Early Door County Buildings and the people who built them, 1849-1910 [2 ed.]

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EARLY DOOR COUNTY BUILDINGS and the people who built them 1849 -1910

EARLY DOOR COUNTY BUILDINGS and the people who built them 1849 -1910

Published by MEADOW LANE PUBLISHERS Box 188, Baileys Harbor Wisconsin 54202

Second Edition Copyrighted 1978

Photographs by Albert Quinlan

Text by John Kahlert

introduction This book is about early Door County buildings. It also is about archi¬ tecture, about building design and methods of construction. The build¬ ings selected for inclusion are not necessarily the oldest in Door Coun¬ ty but all of them have, in the minds of the authors at least, unique architectural interest. To understand a building it is helpful to know why and for whom it was built. So this book also is about people. It is about some of Door County’s pioneers who were responsible for the buildings we find so interesting. We also hope the book will call attention to the many Door County buildings that ought to be preserved. The “lumber barons” who “harvested” Door County’s forests had their headquarters elsewhere or moved away when their operations became unprofitable. There were no valuable minerals or other major economic resources attracting great entrepreneurs. As a result, the County’s economy was developed by a number of individuals with a variety of economic interests. In Door County there are no great mansions set in groves of trees such as often are found in one-industry communities. At the other end of the economic scale, people may have lived at a subsistance level, but there are no areas that might be thought of as slums. When early Door County settlers began to build homes they may have had in mind the kinds of buildings typical of the places from which they came, either in Europe or the eastern part of the United States, but their aspirations were limited by the materials and resources available to them locally. If a building design originated elsewhere it had to be adapted to Door County circumstances. It is this indigenous character of early Door County buildings which is the source of their charm, even distinction. Life in Door County was never easy. The earliest settlers earned their living by fishing and lumbering. When the forests were depleted they turned to farming, but in all but some of the southern sections of the county, the land was stoney and inhospitable. Although in time many spacious and comfortable homes were built, restraint was always in order. Early Door County buildings were always a little smaller, less ostentatious and had fewer frills than those of a comparable nature in more prosperous communities. Two terms may require definition. The term “classic” in reference to architecture means a building distinguished by simplicity, dignity and

balance in its design and, as a rule, by the use of Greek and Roman motifs in decorative detail. During the first half of the nineteenth century there was great interest in this country in historic Greek and Roman buildings, and “Greek Revival” which took its inspiration from antiquity was the dominant style of architecture. Door County was too remote to be affected by such fashions although there are one or two buildings which echo this national trend in a very faint and restrained way. After the Civil War a reaction set in. People began to feel that a modified Greek temple was not appropriate for American family life, and an interest in a more “natural” or “picturesque” style of archi¬ tecture developed. To make houses appear more informal they were embellished with porches, bay windows, towers and other often bizarre features. Because builders looked to medieval buildings for their inspiration this style of architecture became known as “Gothic Revival”. Some of the later Door County buildings were built in this style but always in a modest and restrained version appropriate to this area. Whatever kind of building materials may have been available, or whatever style appealed to the more prosperous residents, cedar logs continued to be the principle building material for the average hard¬ scrabble farmer up until about the beginning of World War I. After that, the availability of transportation opened up other possi¬ bilities. Tourism began to be important. Door County no longer was isolated in quite the same way and indigenous materials were no longer the only ones available. The pioneer years which lasted longer in Door County than in most other places, finally came to an end. With forests depleted, with no mineral resources to be exploited, with much farm land of a marginal nature, Door County’s population has remained stable. There were about as many people living here in 1920 as in 1970 although there has been an increase, mostly in Sturgeon Bay, during the past few years. With relatively little industrial expansion until recently, there have been few pressures to clear land for redevelop¬ ment. This has meant that sturdy buildings from Door County’s earliest day up to the present continue to exist. Without realizing it, Door County has a living museum of its architectural history. How much longer this will continue to exist is an open question.

When this book was published in 1976 the authors did not know what response to expect. They are very gratified that the response has been positive so that a second edition is necessary. In 1978 the State Historical Society presented the authors an Award of Merit. A second edition provides an opportunity to include certain meritorious buildings which for various reasons were not included in the first, and to revise the text to include additional information which recently has become available. One building included in the first edition already has been torn down and another has been adapted to a different usage. This underlies our concern for the perservation of old buildings of charm and distinction. Often it may be necessary to adapt them to contemporary uses, but it is hoped this can be done without destroying their essential design and character.

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During the preparation of this monograph, the Door County Library was most helpful. The Door County Museum, through its curator, Otis Trodahl, generously made its acquisitions available for inspection when the museum was not open to the public. We particularly want to acknowledge our debt to Stanley Greene who on many occasions shared with us his wide knowledge of Door County history. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Coisman introduced us to residents of the Belgian community who could be useful to us, and went out of their way to further this project. Denis Day took an afternoon from his busy schedule to open the Eagle Lighthouse in mid-winter so that we could photograph it at our leisure. Pictures were contributed by Conan Eaton and Chan Harris. Mrs. Hildamary Mueller searched libraries in Chicago for relevant information. Rev. Gary Straughn, Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church, kindly loaned us a copy of the Rev. A. W. Iverson’s “diary”. Other persons who have provided helpful information include Mrs. Harvey LeMense, Mrs. Bert Skinner (Racine), Mrs. George Timmons (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Charles Frederick Wiley (Elkhart, Indiana). Much information about old barns was obtained from “Barns of Wisconsin” by Jerry Apps and Allen Strang, published by Tamarack Press. But most of all we are indebted to the owners of the buildings included in this book, and their families, many of whom went out of their way to provide background information. We hope they think the book is worth the trouble we caused them.

CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION.4 CONTENTS.8 LOG CONSTRUCTION.10 STOVEWOOD CONSTRUCTION.16 IVERSON HOUSE - Ephraim.22 ASA THORP CABIN - Fish Creek.30 NOBLE HOUSE - Fish Creek.34 TOFT HOUSE - Baileys Harbor.38 CUPOLA HOUSE - Egg Harbor.42

Anderson Buildings, Ephraim.97 Anderson Dock Anderson Store Anderson Residence Anderson Work Bench - Sturgeon Bay.... 104 CHURCHES.106 Christ Evangelical Lutheran Liberty Grove Township St. Michaels - Brussels

NEUVILLE HOUSE - Brussels .50

WAYSIDE CHAPELS - Southern Door.110

BAUDHUIN HOUSE - Brussels.54 DUBOIS HOUSE - Brussels.60 LAURIE HOUSE - Sturgeon Bay.64

LIGHTHOUSES.118

TURNER HOUSE - Sturgeon Bay.72 HARRIS HOUSE - Sturgeon Bay.78 GOSSER HOUSE - Sturgeon Bay.82 DOOR COUNTY COURT HOUSE.86 COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.90

Eagle Island - Fish Creek Rock Island - Rock Island Range Light - Baileys Harbor Cana Island - Baileys Harbor SCHOOLS.126 Pioneer School - Ephraim School No. 2 - Sister Bay

Jonjack Office, Sturgeon Bay.91

First Public School - Ephraim

Stroh’s Block, Sturgeon Bay.92

St. Mary’s of the Snows Parochial School -

Pioneer Store, Ellison Bay.93

Namur

Commercial Buildings.94

BARNS.134

Corner House, Sturgeon Bay.95

REFERENCES.153

LOG CONSTRUCTION

Late nineteenth century log cabin, Gardner Township, occupied until

1956.

