Giz Herbst Leads Historical Society Meeting with Horseshoe Bay History Program

Take a journey to explore life at a forgotten Door County settlement at the Egg Harbor Historical Society’s annual meeting and dinner Sept. 21. Giz Herbst will lead a presentation on the Horseshoe Bay Settlement, 1874 – 1914, at the Horseshoe Bay Golf Course Clubhouse.

From the 1860s until the advent of the railroad the Door Peninsula was a major source of wood products for growing cities to the south. Communities throughout the peninsula sprung up wherever there was a protected enclave that allowed for construction of a port for the sailing schooners the plied the Great Lakes at the time. Peninsula communities that are now tourist destinations had their origins in the lumbering ports of the 1800s. Other peninsula communities simply disappeared after the lumber supply was exhausted.

One such community was approximately four miles south of the current Village of Egg Harbor, known to most as Horseshoe Bay. Today, not a trace of the community remains and the only record of its existence is in dozens of newspaper accounts that have been cataloged by Herbst of the Egg Harbor Historical Society. Herbst’s research will be the subject of a program to be presented at the Association’s annual dinner at the Horseshoe Bay Golf Club.

Social hour starts at 5 pm with dinner at 6 pm, with presentation to follow. Reservations must be made by Sept. 17. For a reservation form or to RSVP, email [email protected] or mail the Egg Harbor Historical Society, PO Box 264, Egg Harbor, WI 54209.