and is avilable at Hazelwood Historic House Museum, or you can order it by calling Melissa Hauk at 920-430-7846. In the photos below are some of the historic homes you will find in Navarino.