11

Contrary to popular conception, the early English colonists on the eastern seaboard were completely unfamiliar with the log cabin. Land¬ ing in a hostile environment, they were in desperate need of immedi¬ ate shelter. With few tools and no great skill they had to manage with temporary housing of the most primitive kind. The most primitive houses were simply dugouts roofed with turf and logs. Some resembled the “long houses” which the Algonquin and Iroquois tribes made of thatch or bark over a frame of bent branches tied at their upper ends, or some variation of the triangular Indian wigwam covered with bark or skins. A more substantial shelter was made from tree trunks arranged like rafters and covered with moss or clay, or with wattle and daub in which thin flexible sticks were in¬ terwoven with the stouter branches before mud or clay was applied. When they began to get a foothold in the new country, when a greater supply of artisans and tools became available, it was not the log cabin which the English built, but the kind of frame and clapboarded houses they had known in England. The log cabin was introduced into this country by Swedish settlers who established the colony of New Sweden at what is now Wilmington, Delaware in 1638. Log construction was common in Scandinavia at that time. What could be more natural than that the Swedish colonists, like the English, would build houses in a manner with which they were familiar. Fully dovetailed corner notching is common in Door County.

Naturally the Swedes traded with settlers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey which also fronted on Ches¬ apeake Bay. It was not long before log cabins became known in these areas, and admired as superior to other kinds of early housing. Phila¬ delphia was the principle port of entry for Scotch-Irish and Germans. Ultimately settlers from Pennsyl¬ vania pressed down through the Shenandoah Valley to North Caro¬ lina, across the mountains to West Virginia and Kentucky, north to Maine and New Hampshire, and westward to Ohio and the North¬ west Territory. By the time of the American Revolution, the log cabin was the prevalent kind of frontier dwelling. The log cabin was a superior form of construction for a pioneer socie¬ ty. The technique of construction was not difficult; it could be built quickly by a group of neighbors. Most important, it required no nails or other hardware, virtually im¬ possible to procure in a frontier region. It was strong, durable, and reasonably weatherproof. Long before settlers came to Wis¬ consin, knowledge of log cabin con¬ struction had become so general there was little variation between those made in one part of the coun¬ try and another. No ethnic influ¬ ences were apparent. Practically the only differences stemmed from the skill of the builder, although in colder climates of necessity they usually were built a little tighter. The walls of a log cabin might be of round or squared logs, but squared ones were much to be preferred beSquare corner notching is fairly common in Door County.

Y

13

cause the flat surfaces and straight edges made a tighter wall. In either case the interstices were stopped with a daubing of mud or clay or with chinking of wood strips and clay. The strength of the wall depended on the weight of the logs and the security of the corner joints. For this reason, the builder paid close attention to the corner construction. He used a variety of mortised, dovetailed and notched joints for square hewn logs. Round logs required semi-circular or “sad¬ dle” notches with the ends extend¬ ing beyond the corner connection to provide stability. Relatively few buildings of round logs with saddle notching are found in Door County, probably because square logs with mortised corners were sturdier and provided better protection from the elements.

I TffiV

Early settlers in Door County had a difficult time, although not so difficult as the first colonists of Massachusetts and Virginia. They were better prepared, and not so far from the centers of supply in case of dire emergency. When they came to the land they had pre¬ empted, they too built rude shel¬ ters until better housing could be provided. The name Shanty Bay in Eagle Harbor refers to the prim¬ itive huts settlers built there until they could erect more permanent cabins in Ephraim. Constant Delveaux, one of the first Belgian set¬ tlers in southern Door told how, after being shown the location of their land, all the men in his group returned from Bay Settlement the next day to make “little cabins V - Corner notching is fairly rare in Door County.

14

with trees and branches to sleep under.” The first night there was a rain storm so severe their gun bar¬ rels were full of water. Felix Englebert, aged 17, arrived in Novem¬ ber 1857 after walking 30 miles through snow and slush. For a time his family’s home was a shack built of brush in the form of an in¬ verted V, and all cooking was done over an open fire. Early temporary shelters and hasti¬ ly constructed cabins have of course disappeared, but many log build¬ ings were substantially built and a surprisingly large number remain and are still in use after more than seventy-five or one hundred years. This is particularly true of bams and granaries. Many log farm houses have been covered with modern siding so their basic con¬ struction is not apparent, but log construction continued to be a major building method in Door County, especially among farmers, until well into the twentieth cen¬ tury. Between ten and fifteen varieties of corner notching have been identified, but not all of them were used in Door County. Sometimes more than one kind of notching was used on the same building, perhaps because several people us¬ ing different techniques were help¬ ing with the construction, or be¬ cause use was made of logs pre¬ viously cut for some other purpose. It would be a great mistake to as¬ sume that everyone who built a log building was a skilled craftsman who took great pride in his work. Fortunately for us there were many who built well. Double corner notching is rare in Door County.

STOVEWOOD CONSTRUCTION

Late nineteenth century log and stovewood barn. Originally the stovewood may have been covered with vertical siding. Liberty Grove Township.

17

Door County is one of the few places in the United States where examples of a unique but gradually disappearing form of pioneer wood construction known as “stovewood” can still be found. It is called stovewood for the obvious reason that walls were made of lengths of wood, similar to those used in kitchen stoves, packed hor¬ izontally in mortar. The use of stovewood varied slight¬ ly from place to place, but in Door County buildings were usually framed as in modern construction. Stovewood was then stacked in mortar between the upright tim¬ bers. The wall would be as thick as the framing, ranging from a few inches to over a foot in depth. Homes were plastered on the in¬ side and covered on the outside with shingles for maximum insu¬ lation. Barns and other farm build¬ ings might be left bare, or covered on the outside with upright boards. It is impossible to know how many stovewood buildings there are in Door County. Over the years, many log and stovewood homes have been covered with modem siding and interior finishes so they cannot be identified. Many stovewood buildings were erected in what used to be known as the “German Settlement” along both sides of Route 57 from Sister Bay to Jacksonport, but examples Stovewood in Zachow farmhouse. Route 57. Original plaster has been removed and mortar restored.

18

have been identified in Gills Rock and Washington Island and may exist in other parts of the county as well. Sometimes entire buildings were made of stovewood, but more often it was used for additions to existing log structures, or for barns, granaries, smoke houses and other farm outbuildings. For unknown reasons stovewood construction in this country was confined largely to Wisconsin, al¬ though isolated examples have been found in other north central states. Stovewood buildings are known to have existed in the southern part of the state but these have mostly dis¬ appeared so that remaining exam¬ ples are found largely in Oconto, Oneida, Shawano and most of all, in Door County. The use of stovewood construction spanned about a quarter of a cen¬ tury from around 1890 to just be¬ fore World War I. There is some reason to believe it may have originated in the Canadian prov¬ inces of Quebec and Ontario where stovewood buildings sometimes are still constructed. About 1870 there was an influx of Canadian settlers into the Jacksonport area but no connection between them and stovewood construction has ever been established. Stovewood was inexpensive since essentially all of the necessary ma¬ terials were available on the site and the labor was relatively light. EvStovewood in Dorn farmhouse Route 57, showing framing. Orig¬ inal mortar remains.

Log and stovewood construction, Dorn house.

19

ery member of the family could help. Low cost was an important factor since much farm land in Door County yielded only marginal income. Richard W. E. Perrin, Wisconsin’s leading architectural historian and a consultant to the Wisconsin State Historical Society, in a definitive article on “Wisconsin’s Stovewood Architecture” in the Summer, 1974 issue of The Wisconsin Academy Review singled out two buildings in Door County as good examples of stovewood construction. One is the old Dorn property on Route 57, about five miles north of Baileys Harbor. Basically it is a log house built in 1860 by August Dorn, one of Door County’s first German settlers. In 1898 he added a wing of stovewood on the southeast corner; a stovewood barn and smokehouse presumably date from this same period. This property has been restored and is now owned by Mrs. Barbara Carlson.

