The Union Hotel & Restaurant, located in De Pere, Wisconsin, holds a rich history spanning over a century and a half. Beginning as the Union House, a small inn built in the 1860s and named as a nod to the Civil War’s victorious northern army, the Union Hotel has been a De Pere lodging and dining destination for residents and visitors alike.

The story of the current Union Hotel building dates back to the late 1800s when De Pere was a burgeoning town along the Fox River. In 1883, local entrepreneur Nic Altmeyer recognized the need for lodging and dining accommodations in the area and embarked on the ambitious project of constructing a hotel. Altmeyer's vision came to fruition with the grand opening of the Union Hotel later that same year.

The original Union Hotel was a two-story structure with many “fire-proof” features including an exterior featuring Cream City Brick, a thick fire wall between the hotel and the adjacent city hall building to the north, a steam heat system that is still in use today, and electricity. The building consisted of a first floor restaurant, with the original bar located where the front lobby is today, and the dining room in its current location. Above the restaurant were 11 guest rooms, a sitting room, a parlor, and a lobby.

Two years after the grand opening, in 1885, an addition was added to the building creating what is today’s bar room. The beam running through the bar is the original exterior wall prior to the 1885 addition. A second addition in 1903 added the third floor to the building.

In 1914, after 31 years of ownership by the Altmeyer family, the Union Hotel was sold to Albert Kabat and his family. However, due to the untimely death of Mr. Kabat four years later in 1918, the business was sold once again to our great grandparents - August & Antonia Maternowski. August & Antonia, along with the help of their 12 children, began the family business that continues to this day.

In 1918, the first year of the Maternowski’s ownership, the horse barn, which sits to the East of the main building, was constructed to stable horses for both the hotel’s guests as well as the hotel’s former neighbor - the De Pere Fire Department. Two years later yet another addition was made to the building - adding the card room and eight additional hotel rooms to the second and third floors.

The following years were host to many historical events, including:

• The founding of the Green Bay Packers in 1919.

• The onset of Prohibition the following year in 1920.

• The marriage of August and Antonia’s daughter, Bena, to Garlon Boyd in 1926.

To navigate the supply challenges posed by Prohibition, our Great Aunt Ceil helped the business by distilling her own “home-brew” in the closet of the booth room to sell to the Union’s patrons. Due to the exceptionally high alcohol content of Ceil’s home-brew, customers of the establishment were allowed one drink per visit.

In 1933, the 21st Amendment was passed - repealing Prohibition and ending the nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. Upon the repeal of Prohibition the Union Hotel completed a significant remodel of the bar, booth room, and front lobby in the Art Deco style; many of the Art Deco elements from this remodel have been preserved and remain in place in these rooms today.

The Union Hotel persevered through the hardships of the 1930s and 1940s, continuing business operations through Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II.

In 1955, our father, W. James “Jim” Boyd, the son of Bena and Garlon, married our mother, Patricia “Pat” Kauffman, in Eau Claire. Four years later, in 1959, Jim & Pat moved back to De Pere from Madison where Jim joined his uncles, Roy and Harry Maternowski, in the operation of the business.