Historic Resource Study of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
People and Places: A Human History of the Apostle Islands Historic Resource Study of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Fred Hansen with grandson Fred Dahl, Sand Island, 1931. Courtesy of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Alma Hansen Dahl Collection. Prepared under contract to: Midwest Regional Office, National Park Service United States Department of the Interior By Jane C. Busch, Ph.D. Omaha, 2008 CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS …………………. v PREFACE ……………………………………………… vii Chapter One HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: NATURAL AND CULTURAL .. 1 Chapter Two NATIVE AMERICANS ………………………………….. 31 Chapter Three THE INTERNATIONAL FUR TRADE …………………… 73 Chapter Four SHIPPING AND LIGHTHOUSES ………………………… 111 Chapter Five COMMERCIAL FISHING ………………………………. 159 Chapter Six LOGGING ……………………………………………... 209 Chapter Seven QUARRYING …………………………………………... 245 Chapter Eight FARMING ……………………………………………… 267 Chapter Nine TOURISM AND RECREATION …………………………. 299 MAPS ………………………………………………….. 349 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………….. 363 INDEX …………………………………………………. 373 iii ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Lac Superieur by Claude Dablon and Claude Allouez, 1672 ……… 12 Figure 2 American Fur Company map of the Apostle Islands, 1839 ………... 16 Figure 3 Chief Buffalo ……………………………………………………….. 50 Figure 4 Annuity payment at Bad River, 1870 ………………………………. 63 Figure 5 Artifacts from the Winston-Cadotte site, Madeline Island………… 88 Figure 6 View of La Pointe, ca. 1843 ………………………………………... 104 Figure 7 Devils Island light station, ca. 1903 ………………………………... 130 Figure 8 Garden at Raspberry Island light station …………………………… 142 Figure 9 Ed Lane’s family at old Michigan Island lighthouse, 1910–15 ……. 144 Figure 10 Sand Island lighthouse in winter, before 1921 ……………………... 146 Figure 11 Hokenson brothers lifting pound nets, 1938 ……………………….. 182 Figure 12 Burt and Anna Mae Hill, Sand Island, ca. 1930s …………………... 189 Figure 13 Fred Hansen at the Boar’s Nest, Sand Island, ca. 1935 ……………. 193 Figure 14 Julian Nelson and June Thompson on Rocky Island, 1940s ……….. 196 Figure 15 Adeline LeBel at LeBel fishery, Long Island, ca. 1924 ……………. 199 Figure 16 Schroeder logging on Outer Island, 1930 ………………………….. 231 Figure 17 Steam hauler near Saxine Creek, Bayfield Peninsula ……………… 234 Figure 18 Lullabye logging crew, Outer Island, 1956 ………………………… 240 Figure 19 Harrison brothers logging camp, Basswood Island, early 1950s…… 242 Figure 20 Superior Brownstone Company quarry, Basswood Island, 1893 ….. 250 Figure 21 Excelsior quarry on Hermit Island, 1890s …………………………. 255 Figure 22 Schooner loading sandstone at Basswood Island, 1889 …………… 260 Figure 23 Bert and Birgit Noring building their root cellar, ca. 1913 ………… 291 Figure 24 Fred Hansen’s ox “Bill,” ca. 1920 …………………………………. 292 Figure 25 Haying on Sand Island ……………………………………………... 293 Figure 26 Camp Stella, Sand Island …………………………………………... 312 Figure 27 Coolidge picnic on Devils Island, 1928 ……………………………. 327 Figure 28 Mary Ellen Moe at Trollers Home Resort, South Twin Island …….. 331 Figure 29 Deer hunters on Rocky Island, ca. 1954 …………………………… 337 Figure 30 Boy Scouts landing on Otter Island, 1960 …………………………. 339 MAPS Map 1 Area Map …………………………………………………………… 351 Map 2 Cultural Resource Base Map ……………………………………….. 353 Map 3 Basswood Island Detail Map ………………………………………. 355 Map 4 Michigan Island Detail Map ……………………………………….. 357 Map 5 Rocky Island Detail Map …………………………………………... 359 Map 6 Sand Island Detail Map …………………………………………….. 361 v PREFACE At the northernmost tip of Wisconsin, the twenty-two Apostle Islands form an archipelago in Lake Superior off the shore of the Bayfield Peninsula. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore consists of twenty-one of the Apostle Islands and a narrow, 12-mile long strip along the northwest shore of the Bayfield Peninsula. Madeline Island, the largest of the Apostle Islands, is not part of the national lakeshore. The boundaries of the national lakeshore extend one quarter mile into Lake Superior from the mainland portion of the lakeshore and from each island. The national lakeshore contains 69,372 acres, of which 27,232 acres are submerged. However, the lakeshore is spread over a much larger area, encompassing 450 square miles. The Bayfield Peninsula along with Eagle, Sand, York, and Raspberry Islands are located within Bayfield County; the remaining islands are in Ashland County. The U.S. Congress established Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in 1970. The lakeshore originally included twenty islands; Long Island was added in 1986. As stated in the 1970 enabling legislation, the purpose of the lakeshore is “to conserve and develop for the benefit, inspiration, education, recreational use, and enjoyment of the public certain significant islands and