Right half is original Dorn log farmhouse built 1860. Stovewood addition in rear built 1898.

Stovewood house.

construction,

Dorn

The second house mentioned by Perrin is the one which Dorn built across the road for his daughter when she married William Zachow in 1895. Originally it consisted of two large rooms with a spacious loft built of squared logs covered with plaster on the inside and shingles on the exterior. Since Mr. and Mrs. Zachow were blessed with ten children it is not surprising that around 1910 Mr. Zachow added a large stovewood kitchen. Not long after the kitchen was added the Zachows moved to Fish Creek. The property passed through several hands, being used mostly to house migrant fruit pickers. For a number of years it was entirely vacant. In 1975 it was completely restoredremodeled except that the interior logs and stovewood were left ex¬ posed. It is now owned by Mrs. Nor¬ ma Jean Johnson Ek.

Zachow log farmhouse built 1895

IVERSON HOUSE Ephraim

East view of Iverson House, 185354. Note wide vertical siding reminiscent of Norwegian con¬ struction.

24

The oldest house in Door County (other than the Thorp and Mar¬ shall cabins in Fish Creek), and the only pioneer house in Door County with distinctly Norwegian features is the residence which the Rev. Andreas W. Iverson built in Eph¬ raim in 1853-54. Usually information about the con¬ struction of pioneer buildings is scarce because records were not kept, but in 1899 at the age of seventy-five, Iverson wrote a long and dramatic account of his thirtythree-year career as a minister in the Moravian church, including a great deal about the settlement of Ephraim and much about the way his house was built. Iverson was born in Christianson, Norway in 1823. Little is known about his background. Aside from being an eloquent speaker and a gifted writer, he was a skilled car¬ penter with considerable knowledge of building construction. From his brother-in-law, a master shipbuilder, he learned the principles of ship¬ building. He had been trained in drawing and the use of water colors. He was familiar with farming. Obbiously he came from a prosperous family of farmers and artisans who were accustomed to a better-thanaverage standard of living and to positions of community leadership. For possibly six years he attended the Lutheran Mission School at Stavenger, but had developed a growing sympathy for the Mor¬ avians; when a choice finally had West view of Iverson House. Ground floor was cattle barn; top floor was hay loft.

Room with beamed ceiling where Moravian church services probably were held 1854-59. Entrance. The porch is not original. Note panes of glass at side of door.

25

to be made, he threw in his lot with the latter. Iverson migrated from Norway in 1849 at the age of twenty-five, be¬ came an ordained clergyman of the Moravian Church in 1850 and im¬ mediately was appointed a home missionary to the Scandinavians in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota by the Moravian Home Mission So¬ ciety at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He organized a congregation in Mil¬ waukee but many of the brethren wished to leave the city where work was scarce and temptations great. Under the patronage of the well-todo Otto Tank, who offered to buy land on which they could settle, they moved to Green Bay. The story of the congregation’s dif¬ ficulties with Brother Tank need not be repeated here but by 1851 they had left his protection and were seeking a new location. In July of that year Iverson and two brethren made a voyage to Stur¬ geon Bay but were not impressed, although a few members of the con¬ gregation later decided to make it their home. In February 1853 the pastor and two companions, joined by a third at Sturgeon Bay, made a three day trip on foot over the ice to Eagle Island to visit their good friend Ole Larsen and inspect the excellent government land Larsen had assured them was available on the mainland. The next day the party went ashore. They were delighted with the beauEntrance to the house.

cattle barn under

26

tiful tract of woodland where the village of Ephraim now stands. About a half mile from shore they scraped aside a foot of snow and dug into the soil which they con¬ cluded to be good, rich, black loam, suitable for farming. Ironically they encountered none of the limestone which lay so close to the surface. Pleased with the prospects, they re¬ turned to Eagle Island. Brother Larsen offered to drive them to the land office in Menasha with his horse and sleigh and the next morn¬ ing they set out. With $500 loaned by an officer of the Home Mission Society Iverson was able to buy a tract approxi¬ mately a mile long and three-fourths of a mile deep along the shore of Eagle Harbor and to pay all legal fees and other expenses. The price was $1.13 per acre. In May 1853 Iverson sent his family to Larsen’s via a small steamer named “Columbia,” bringing his household possessions in a boat with a twenty-four foot keel which he had built the year before. It was called “The Dove” and had a natu¬ ral-sized carved dove in the bow. As soon as lots were assigned, each owner went to work clearing off the timber, and Iverson was no exception. “When I swung my axe above me for the first time,” he wrote, “a deep impression of the solemnity of the occasion came over me and I thought of David’s famous saying in the 84th Psalm,

4th verse: ‘Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself’ - and soon after the first tree fell to the ground.” Some of the first houses were rela¬ tively primitive but because Iverson was both the pastor of the congre¬ gation and the leader of the settle¬ ment, the others felt his house should be the best and the largest, and he did not disagree. His house was 36' x 24' with a hallway through the center and two rooms on each side. In the second story loft a fifth room was finished on the east side (possibly later) but the west side was left open for the stor¬ age of hay. A stable with two stalls was built under the first floor in the side of the hill. Houses with con¬ necting stables were common in Europe and elsewhere in the United States but this is the only known example of such an arrangement in Door County. The rooms between the stable and the hayloft were well insulated and probably aromatic. Because of the necessity of making trips to various other Scandinavian communities from time to time, mostly on foot, Iverson was unable to work on his house continuously. Even though he had considerable help from two men from Fish Creek and from members of his congre¬ gation who made the shingles for the roof, his family did not move in until November 1854, a year and a half after the work had begun. In the opinion of the other settlers the house had a “splendid appearance” Stone excavated for cattle barn was used to build retaining wall for garden.

27

and indeed, in terms of the usual one or two room log cabins, often without windows, which most Door County pioneers first occupied, it was palatial.

windows, were expensive because they had to be imported and nor¬ mally were used very sparingly. The windows probably were purchased in Green Bay.

Iverson was proud of the quality of workmanship. Each log had been hewn flat and carefully squared. Iverson himself made the doors and window sills and presumably all the interior trim, as well as serving as “architect.” The exterior was en¬ tirely covered with wide vertical siding similar to that used on houses of prosperous farmers in certain Norwegian provinces; the interior living area was neatly plastered and the whole structure was white¬ washed, inside and out. One inter¬ esting detail is the insertion of four panes of glass at the side of the front door. This provided a small amount of light for the hall but at night the sill must have been a good place to leave a lamp so that any¬ one abroad could easily find his way home.

The Iverson family spent the winter of 1854-55 in Manitowoc County where there was a small Norwegian settlement interested in the possi¬ bility of a Moravian church. When they returned in the spring the fam¬ ily and their possessions were trans¬ ported by ox cart to Green Bay with Iverson following on foot leading a cow presented by his grateful friends. At this point in his narrative he wrote that he him¬ self constructed a “real” stable for the cow and for the hay but they are so integrated into the building’s framework that this must have been done at the time of the initial con¬ struction. Later he bought a horse with $100 contributed by the young ladies at a seminary in Bethlehem but it cost too much to feed and had to be sold after a few years.

There are no fireplaces so, although Iverson does not mention this, the building must have been heated with stoves, another luxury for that time and place. Two brick chim¬ neys were built, one for each side, into which stoves could be vented. When the roof was constructed a hole was left for the west chimney but when it came to be built the hole was in the wrong place. Rather than alter the roof, the chimney was slanted to meet the opening. Bricks, as well as glass for the eleven

Cattle barn with milk room at rear.

