Women’s History Month

Clara Witzel Sterling was an Oshkosh business woman who operated a dressmaking shop in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Over her thirty year career, she employed more than 40 dressmakers and seamstresses at her shop on Mt Vernon St, conveniently located right behind her home on E Lincoln Ave. Clara was active in the local community, and was a member of several organizations and charities including the League of Women Voters, the First Congregational Church, Ladies’ Benevolent Society, and the Order of the Eastern Star. Born in Oshkosh in 1860, she was a lifelong resident and is buried in Riverside Cemetery along with her husband, Jerome, and their three children. Clara died in August, 1932. The Museum holds several examples of her work in its collection. #womenshistorymonth