Main Street Mayville, Inc. was formed in fall of 1997 by a group of concerned business and community members. We have been trained through the Wisconsin Main Street Program, and are governed by a local Board of Directors. We hire a Main Street manager to oversee the downtown projects, and rely solely on volunteers to complete all of our projects. We are a non-profit corporation relying on pledges and fundraising events to finance our revitalization projects. We have completed a Market Analysis of the area and have arrangements with the local banks for favorable loans for facade and structural work. We work closely with the City of Mayville establishing visionary plans for the improvement and growth of our District.

Main Street Mayville was designated a Historical District in 1994. The district is composed of most of the historic downtown commercial business center of Mayville. Most of the District runs along Main Street and consists of a streetscape of nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial buildings. The Eastern boundary of the district is the beautiful Rock River, which runs the length of the town. We also offer two historical museums within these boundaries: The Hollenstein Wagon Factory, and the Mayville Limestone School Museum, both local historic landmarks. The development of Mayville began in 1845 with the arrival of William Foster and Chester and Eli May, who established a power site and mill on the Rock River. These efforts promoted the early settlement of the village.

* A Main Street Program is a project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation -- there are more than 1,500 Main Street communities nation wide, with 33 in Wisconsin. The Main Street program combines historic preservation with downtown development to create a working, growing, and aesthetically pleasing business center that works to reinforce and rekindle the economic vitality and values Main Street stands for - making it once again the unique and social heart of the city.

* The process is designed to improve all aspects of the downtown for tangible - and intangible - benefits. Improving economic management, strengthening public participation, and developing under-utilized areas, are as critical to Main Street's success as recruiting new business, rehabilitating old buildings and expanding parking.

* Building on downtown's inherent assets of rich architecture, natural beauty, personal service and traditional values, the Main Street approach has earned national recognition as a practical strategy appropriately scaled to each community's local resources and conditions.