The stable was hewn out of solid rock, the stones being used to build a wall “with my own hands” on the slope in front of the house. Behind the wall the space was filled with soil so the family could have a gar¬ den. A trap door in the ceiling of the stable gave access to the kitchen pantry on the floor above. There was a similar door between the second floor and the hayloft but this has been replaced by an open stairway.

28

For a number of years church ser¬ vices were held in a first floor room of the Iverson residence. This room has a ceiling with exposed beams, a characteristic of the principal room of traditional Norwegian homes of the period, but without the fanciful carving or rosemaling often found in the old country. Initially the congregation consisted of fourteen adults and four children but others soon came from Green Bay and elsewhere. When weather permitted, the Lar¬ sens and two other families from Eagle Island would attend, as would the Asa Thorps and neigh¬ bors from Fish Creek, so that at times as many as thirty people would be on hand. A church which Iverson designed and for which he built the pulpit, lamp posts and pews was dedicated in 1859.

still hung on wall hooks as they were in 1854. The walls, inside and out, are still whitewashed as needed. Iverson built well. The building is still solid; the doors and other woodwork are in excellent condi¬ tion. The stone wall which he built at the foot of his lot is still sturdily intact after more than 120 years. Both it and the house can be seen on the south arm of county high¬ way Q as it descends the Ephraim hill to Route 42.

The Iverson house has been remark¬ ably well preserved. When Iverson left Ephraim in 1864 he sold it to the Rev. J. J. Groenfeldt, his suc¬ cessor, who came from Denmark. It remained in the Groenfeldt family until 1918 when it was sold to the family of the present owners, Mr. and Mrs. James Field who have changed nothing of the original structure. To be sure, they ex¬ tended the front porch which had been attached by the Groenfeldts and built a small addition at the rear for a modern bath, kitchen and utilities. Over the years several small, inadequate closets were in¬ stalled, but for the most part clothing and other possessions are

Detail of entrance from inside hall.

Chimney built on angle to match hole in roof.

ASA THORP CABIN Fish Creek

Front view of Thorp Cabin, a typical pioneer residence, 1849.

31

In the center of Fish Creek a com¬ plex of shops and restaurants is known collectively as “Founder’s Square.” Originally the buildings were part of the summer hotel and cottage enclave operated by Edgar Thorp. The first hotel was built by Mr. Thorp’s father in 1862 but Edgar took it over and began mak¬ ing additions in 1896 until eventu¬ ally there were accommodations for 125 people. At the rear of the gift shops and re¬ freshment outlets, in an obscure corner of the grounds, there stands a small one-room log cabin. A small metal plate beside the narrow door bears this inscription: “Birth¬ place of Edgar Charles Thorp. Building raised in 1849.” This is the oldest building in Door County still standing. Edgar Thorp was born in 1860, the fifth child of Asa and Eliza Atkin¬ son Thorp who came to Door Coun¬ ty from Oswego, New York by way of Dodge County where they lived for some ten years. They arrived in Fish Creek in 1855 although Asa had spent a few months on Rock Is¬ land in 1845. Presumably they moved into the cabin in which Ed¬ gar later was born. If the metal in¬ scription is correct, it was then six years old so Asa must have ac¬ quired it from a previous owner. Who built the cabin is unknown, but it is a very crude affair. The logs vary in size and the builder either did not take the time or have the skill to square them neatly or

notch the ends tightly. The logs are round, and even today some vestiges of their bark remain. No doubt the original roof was made of bark. It is the kind of cabin an early settler might have built if he did not intend to stay long (a fish¬ erman perhaps) or if he wanted merely temporary shelter until he could erect a “proper” residence. Plans often do not materialize as soon as one hopes. The Thorps apparently lived in that one-room cabin for seven years. The cabin is built on a slope so that a root cellar under the floor was possible. There is a modest stone fireplace in the middle of the north wall; in the west wall are two windows, at least one of which is not original. If there was a ceiling to form a loft where the children could sleep it has disap¬ peared. Crude cabins of this nature prob¬ ably were the rule rather than the exception when settlers first came to Door County. The Rev. A. W. Iverson, who brought his small Mor¬ avian congregation to Ephraim in 1853, took a dim view of some of the cabins early settlers erected. Until he could get established he was the guest of his friend Ole Larsen on Eagle Island. “The ac¬ commodations for my family in Larsen’s house,” he wrote many years later, “were to say the least, primitive - just one large room with the addition of a little shanty serv¬ ing as a kitchen. When there was a heavy rain considerable water leaked

32

through on our bed clothing but this defect was remedied as soon as possible.” Later he described the first cabin completed in Ephraim by one of the most faithful members of his flock, Brother Zach Wathne, for himself and his two sons. “This house was very primitive,” he wrote, “with round timbers for walls and the roof made of bark. Neverthe¬ less, it seemed very comfortable to them.” A very good cabin built by Jorgen Amundsen the next year is still standing. Asa Thorp was a cooper by trade, a maker of barrels, tubs, casks, butter firkins and the like. When he went to Rock Island in 1845 it was to make barrels for the ship¬ ment of fish, but he came to Fish Creek with the express intention of building a pier where lake steamers could stop for cordwood both for fuel and for shipment. This was the first such pier in Door County and the beginning of an industry which became very important to the local economy. Later he acquired as much as 700 acres of timber and employed a number of men to cut lumber for shipment. He also operated a small store and was among the first farmers in the vicinity. Asa quickly became a good friend of the Rev. Iverson (even though the latter may have had some reser¬ vations about Asa’s housing stan¬ dards). More than forty years later, recalling his first years in Ephraim, Mr. Iverson wrote: “Mr. and Mrs. Asa Thorp soon proved to End view of Thorp cabin indicat¬ ing hasty construction.

be our true friends. During the fol¬ lowing years their home was like a (second) home to me, and they assisted me and my family many times with the necessities of life.” When the town of Gibraltar was organized in 1857 the first meeting of the town board was held in the Thorp cabin. Asa was the first town clerk. On May 24, 1858, just as the Iver¬ sons were sitting down to break¬ fast, Asa Thorp appeared at their door to announce that Brother Schultz, an important official of the Moravian Home Mission Society in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and who personally had loaned him $500 to buy land in Ephraim, had arrived with his daughter by steamer from Buffalo the previous evening. Presumably they spent the night with the Thorps. Immediately Brother Wathne and some other men were dispatched in a rowboat to pick up the Schultzes, and as soon as Mr. Iverson and his friend had finished breakfast they set out on foot for Fish Creek, four-and-ahalf-miles away, to greet the dis¬ tinguished visitors. No doubt other visitors arrived from time to time, as the Thorp pier was the only stopping place for lake steamers north of Green Bay. It is reasonable to assume that this is what prompt¬ ed Asa in 1862 to build a small hotel which doubtless included new quarters for his family. Later under Edgar’s management it became one of the principal resorts in Fish Creek and indeed the whole north¬ ern part of the county.

There were only a few families living in Fish Creek when Mr. and Mrs. Thorp arrived. No doubt Asa obtained the cabin from one of them. Increase Claflin, Door Coun¬ ty’s first permanent settler, moved from Little Sturgeon where he orig¬ inally settled in 1835 to what is now Peninsula Park in 1842. He lived in splendid isolation until he was joined by Van Renssalaer Mar¬ shall and his family who moved up from Bay Settlement in Brown County in 1847. By 1853 Peter Weborg and Even Nelson were living in the vicinity as they helped the Rev. Iverson build his house in Ephraim. They were fishermen, primarily, but Nelson also was a skilled woodsman and it was he who squared the logs for Iverson’s residence.

