A historic Green Bay house most recently home to the recently closed Captain’s Walk Winery is scheduled to be sold at a sheriff’s auction next month.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office at 10 a.m. Jan. 14 will auction off the property at 345 S. Adams St., known to historians as the Elisha and Josephine Morrow House. The sale will take place in the Target Room of the sheriff’s building, 2684 Development Drive, in Bellevue.
The property will be sold “as-is” and is subject to any liens on the property. Bidders must be ready to pay the sheriff 10% of the winning bid at the time of the sale with the remainder due no more than 10 days after the sale is confirmed.
The Morrow House was originally built in 1857 near where downtown transitions into the Astor Park neighborhood. It remains one of the city’s oldest homes still in its original location. The house in the early 20th century would become home to a noted community group. The building then was converted into a business space, most recently home to Captain’s Walk Winery since 2007.
Captain’s Walk in a Nov. 18 Facebook post announced it would close on Nov. 26. The post now has almost 400 comments and 250 shares, with many including fond memories and appreciation.
Brown County property records indicate the property has an assessed value of $374,100.
Here’s what to know.
Why a sheriff’s sale?
Nicolet National Bank in March filed a foreclosure suit against Captain’s Walk owners Sip LLC, McVey Properties LLC and Donna McVey. The bank in 2022 loaned the parties more than $770,000 and in 2024 another $100,000 related to the purchase and operation of the business and property, according to court records. The loans were secured with the property and business assets.
The bank claimed the owners defaulted on the loan agreements by failing to make required monthly payments and failing to pay property taxes. Brown County property records indicate the property’s taxes from 2023, 2024 and 2025, which total $28,956.11, have not been paid.
A Brown County judge in June granted the bank’s request for a default judgement and directed the sheriff’s office to auction the property to satisfy the debt. The notice of sheriff’s sale indicates Nicolet is owed $897,552.97.
Want to bid on this historic, Green Bay house? Here’s what to know
Bidding is open to anyone who qualifies as a third-party bidder under requirements laid out in state statutes and can fulfill the sheriff’s requirements should they win, according to the sheriff’s sale webpage. Basically, any parties involved in the ownership or operation of an entity bidding need to have no unpaid property taxes more than 120 days past due and have satisfied any outstanding state or local building code violations.
The sheriff’s sale rules require you to pay 10% of the winning bid at the time of the auction via cash, cashier’s check or other certified funds and the remaining 90% within 10 days of the judge’s approval of the sale.
Don’t think you’ll get the property for a steal, though. Quite often, the bank holding the judgement will make an initial bid in the amount they’re owed. In this case, that’s more than $897,000.
One more important note: It is possible this sheriff’s sale could be canceled or adjourned between now and Jan. 14. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office scheduled 55 sales in 2025 and records show 34 of them were canceled and another four adjourned to later dates.
Entrepreneurial Elisha Morrow built a home that continues to stand out in downtown Green Bay almost 170 years later
Elisha Morrow in 1857 built the house which features Greek Revival and Italianate design elements, according to Press-Gazette archives and the Wisconsin Historical Society data. Elisha and Josephine Morrow would raise their children in the house.
Morrow arrived in Green Bay in 1840. Today, we’d call him an entrepreneur. The UW-Green Bay Archives in a Nov. 21 Facebook post recounted the home’s history and Morrow’s myriad business pursuits, which included real estate, lumber, farming and merchandising.
Morrow died at age 78 on April 7, 1898, at his home due to “the grip” (influenza), according to the Green Bay Weekly Gazette. He was survived by seven children and his wife. The Press-Gazette reported Morrow’s funeral on April 10 to be “one of the most largely attended funerals ever held in this city.”
The historical society’s file on the Morrow House calls it an excellent example of both home styles.
“It illustrates how an essentially square Greek Revival house complete with corner pilasters and shallow hip roof could be modified by the addition of Italianate-style details such as the bracketed cornice of both the main house and the cupola and the full-width front porch with its octagonal piers to produce a dignified coherent design respectful of both styles,” the property file says.
The Green Bay Women’s Club in 1920 bought the Morrow House and turned it into space for the club’s meetings and functions until the club moved in with the YWCA in 1962.
Morrow’s entrepreneurial spirit and his historic home’s location would draw the interest of von Stiehl Winery owners Brad and Aric Schmilling in the 2000s. The Schmillings in 2007 opened Captain’s Walk in the building and would use the home’s original stone basement to barrel-age wines from a vineyard in Door County. The Schmillings sold the business to McVey in October 2022.
What is the oldest house in Green Bay?
Green Bay is home to the oldest buildings in Wisconsin although many of the homes and buildings have been relocated to Heritage Hill State Park in Allouez. They include the Tank Cottage (1776) and Fort Howard officers’ quarters (1810s-1830s) among others.
Hazelwood, built in 1837-38, is among the city’s oldest homes still in its original location. Morgan L. Martin built the home along the Fox River shoreline for his wife, Elizabeth Smith Martin. The home has since been restored by the Brown County Historical Society.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Historic downtown Green Bay home scheduled for sheriff’s auction
Reporting by Jeff Bollier, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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