Category: History
Door County is rich in history, from its most prominent founding citizens to the business leaders who embraced tourism to make it the destination it is today. It’s a history of orchards, farming, and fishermen, but also of potters, artists, and writers. But more than anything, it’s a history told in the lives of the remarkable people who’ve called it home for a spell or a lifetime. Door County Pulse tells them all.
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Egg Harbor’s History at Holly Days
The Egg Harbor Historical Society will present a free History Hour video Nov. 26, 2 pm, at the Kress Pavilion, 7845 Church St., as part of Holly Days. Egg Harbor, The Way It Was is a homespun Bill Bertschinger video production. Bertschinger produced his video using historical photos, many of which have not been shared […]
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Lawrence/Fischer Market’s Long History in Sturgeon Bay
During the summer of 1876, William B. Lawrence opened his meat market on Cedar Street at what is now 120 N. 3rd Ave., the current location of Wilkins & Olander. (Street names were changed during WWII.) There were already two grocery stores, a blacksmith shop and a saloon on the dirt road. By 1889, the […]
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Project Aims to Preserve Firefighting History
When the COVID-19 pandemic appeared on the doorstep of our county, Chris Hecht didn’t take a wait-and-see approach. Before most municipalities had acted, before the legislature lifted a finger, before the governor issued a stay-at-home order, the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove fire chief convened a meeting of Door County fire chiefs to figure out what they […]
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After four years, two moves and many twists and turns, the Door County Granary project is underway. A groundbreaking ceremony held Friday at the 92 E. Maple St. site signaled the start of the first phase of construction. Pilings will be driven, the foundation poured and then the structure jacked up and moved about 50 […]
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SS Badger Transports Memories when Arriving for Maintenance
The arrival of the SS Badger in Sturgeon Bay this month for routine maintenance drew onlookers to the ship canal and lured photographers to various vantage points as the ship passed between piers of lift bridges. Facebook came alive with comments from residents and tourists, some posting photos of the ship passing under Sturgeon Bay’s […]
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Christmas in Belgium at Belgian Heritage Center
The Belgian Heritage Center will be open Nov. 26 and 27, 9 am – 3 pm. On Friday, a volunteer will be available to assist with answering family genealogy questions, and on both days, enjoy a special display of a historical costume worn by a local St. Nick. It’s also a great opportunity for families […]
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64 Years of Pierre-Henquinet Store in Brussels
In 1906, when his daughter, Mae, was two years old, Gabe Pierre established the Brussels Store on School Road in Brussels. By the time a newspaper story celebrated the 50th anniversary of Pierre’s store – “Brussels’ oldest business establishment” – Mae reported that she’d been clerking there since she was eight years old. By 1956, […]
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CURIOSITIES: The Memorial Pole at Peninsula Golf Course
As you tee up on the ninth hole of the Peninsula Golf Course, the primary hazard in your vision isn’t a sand trap or a pond, but a 40-foot-tall pole and monument. Good golfers have no trouble avoiding it, but bad golfers will either be drawn into it or find themselves in the adjacent driving […]
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Two Men, Two Wars, Two Stories
After graduating from high school, two friends from Port Washington, Wisconsin, enlisted to serve their country during World War II. Both were sent to Camp Dix, New Jersey, in preparation for their service. One was Joe Demler, who would head to the European Theater and be captured during the Battle of the Bulge. When liberated […]
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Virtual Veterans Stories Virtual event, Nov. 10, 11 am • Visit the DoorCountyLibrary.org calendar for Zoom details Author and Door County resident Jerry Grassel shares experiences from his time in Europe during the Cold War in his book, Cold War Stories Unclassified: Revealing, Amusing, and Educational. Veterans Day Ceremony Nov. 11, 11:30 am, Aging and Disability […]
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Vanished Links: Door County golf courses that were barely there
When golf courses close, as Bay Ridge in Sister Bay did in early 2020, nature often takes over, and only memories of played rounds remain. As decades pass, any signs of those tracks can disappear altogether. That’s the case with several pieces of land in Door County, where at least three courses either never opened […]
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Walking Tour Of Ephraim Oct. 20
Stroll along Ephraim’s Moravia Street on Oct. 20, 1-2 pm, while enjoying a mix of stories about the early days: the “salty” beginnings, the centuries-long trade routes and the mission-driven immigrants. The walk begins with brief stops inside the Ephraim Moravian Church and Iverson House and goes past Bethany Lutheran Church, the Pioneer Schoolhouse and, […]
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The Great Williamsonville Fire
Thomas and Fred Williamson, brothers who immigrated to the Green Bay tornado park signarea from Canada in the late 1860’s, settled in Williamsonville. Also known as Williamson’s Mill, the settlement grew around the steam powered shingle mill built next to the Ahnapee River in 1870. In 1871, it would not have been uncommon to see […]
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The Tragedy of Williamsonville
Before the Department of Transportation expanded Highway 42/57 to four lanes and rerouted it around Brussels, nearly everyone entering or leaving Door County passed a little patch of land along the highway called Tornado Park. If you never stopped to read the plaques, you might have concluded, understandably, that the spot marked the site of […]
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Learn More about the Fires of Oct. 8, 1871
Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History Authors Denise Gess and William Lutz re-create the personal and political battles that led to the disaster in a riveting account created from extensive research of the fire. From the Peninsula Pulse Archives Learn more about how the fires of Oct. […]
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Northeast Wisconsin remembers the tragedy 150 years later The Peshtigo Fire was the deadliest fire in U.S. history, claiming an estimated 1,800 to 2,500 lives while destroying millions of acres of land across northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. Fires that began Oct. 8, 1871, devastated the landscape on both sides of the bay of […]
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Maritime Speaker Series is Underway
The 2021-22 Door County Medical Center’s Maritime Speaker Series is offering monthly programs on topics from history to current issues affecting the Great Lakes and the economies that rely on them. Upcoming programs – all starting at 7 pm at the Door County Maritime Museum, 120 N. Madison Ave. in Sturgeon Bay – will be “Gales of […]
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Events Commemorate the Fires of 1871
Peshtigo Bailey Koepsel, executive director of the Door County Historical Society, will be a keynote speaker at the Oct. 7-9 Forest History Conference commemorating the Peshtigo Fire. It will take place at the Embers 1871 restaurant, W3529 Cty B in Peshtigo. Koepsel will speak about the Williamsonville Fire, which ravaged southern Door County and killed […]
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Learn More about the Fires of Oct. 8, 1871
The Peshtigo Fire was the deadliest fire in U.S. history, claiming an estimated 1,800 to 2,500 lives while destroying millions of acres of land across northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. To learn about the event, and to hear the stories of the survivors, see the resources below. Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and […]
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Ephraim Historical Hosts Tram, Walking Tours
The Ephraim Historical Foundation (EHF) will host tram tours Wednesday – Friday, 10:30 am, until Oct. 15. Participants should meet at the Anderson Barn, 3060 Anderson Lane. The tour is accessible for most people with limited mobility. The cost is $5 per adult and free for EHF members and those 17 and younger. Ephraim village […]