William Marshall, son of Van Rens¬ salaer, married one of Claflin’s daughters and for many years a reasonably well-constructed cabin supposedly built by Claflin and his son-in-law stood in Peninsula Park. It had become the subject of van¬ dalism, however, so it was disman¬ tled several years ago and eventually will be reassembled by The Ridges to house part of its nature center. It had been extensively remodeled over the years, including the addi¬ tion of a second story, so that not too much of the original building remained. However, when it is re¬ stored it will be the oldest standing building in Door County since it probably antedates the Thorp cabin by a year or so.

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NOBLE HOUSE Fish Creek

Front view of the Noble House built in 1868 by the village black¬ smith.

35

The oldest residence in Fish Creek other than the Thorp cabin is the white frame house on the south¬ east side of highway 42 as it turns the corner north to become the village’s main street. It was built by Alexander Noble in 1868 and is now occupied by his granddaughter, Dr. Gertrude Howe. It is a good example of the kind of gracious but functional house a successful artisan-farmer living in a village built for his family toward the middle of the last century.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Noble came with his parents to Canada and then to New York State where he married for the first time. In 1861 he brought his family to Chambers Island but moved to the “mainland” in 1862. That same year he took out a land grant deed for the land on which the house stands. It was issued under Presi¬ dent Abraham Lincoln’s name. A first house built immediately on the southeast corner of the lot was destroyed by fire.

Although Noble was the village blacksmith he also farmed 300 acres in several locations. Thus this was a working farm house with a barn, a chicken house, a wood shed and of course, a privy, although none of these outbuildings remain. Its no-nonsense functional character is typically mid western.

The Noble house has been little changed over the years. Originally there was just a front stoop but a porch roof with pillars has been added. Inside were ten rooms originally, including six bedrooms. After Mr. Noble’s first wife died he married a second time. He had a total of nine children. One bed¬ room on the first floor has been combined with other spaces to pro¬ vide a dining room and a modern kitchen and bath.

The smithy was located one block north of the house and there Noble shod horses and oxen, repaired tools and machinery and manufac¬ tured hardware for buildings in¬ cluding nails for constructing his own house.

The “front room” or parlor is much the same as it was over one hundred years ago. There one finds the

family organ purchased in 1874, complete with its stool in its orig¬ inal black horsehair upholstering. Two other chairs dating from the same period have been reuphol¬ stered. For a number of years the walls were bare but in 1897 Mrs. Noble bought wallpaper from the store just across the street, then run by Mr. and Mrs. Alec Lundberg, which is still in place. A portrait of Noble has been placed in a promi¬ nent spot. In other rooms the original wood wainscoating is still intact. Alexander Noble was an important figure in Fish Creek. Although, according to his granddaughter, he was one of the few conservative free silver Democrats in Door Coun¬ ty, he represented Gibraltar town on the county board for nine out of the fourteen years between 1872 and 1885. While he was thought by some to be a rather dour Scot he was fond of reading and took a great interest in spirited horses. His house projects the image of a man of culture and substance who at the same time believed in sim¬ plicity and restraint. The Noble House parlor with Alexander Noble's portrait on or¬ gan purchased in 1875.

.

TOFT HOUSE Baileys Harbor

The Toft House is one of very few pioneer buildings in Door County showing New England in¬ fluence. Built in early 1860's or 1870's.

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40

Early settlers in Door County came from various European countries, but they also came from the eastern part of the United States. Tangible evidence of this is af¬ forded by the typically New Eng¬ land “salt box” house on Route 57 in the center of Baileys Harbor which currently is occupied by Miss Emma Toft, noted conserva¬ tionist. The term “salt box” was given to a certain kind of house which devel¬ oped in Massachusetts and sur¬ rounding states in the early seven¬ teenth century. The first English settlers built one room and then two-room houses. Next the roof was raised to create a second story. Finally, a one-story room was add¬ ed across the full width of the back. The roof line then resembled the outline of an old time salt box with a hinged lid.

Entrance with side light which echo design of New England doorways.

As economic conditions improved, considerable attention was paid to the front doorways of New England houses. Glass panes were used on either side of the door, with possi¬ bly a semi-circular fan light over the entrance to provide light for the inner hall. Often the woodwork

was beautifully carved in designs of classical origin. The first building on the site of the Toft House was built by Miles Carrington who was in the Baileys Harbor area in 1849 “buying up land and putting up buildings” so he could bring his family the fol¬ lowing spring. Apparently he was backed financially by his father Joel who bought the lot on which the Toft House is located in 1849 and conveyed it to Miles in 1850. Miles was born in Ohio in 1822 so he was 28 at the time; he married Harriet Butler, not a member of the prominent Jacksonport family. The house Miles built was destroyed by fire. Whether this was in the early 1860’s or at the time of the great forest fire of 1871 is not known. By that time the property belonged to Joel, Miles’ son, and he was in immediate need of hous¬ ing. In partnership with a man named Raymond he built the build¬ ing now known as the Toft House. It is reasonable to assume that in such an emergency they put up the kind of house with which they were familiar and knew how to build quickly. A more substantial house which Joel later built next door no longer exists.

In 1897 Raymond sold his share to Joel Carrington for $100. In 1900 Joel sold the entire building for $400 to William Toft, brother of Miss Emma and father of Thorval Toft, Sturgeon Bay attorney, the present owner. The Toft House is a simple struc¬ ture, with clean almost puritanical lines. Initially it was a duplex with identical units sharing a common hall. Each unit had two rooms on the first floor and one on the second, or a total of six rooms plus an attic under the roof on the second floor. The doorway with its side lights is a distant if restrained reflection of New England design which is rarely found in Door County. Unfortunately the waterfall scene etched in the glass of the front door is not visible. Immediately preceding their settle¬ ment in Baileys Harbor, the Carring¬ tons lived in Peshtigo. It is believed they also lived for a time in Michi¬ gan. No record has been found of Mr. Carrington’s or Mr. Raymond’s New England origin, but it was common for western bound settlers to stop at several spots before settling permanently in one loca¬ tion. The evidence of the house is convincing enough.

CUPOLA HOUSE Egg Harbor

Mr. and Mrs. Levi Thorp and their two children lived in a nearby log house for 16 years while Mr. Thorp planned this elegant resi¬ dence completed in 1871.

44

The Cupola House built in 1871 by Levi Thorp is a landmark in Egg Harbor. It is the most imposing example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture in Door County. The Gothic Revival style in its fullest expression was characterized by a multitude of bay windows, towers, porches, chimneys and other decorative if often useless features. Interest was centered on the surface which was designed to create patterns of light and shade which would disguise as far as possible the utilitarian nature of the building. The Cupola House, on the other hand, has a quiet al¬ most classical dignity brought about by a simple, well-balanced design and good proportions. It has enough decorative detail to be interesting without being frivolous.

Cupola House, side view.

