Valders in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Thorstein Veblen
(1857 1929)
Photographed by Keith L, September 16, 2008
1. Thorstein Veblen Marker
One of Wisconsin's most controversial figures, Thorstein Bunde Veblen, was born near here July 30, 1857. In 1865 the Veblen family moved to Minnesota where Thorstein graduated from college in 1880. He was a deep thinker, usually lonely and always in debt.
After receiving a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale in 1884, Veblen taught in several colleges. He was not a popular teacher but attracted dedicated followers to his extreme social and economic ideas. In 1899, his book "The Theory of the Leisure Class" created immediate controversy.
During much of his life, Veblen remained estranged from society. His pale, sick face, beard, loose-fitting clothes, shambling gait, weak voice and desperate shyness enhanced this estrangement and deepened his loneliness. Yet the society which did not accept Veblen the man did come to value the products of his penetrating mind. His books and articles have been described as perhaps "the most considerable and creative body of social thought that America has produced."
Erected 1970 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 176.)
Topics and series. This historical
this page online
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 44° 4.176′ N, 87° 52.952′ W. Marker was in Valders, Wisconsin, in Manitowoc County. It was on North Liberty Street (County Highway J) 0.1 miles north of North Calumet Street (U.S. 151), on the left when traveling north. Marker is in Valders Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Valders WI 54245, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was on Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. It was also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies:
Photographed by Keith L, September 16, 2008
2. Thorstein Veblen Marker
Another marker is no longer nearby. Collins Road Bridge Span (was approx. 5.4 miles away but has been permanently removed).
Also see . . . Thorstine Veblen - Wikipedia. (Submitted on January 18, 2014, by Claude Barta of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.)
Additional commentary.
1. Marker Update
As of 4/13/22, the marker is in disrepair and I am trying to gather information to launch a funding campaign to restore the marker.
Editor's note: Thank you for your work in repairing the marker. We'd be happy to publish new photos of the marker.
— Submitted April 13, 2022, by Peggy Ryan of Kiel, Wisconsin.
2. Marker has been removed
The existing
Via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) Unknown photographer, 1909
3. American Economist and Sociologist Thorstein Veblen
— Submitted January 30, 2023, by Peggy Ryan of Kiel, Wisconsin.
3. Marker has been replaced with a new one
Replacement marker, No. 617, is now in place. Because of the number change, photographs for the new marker should be used to create a new entry. Ed.
— Submitted September 3, 2024.
Photographed by Keith L, September 16, 2008
4. Valders Memorial Park
Credits. This page was last revised on September 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 20, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,202 times since then and 31 times this year. Last updated on September 26, 2024, by Peggy Ryan of Kiel, Wisconsin. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 20, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 3. submitted on September 3, 2024, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on September 20, 2008, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
