Town buys mill, Button Factory properties

The Town of Fredonia has taken ownership of the long-embattled Waubeka Mill and Button Factory.

Charles Sheridan and his son accepted the town’s offer of $40,000 for both properties last week. The deal closed on June 3, Town Chairman Chris Janik said.

That was the major step in allowing Ozaukee County to access the property so it can gather information for a $142,800 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. that will assess whether the properties are brownfield sites in need of remediation. The grant’s deadline is June 15.

The town was expected to approve a letter allowing the county access to the property at its Wednesday, June 10, board meeting.

The Sheridans hadn’t given permission to the county to come on the land. Charles’ latest in a long line of proposals was to turn the Button Factory into a kayak school and launch.

Town electors on May 27 voted 23-10 to allow the town to buy the properties, but at that time any deal with the Sheridans hung in the balance after months of negotiations.

“Two days before the electors meeting the whole thing fell apart because Charles Sr. changed his mind,” Janik said.

The following day, he said, the Sheridans agreed to sell.

The town plans to give the land to the county, but an intergovernmental agreement still needs to be developed and approved by both entities, Janik said.

“That’s still being worked through,” he said.

Whether the county will contribute to the purchase price also needs to be determined.

A portion of the mill collapsed in 2024, causing part of Mill Street to be barricaded off for fear more could fall onto the roadway. Some residents at the electors meeting called for the costs of a fence and barricades to come off of the purchase price.

“I know at the electors meeting some people were looking for some more from the Sheridans. I’m glad that we’re at this point,” Janik said.

Janik got a group of people involved in seeking a resolution to the issues surrounding the properties after he was elected in April 2025.

“I’m thankful to a lot of people and the Sheridans for finally realizing this was the way it had to go,” he said.

Charles bought the Button Factory in a 1990 auction from Ozaukee County and the mill in 2019 for $1,000, later turning it over to his son.

Charles has been trying to turn the buildings into businesses or residences for the past several years, but the largely dilapidated mill has asbestos, a cracked foundation, rotted support beams and a roof in need of repairs. Fuel leached into the ground below the road from a storage tank under the mill. Part of the roof has collapsed, exposing asbestos.