The roof with its double brackets under the eaves, the bit of lacy woodwork at the dormer window and of course the cupola with its widow’s walk and delicate finial are what give the house its dis¬ tinction, but it would be a pleasing building regardless. Incidentally, the cupola, aside from being deco¬ rative and providing a good obser¬ vation post, has a very practical function. It is a great aid to ventilation. On a warm summer’s day, if the cupola windows are open and windows are opened else-

where in the house, the cupola draws like a chimney, bringing in cool air from the outdoors. A nineteenth century air conditioner! In the winter the house was heated by stoves, fireplaces apparently be¬ ing considered unfashionable. Chim¬ neys were built at an angle so there could be a stove in every room. Levi Thorp was one of three Thorp brothers who came to Door County in the mid-1850’s. The Thorps were coopers which made it possi¬ ble for them to move about the country easily. There always was a market for their wares. Levi first came to Door County in 1850 to check on some land his brother Asa owned in Fish Creek. He worked as a cooper and a fisherman for Increase Claflin who lived in what is now the Peninsula Park, and mar¬ ried one of the Claflin daughters. When Asa settled in Fish Creek in 1855, Levi and his brother Jacob settled in Egg Harbor where even¬ tually they bought some sixteen hundred acres of land including and surrounding the present village. After a few years, Jacob sold out to Levi and after three years in Ken¬ tucky and a short stint in the Black Hills, finally settled in Jacksonport. Levi built a large dock and crib at the foot of the hill and engaged in a very successful busi¬ ness of shipping cordwood and cedar. For many years he was the

principal business man north of Sturgeon Bay, and with 160 acres under cultivation in 1879 he oper¬ ated the largest farm in Door Coun¬ ty. The house he built in 1871 on the highest spot in Egg Harbor be¬ fitted his standing in the commu¬ nity. Although the Thorps tended to be transients in their younger days, none was more footloose than Levi who at the age of twenty-five headed for the California gold field. Tradition has it that he sailed around the tip of South America but returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama. In any event he re¬ turned with $5,000 in gold dust and a Chinese companion whose length of stay (or survival) in Door County is not recorded. For six¬ teen years he and his wife and two children lived in a log house at the foot of the hill while he gathered material and made plans to build the finest house for miles around. Choice pine lumber was brought from Menominee. Many trips were made across the Bay to inspect it since he would accept no lumber containing knots. It is obvious that the house was built with great care; the interior woodwork is still in fine condition. There are fourteen rooms in the Cupola House, including a large wainscoated room on the second

Original wall paper in hall.

45

floor which was the ballroom. There the Thorp’s daughter was married to a man from Sister Bay who eventually became a judge in Superior. The main rooms and the front hallway were decorated with embossed and flocked wallpaper, doubtless very fashionable and ex¬ pensive, brought from Milwaukee, but only that in the hallway has survived. The colors are a variation of browns. The woodwork and the doors leading into the halls are finished in dark tones also. This suggests that at one time the wood¬ work throughout the house was similar. During the latter part of the nineteenth century light tones were frowned upon, especially for country residences which it was felt should match the natural tones of the outdoors. When the house was first built the exterior probably was painted a dark grey green. The Thorps were sociable people and in a day when transportation was difficult, guests often remained for extended periods. Rooms for

Hallway, showing details of wall paper cornice.

47

Front stairs with decorative details.

the necessary servants were set aside at the rear of the second floor, and a rear stairway gave access to the kitchen and dining room below. Mrs. Thorp died in 1896. With their daughter married and their son not very successful in business, Levi decided in 1906 when he was 82 that he would return to Cali¬ fornia, the scene of his youthful success. He stopped in Superior to see his daughter who persuaded him to remain with her. He died there in 1918 at the age of 94 but was buried beside his wife in the Egg Harbor cemetery although there is no marker. When he left Egg Harbor, Levi sold his house to C.A. Speaker who within a year sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cady who retained ownership for fifty-five years. In 1961 they sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Rockford Fairchild of Marshfield, Wisconsin, and Mr. and Mrs. Everett Fairchild of Nut Tree, California who use it as a summer residence.

Newel post of front stairs.

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NEUVILLE HOUSE Brussels

The Neuville House was built of native stone about 1857 by Au¬ gust Draize, a Belgian migrant.

51

The vaulted root cellar was built within the house foundations. Probably it was built first so the foundation could be built around it.

The two story native stone house on county highway C, about a mile north of Brussels, might have been built in Belgium and transferred intact to Door County. It was built about 1857 by August Draize who sold it to the grandfather of the present owner,Gervase Neuville, in 1905. Brick is the common building material in Belguim, and the stone is squared and coursed with great regularity as though laid by a brick mason. It is very neat and tidy. As with most other early stone buildings in Door County, the walls are two feet thick. The stone was quarried near the site and set in mortar kilned in the neighborhood. There are no interior chimneys be¬ cause the flues vent into spaces left in the massive walls. The Neuville house has the distinc¬ tion of being one of the few build¬ ings in Door County’s Belgian com¬ munity which survived the great forest fire of October, 1871. This is usually referred to as the Peshtigo Fire since it began near that community on the western shore of Green Bay, but burning embers

were blown across the water and ignited the forests on the eastern shore as well. A fire tornado swept up from Brown County and engulfed Door County’s southern townships. The summer of 1871 had been unusually hot and dry. A number of large swamps in Gardner and Nasewaupee townships had burned out earlier so that when the big fire reached these areas there was little left to consume. As a result, the village of Sturgeon Bay and the northern end of the Door peninsula were saved although there were isolated local fires there also. A little pocket in Gardner township escaped destruction. At least two other houses on coun¬ ty route C north of Brussels also survived. One of them, less than a mile further north, is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Julius LeCapitan. Originally it was practically identi¬ cal to the Neuville house but has been extensively remodeled. About a mile further down the road is the log house currently occupied by Mrs. Anna Robillard. The original part was built by Henry Delsart, although the date of construction

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is unknown. Henry died; his widow married John Counard, and they continued to live here. When the fire approached they plowed the ground around the house, nailed a bible, a handwritten copy of a prayer and a horseshoe over the door and took off for the Bay about a quarter of a mile away. When they returned, only the corners of their house had been slightly singed. In 1873 a two story log addition was constructed. Since that time several layers of siding have been applied so that the original log building is no longer visable. Except for the addition of modem plumbing and utilities, the Neuville House is the same as it was more than 125 years ago. Like most Belgian farm houses, the interior is very simple, with four rooms on the first floor and three on the second. A very interesting root cellar with a vaulted roof was built inside the original foundations and is still used for the winter storage of potatoes and other produce, not to mention jellies, preserves, and all kinds of canned fruits and vegeta¬ bles. Geraniums, too, are kept over the winter.

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BAUDHUIN HOUSE Brussels

In 1893 when Father Bernard Pennings, founder of St. Norbert's College and of the Norbertine Order in America, came as a young man to be pastor of St. Mary's of the Snows at Namur, he required temporary housing in the parish. Naturally he was housed in the handsomest and most palatial resi¬ dence in the area. This belonged to the Baudhuin family. It was built of native stone in 1880 by Jean Joseph Baudhuin who came from Belgium in 1869.

56

One of the handsomest and most impressive nineteenth century houses in southern Door County is the two story stone building on Highway 57 just north of Namur, owned by James Baudhuin, greatgrandson of Jean Joseph Baudhuin who came from Belgium in 1869. Jean Baudhuin built the house in 1880. Of course stone for the two foot thick walls was quarried on the premesis and lime for the mortar undoubtedly was kilned in the neighborhood. The stone work cost $80.00. It is not known where Mr.Baudhuin got the inspiration for the design of this excellently proportioned build¬ ing, but obviously it is the home of a prosperous farmer who valued old-country traditions. The Baud¬ huin house is a reminder that in farming regions of western Europe, including Belgium, home and farm were intimately related. Only the first floor was used for living. The upper story is one huge room orig¬ inally used as a granary; the full basement was used as a root cellar for the storage of potatoes, beets, sauerkraut and other farm produce for winter consumption.

Jean Baudhuin was nothing if not practical. The family lived on the ground floor. The second floor and what might have been an attic were used as an immense granary.

