Wisconsin Decoy Heritage

Your one-stop-shop for Wisconsin carvers!  

There is no better source of information for Wisconsin carvers of working decoys.  Scroll through the posts below, or google the name of the artist you wish to find.

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George Hartmann 2

George J. Hartmann

Decoy Corner
Another Wisconsin Original George J. Hartmann was  born in 1913 and lived most of his life in the Milwaukee, WI area. During the 1930’s, in the wake of the “Great…
Paul Doeriing Duck Decoys

Paul R. Doering

Decoy Corner
The “Duckman” of Princeton, WI A Decoy Corner Article by Bruce Urben, President Paul R. Doering was born in 1899 and began carving decoys in the early 1930’s, shortly after his marriage…
Koelpin Decoy 3

William (Bill) Koelpin Jr.,

Decoy Corner
Wisconsin Original Artist/Carver Bill, Jr with one of his winning decoys at the 2018 WWA Decoy Carving Contest We all know about William Koelpin, Sr. and his legacy of sporting…
LL Bean Black Duck

L.L. Bean Decoys

Decoy Corner
All photos courtesy Dale’s Decoy Den The L.L. Bean Company (Freeport, Maine) is very well known to nearly every American, especially those born before 1960, due to its catalog mail…
Warren Dettman ring-necked hen

Warren Dettman Decoys

Decoy Corner
Warren Dettman was another Wisconsin original decoy carver. He was born in 1904, lived in Milwaukee for most of his life, and was employed by the Milwaukee Public Museum from…
Frank Resop pintail pair decoys

Frank Resop Decoys

Decoy Corner
Frank Resop blue wing teal Frank Resop was born in Poland in 1894 and moved with his family to Berlin, Wisconsin in 1897. While growing up in some of the…

Ron Koch Decoys

Decoy Corner
A Ron Koch coot In previous Decoy Corner articles I have focused on many factory decoy manufacturers as well as those individual carvers that have had an impact on the wood…