Allen Porter was of English descent. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the third of seven children of Judge Samuel William and Edna B. Porter. In 1842 he left the East for Racine, hoping to escape the illness and business losses that seemed to plague his family. Porter purchased property along the shores of Lake Michigan (the present site of 1211 South Main Street), where he built a cabinet shop and a cottage. In 1846 his wife, Theresa Henshaw (1803-1877), and three children joined him. A son, William Allen (1832-1888), worked with his father in the cabinetry business which, by 1858, required larger quarters.

Unable to expand on the lakeshore because of an eroding bank, the Porters relocated their business to the north side of Fifth Street and Wisconsin Avenue. After his father’s death in 1852, William Allen took over the business. In 1866 it was destroyed by fire. Porter’s reopened at 238 Main Street where, in addition to furniture, caskets were sold. Full Embalming and undertaking services were also provided by Bartholomew C. Thronson, confidential clerk for Porter’s. From 1882 until 1919 the W. A. Porter Furniture Company was housed in a large structure on Monument Square. William Allen Porter died childless in 1888 of a disease of the brain and left the business to his nephews, Allen Booth Northrop (1863-1927) and George Porter Northrop (1869-1938). The store was moved to the current location at Sixth Street and Wisconsin Avenue in 1939.

The Porters’ original cottage was moved from its lake site to make way for a "honeymoon cottage" for their granddaughter, May Northrop (1866-1944), and her betrothed, Philip Wackerhagen (1858-1915). The Porters, Northrops, and Wagenhagens are all buried in a combined family plot in Mound Cemetery.

Submitted by Deborah Crowell