The first floor contains six rooms, three at each end, separated by a narrow hall and stairs. Originally they were heated by a stove at each end which vented into chimneys built into the walls. As in most old

country farm dwellings, the interior is starkly simple with no attempt at adornment. In front and a little to the right of the farm house is the old stone summer kitchen with a brick bake oven at the rear. A wood fire was lit in the oven until the bricks be¬ came red hot. The ashes then were removed, and as many as twelve loaves of bread were baked on the hearth; thirty-six loaves were usu¬ ally baked at one time. Such out¬ side ovens were fairly common in the “old days” but this is one of the very few still in existence. During the winter of 1893-94 the Baudhuins were host to the Rev. Bernard Pennings and Brother Servatius Haesackers, the first mem¬ bers of the Norbertine religious order in Wisconsin. They came from the Premontrian Abbey in Berne, Holland, because of the ur¬ gent appeal of the Catholic Bishop in Green Bay for priests who could speak French. They were deemed essential to counteract the influence of the Rev. Joseph Vilatte, a native of France, who was organizing an Old Catholic Church which threat¬ ened to attract the Belgian com¬ munity away from its traditional religion. Father Pennings immediately as¬ sumed the vacant pastorate of the church now known as St. Mary’s of the Snows. The previous frame church and school had burned in

February, 1892 and only the church had by then been replaced. The rectory was being used to house the school and as a residence for the Sisters so Father Pennings and his assistant moved into the sacristry. This was too small for a bed, so every evening the two men trudged through the snow to the Baudhuin residence where they spent the night, occupying the three rooms to the left of the entrance. As soon as possible in the spring alterations were made in the sacris¬ try to provide more adequate quar¬ ters, and steps were taken to build a new school and convent. In 1898 Father Pennings moved to West DePere where he founded the Norbertine Abbey, becoming its first Prior; in 1925 he became the first Abbott of the Norbertine Or¬ der in America. In 1899, with four students, he founded a school which eventually became St. Norbert’s College. The Rev. Vilatte whose presence brought Father Pennings to Door County was one of the area’s most colorful personalities. He was in turn a Roman Catholic, a Presby¬ terian, and an Old World Catholic. When he applied for ordination as an Episcopalian priest the Bishop felt it would be better if he were ordained as an Old World Catholic, with whom the Episcopalians were in communication, because the rit¬ ual was more nearly like that with

Stone summer kitchen.

which the Belgians were familiar. Thus Vilatte was sent to Berne, Switzerland, to be ordained as an Old Catholic priest but he re¬ mained under the jurisdiction of the Episcopalian Bishop of Fond du Lac. In 1886 he built the Church of the Precious Blood in Gardner which thus was the first Old Catholic Church in America. Vilatte wanted to be a bishop. This honor was refused by the Episco¬ palians so he traveled to Ceylon where he found a bishop willing to concecrate him “Archbishop of the Old Catholic Church in America.” This brought excommunication from both Episcopalian and Catho¬ lic churches. Vilatte returned to Door County as archbishop in 1892. His expanded activities brought the Norbertines the following year. In 1898 when the Episcopalians withdrew their support he returned to Green Bay. After numerous adventures he returned to France where he recanted and was reconciled with the Roman Catholic church. He died in 1929. When he left Door County the Church of the Precious Blood reverted to its present Epis¬ copalian status. Bake oven.

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DU BOIS HOUSE Brussels

Although brick is the basic build¬ ing material in Belgium, Belgian residents of Door County did not begin using it until after the great fire of 1871 as in the DuBois house, built in 1895.

61

After the great forest fire of 1871 when a large part of the Belgian community in southern Door Coun¬ ty was almost completely destroy¬ ed, Belgians understandably became wary of wooden houses. No doubt they immediately erected tempo¬ rary log shelters, but as soon as they could manage they seem to have replaced them with masonry buildings. Log construction was still used extensively, but mostly for barns and other farm out-build¬ ings. Many of these handsome structures are still in use today. There was plenty of building stone available, but most Belgians seem to have preferred to build their homes of red brick which was available from yards in the locality. In fact, an almost certain sign of a farm in southern Door which has belonged to Belgians for many years is a square red brick farm house with white trim. Brick did not have to be quarried; it was much easier to work with; the walls did not have to be two feet thick. Brick houses in the Belgian com¬ munity vary so little in design, it is obvious that once a good pattern had been developed, it was adopted by many others in the community. The typical Belgian appreciates tra¬ dition more than innovation. A good example of this kind of brick house is the one built by Marcelin Baudhuin on route 57 south of Brussels in about 1895. It is now owned by his grandson, Donald Dubois. What makes this Detail of porch.

62

building unique is the decorative front porch with its elaborate trim. By and large, farm houses in Door County do not have front porches, and Mr. DuBois does not know what his grandfather had in mind in adding this feature. In the early days, farm families did not have time to sit on the front porch to watch the world go by. Besides, Door County summer evenings are cool and mosquitoes from nearby swamps often make sitting out im¬ possible. Another unusual feature is the bullseye brick ornament in the front gable. Many small windows are found in the gables of southern Door homes, but only a few “bulls eyes” are known to exist. A half circle appears to be the most popular symbol. Presumably these were trademarks of the various con¬ tractor families, including all of their relatives in the construction business. Mr. DuBois stated that according to tradition the builder was drunk during the whole time of construction which may explain why his trademark is not seen more often. Although the house appears small, it contains seven rooms. This in¬ cludes five bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room. Family life centered around these two latter rooms so that a “parlor” was not necessary. The house has been kept in a good state of repair. It is always a pleasant sight on the way to Green Bay. Bull's eye window in front gable was the contractor's trade mark.

LAURIE HOUSE Bay Shore Drive Sturgeon Bay

This is probably the most beaut* ifully proportioned and elegantly designed early residence in Door County. As the bracket over the door indicates, it was built by Robert Laurie in 1870.

66

The Laurie House was built by a native of Scotland. How Mr. Laurie came to Door County and how the house came to be built is one of those accounts that is stranger than fiction. Robert Laurie was born in 1825 in Glasgow, the son of a tailor. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a jeweler, but like his four older brothers he soon turned to ship¬ building. During the seven years spent learning to be a ship’s car¬ penter, he traveled to various exotic places including the Mediterranean, India and China. On one trip he circumnavigated the globe. In 1849 he married Catherine Munro and three years later he and his family sailed for Buffalo, New York where two older brothers already had located.

The material for this stone house was quarried on the premesis, a few yards from where the Lauries built their log house in 1856.

Robert had no trouble getting work in shipyards in Buffalo, but he had heard exciting tales of the country farther west where land could be had almost for the asking. He and his brother Alex built a boat and in 1855 they set out to look for a place where they could settle. Hav¬ ing spent time in the tropics they wanted a location with water and timber but without fever or ague. Miraculously, after sailing through various lakes they finally landed several miles north of Sturgeon Bay. Here they found what they were looking for: forests of white pine and oak suitable for boat building in an agreeable climate. They purchased land and returned to Buffalo for the winter. The next year the two brothers

returned to Door County with their families and built log houses. In the fall, leaving their two wives and children behind, they returned to Buffalo. Doubtless they left their families with ample provisions, and a nearby tribe of friendly Indians often left venison on their door¬ steps. When they were ready to return east they walked to Green Bay to catch the last eastern bound boat of the season. They managed to board it just before its departure, but alas, it was late in the fall and the Bay had frozen over. The boat could not proceed. There was nothing for them to do but to head for Detroit on foot by way of Mil¬ waukee and Chicago, taking such tools and supplies as they could carry. When they reached Detroit no travel accommodations were available so they walked the rest of the way to Buffalo. By the spring of 1855 the brothers had built a larger twenty-four foot boat and on May 1 they set sail for the west, arriving in Sturgeon Bay on May 15. Their first years in Door County were spent clearing the land. Robert knew nothing about farming, but he had much success in growing fruit and is credited with being the first settler to plant cherry and apple trees in Door County. Soon he turned to his trade of shipbuilding, working for several years at the Gardner shipyards in Little Sturgeon. On his own premises, Robert built several boats, the first of which was named “The Peninsula”. It traveled

back and forth to Green Bay loaded with commodities needed by people along the way. At various locations it would stop and fire a cannon to announce its arrival so that people could come from all directions to buy basic items they were unable to provide themselves. Unfortu¬ nately the business did not prosper, supposedly because so much of the money received proved to be worth¬ less bank notes. In 1864 Alex was drowned.