shoreline of the United States.” The law recognizes the significance of the lakeshore’s natural, historic, scientific, and archaeological features for the purpose of protecting these features and making them available for public education and enjoyment. The dry language of the legislation doesn’t begin to capture the scenic beauty and historical interest of the Apostle Islands. Among the lakeshore’s significant natural features are picturesque sandstone formations, breeding habitat for more than 150 species of birds, and stands of virgin timber. The Apostle Islands have a rich human history beginning with Native Americans, especially the Ojibwe, who have remained in the region to the present. With the arrival of European Americans, the fur trade, shipping, fishing, logging, quarrying, farming, and tourism shaped the Apostle Islands. The lakeshore’s outstanding collection of lighthouses is its best known historic resource, but quarries, fishing camps, and other remnants of island history also teach and intrigue visitors. Forest regeneration following logging was so successful that in 2004 roughly 80 percent of the national lakeshore’s land area was designated as wilderness. The areas with the greatest concentration of historic resources, including Sand, Basswood, and Long islands, were purposely left out of the wilderness designation. Nevertheless, significant historic resources are within the designated wilderness area. The purpose of this historic resource study (HRS) is to weave together the diverse themes of Apostle Islands history into a comprehensive history of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The study ends in 1970 when the national lakeshore was established. Because Madeline Island is not part of the national lakeshore it is not emphasized in this study. However, Madeline Island plays such a central role in Apostle Islands history that it frequently and necessarily appears in the historical narrative. The HRS discusses the historic resources in the national lakeshore within the context of Apostle Islands history as well as within the larger historic contexts of the Lake Superior region and the United States. It is intended to serve as a reference for interpretation and cultural resource management at the national lakeshore, and is written for the interested vii public as well as for lakeshore personnel. The HRS will also provide a framework for evaluating the historical significance and National Register of Historic Places eligibility of resources in the national lakeshore. Acknowledgments Many people taught me about the Apostle Islands and assisted in creating this historic resource study. I couldn’t have asked for a better project team. Professor Arnold Alanen, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin, provided guidance and ideas drawn from his own work in the Apostle Islands and his knowledge of landscape history, but was not above peering at microfilm when needed. Landscape architect Holly Smith was thorough, resourceful, and well organized in providing research assistance. The materials that Arne and Holly compiled added depth and detail to the study. Brenda Williams, landscape architect with Quinn Evans Architects, produced the cultural resource base maps and analyzed landscapes with skill and insight. Staff members at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provided space, boat service, and all manner of assistance. Christy Baker, cultural resource management specialist, answered innumerable requests for information and photographs. Linda Gordon, contracting officer, ensured that the project moved smoothly. Also within the National Park Service (NPS), Don Stevens, senior historian at the Midwest Regional Office gave essential guidance and feedback. Jeffrey Richner with the NPS Midwest Archeological Center provided information and valuable perspective about archaeology in the Apostles. Other scholars who generously shared their research on the history of the Apostle Islands region were Professor Theresa Schenck, American Indian Studies Program, University of Wisconsin; Robert Birmingham, former state archaeologist, Wisconsin Historical Society; and Lars Larson, emeriti faculty, University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Staff members of the Wisconsin Historical Society library and archives and the Bayfield Carnegie Library were most helpful. I would especially like to thank Linda Mittlestadt, archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society’s archives at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland; Steve Cotherman, director, Madeline Island Historical Museum; and Roberta Menger, librarian at the Bayfield Carnegie Library. Most of all I am indebted to Robert Mackreth, retired cultural resource management specialist at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and Sheree Peterson, curator, Madeline Island Historical Museum. Bob and Sheree answered many, many questions, drawing