Peter Charbonneau was born in the province of Quebec in 1836. He came to Oshkosh in 1859 and set up his own blacksmith shop in 1862. His first shop was near the corner of South Main and Eighth Street. In 1877 he built this new shop. He retired in the mid-1890s, and was succeeded in the business by his son Theodore. He died in 1911.
The Dec. 14, 1877 issue of the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern noted the building’s completion.
“Peter Charbonneau completed his fine stone blacksmith shop this year, corner of Otter and Shonaon streets. It is a fine two story shop, 30×120 and cost about $3,000.”