Soon Robert’s in-laws and his par¬ ents visited from Scotland. Mrs. Laurie’s parents returned but the senior Lauries remained and made Door County their home. His father alerted Robert to the excel¬ lent building stone in the area, and in 1866 he began the construction of his new home. It was not completed until 1870, with work on the interior continuing after the family moved in. In the absence of explosives, stone was pried loose by a giant eighteen foot 400 pound iron crowbar which today can be seen, at the Door County Museum. A lime kiln was built on the premises, the ruins of which are still visible. For a family with seven children the Laurie house was not conspic¬ uously large. It had eight rooms with a large kitchen in the basement and an attic with a skylight some¬ what resembling a widow’s walk. One of its luxuries was a bathroom with a toilet and bathtub. Water was furnished by an overhead tank filled by a pump, probably from a cistern in the basement. The only heat was provided by two fire¬ places and the kitchen stove.

67

After Mr. and Mrs. Laurie’s death the house was occupied by an unmarried daughter. After her death it was allowed to fall into disrepair, but in 1937 it was pur¬ chased by a granddaughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Emil Hansen who completely restored the house, making as few changes as possible to accommodate modern heating, plumbing and kitchen facilities. The Hansens made minimal struc¬ tural changes. Two small rooms were joined to make a spacious living room. This required re¬ moving one wall and relocating one fireplace. The other fireplace with its handcarved mantle is still in place in the dining room. A hand¬ some handcarved buffet in the din¬ ing room was made by a man who nearly drowned when his boat over¬ turned just off the Laurie shore. Mrs. Laurie cared for him for six weeks. Out of gratitude he built the buffet for her before he left. The front hall and stairs also were remodeled. Originally the front hall was decorated with brown pan¬ eling, each panel containing an oval maritime scene painted by John Rasmussen, pioneer Door County painter. One of Mr. Rasmussen’s pictures remains over a doorway between the dining and living rooms although much darkened by time. The Lauries were people of con¬ siderable culture and refinement. Mrs. Laurie and her daughters sent to London and New York for their dresses. The family kept up with The handcarved buffet in the dining room was built for Mrs. Laurie in gratitude for the care she gave a man who nearly drown¬ ed when his boat capsized off shore.

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A window in the two feet thick walls provides an excellent place for the display of a collection of antique goblets.

One of the original interior doors with a unique design.

Over the doorway between the dining room and the living room is a mural by John Rasmussen, pioneer Door County artist. Originally there were a number of his nautical scenes in the hallway.

Original hand carved fireplace in dining room.

70

London newspapers which were bound for rereading on winter ev¬ enings; sometimes Robert would supplement the stories with tales of his own adventures in far-off lands. There were books and music, but the ban on drinking was ab¬ solute. At one time President Grant and his daughter visited Stur¬ geon Bay by boat. Legend has it that the Laurie family was invited aboard, but the Laurie women in¬ dignantly refused as they had heard that Grant was known to like his whiskey. Robert, a seafaring man, was said to have liked an occasional nip and to have accepted the Presi¬ dent’s invitation with pleasure. One of the remarkable things about the Laurie House is the fact that a great deal of the original furniture is still in place so that it is possible to see how a prosperous Door County family lived in the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was an elegant home on the fron¬ tier.

Mrs. Laurie had many cultural Inter¬ ests. When she came to Door County she brought bound copies of London magazines to which she subscribed. This volume contains copies of The Family Herald for the year 1855.

What is even more remarkable is the elegance of the architectural design. Mr. Laurie was an experienced ship¬ builder and doubtless had a feeling for good proportions. He knew the importance of building well. As a Scotsman, he doubtless had a feel¬ ing for simplicity and economy. He must have been proud of his house since over the doorway he set his name and the date of construction in stone. The house is still occu¬ pied by Mrs. Emil Hansen, a de¬ lightful lady in her nineties who also is proud of her grandparents’ residence. Luster ware creamer brought from Scotland by Mrs. Laurie in 1852.

riUaDIMR&

TURNER HOUSE Bay Shore Drive Sturgeon Bay

The Turner House, built by Alex¬ ander Laurie in 1886, is notable for its skillful stonework and cos¬ mopolitan design.

73

The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Davis Turner on Bay Shore Drive in Stur¬ geon Bay is a good example of an old house which has retained its essential character despite extensive remodeling. The Turner House was built in 1886 by Alexander Laurie, son of Robert Laurie, pioneer boat builder. Since he grew up in a nautical family it is not surprising that he began sailing the great lakes at the age of 17, becoming captain of the Katie Laurie which his father built and named after his mother. In 1880 he took out his steamboat captain’s papers. It was while sailing as captain of a freighter out of Milwaukee that he met the Milwaukee girl he married the fol¬ lowing year. Mrs. Laurie was lonesome and un¬ happy in her new house; con-

Rear view of building.

74

sequently the upper story was never finished. Her nearest neighbors were her husband’s family a mile away. In addition, Alexander was away during the months when the sea lanes were open so that she was left to her own devices a great deal of the time. This was no life for a city girl. In 1904 she was able to persuade her husband to retire from sailing, sell the boats which he owned in partnership with his brother John and settle down on a farm not far away in Sevastopol Township. One may speculate that he thought this was not much of a life for a sailor for in 1910 he moved to Sturgeon Bay where he became bridge tender and toll col¬ lector for the city. When Mr. Laurie turned to farming in 1904 he sold the house to David Ball, a Chicago judge who used it as a summer residence. Judge Ball

Original Dormer window.

75

sold it to James Greenlee in 1939 who sold it to Mrs. Sheila Kelsey, now Mrs. Turner, in 1962. The unique feature of the Turner House is its careful stone construc¬ tion. Each stone was cut and faced with great skill, and laid in evenly matched courses. Over each win¬ dow and doorway, a handsome keystone is the center of each curved pediment. When an addition was built to the north, stone from the old Sturgeon Bay power house was used because it had come from the old Laurie quarry operated by Alexander’s brother John. The stone is not as skillfully cut but it has the same color and texture. The mansard roof with its dormer windows gives the house a cosmo¬ politan air. It makes the house seem smaller, almost a cottage, although it would have contained Front door with design etched in glass.

76

at least ten rooms if it had been fin¬ ished as originally planned. The dormer windows in the front have been enlarged slightly, but those at the rear are the original. In the process of remodeling, the house was completely gutted, al¬ though the first or basement floor today contains the dining room, kitchen and related facilities much as it did originally. However, the old cistern has been discontinued. The second floor once was divided into three bedrooms and a living room, but has been made into a single spacious living area. The third floor now contains bedrooms. About the only bit of original furnishings left is the front door with its etched glass panes, and the elaborate screen door which mirac¬ ulously has survived approximately 90 years.

Original screen door.

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