Sturgeon Bay City

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Source changes here: from History Of Door County Wisconsin The County Beautiful, by Hjalmar R Holand, published 1917; 8,872 words in this source stream.

Sturgeon Bay City

Sturgeon Bay seems to have been a center for human intercourse long before white men came here and began to do business. The remains of several Indian villages have been discovered in or near Sturgeon Bay which show that it had a large population hundreds of years ago. One of these villages was located on the property of the "Cove" summer resort about three hundred feet south of the boat landing. Another was across the bay at Circle Ridge on block 5. A great many fine relics have been unearthed here. Another village site has been found on block 8 of Wagener's second addition to Sturgeon Bay, just north of the city. Two large village sites are also found at Little Harbor.

The Indians presumably found this a convenient place of habitation because of its proximity to the waters of both Lake Michigan and Green Bay. When the first settlers came they found a well trodden path leading from the head of Sturgeon Bay to Lake Michigan, just north of the present canal, over which the Indians had portaged their canoes for centuries.

One of the first white men known to have visited Sturgeon Bay was the great missionary and explorer, Father Sines Marquette. On the 25th of October, 1674, a solitary canoe left the majestic waters of the Fox River at a point then known as St. Francis Xavier Mission, at the head of Green Bay. A black-gown with two companions manned the canoe. This priest was Father Marquette, on his last visit to the Illinois Indians, a visit from which he never returned. On the 27th of October he landed at a point where there was an Indian village (probably Cirele Ridge) and remained there three days instructing and ministering to the Indians. Proceeding on their journey they carried their canoes across the portage to Lake Michigan, surveying, as it were, the ship canal of two centuries later.

As far back as records go Sturgeon Bay has gone by the name it still bears. The first to mention the name is Father Allouez, the first missionary of the West. Late in October, 1676, he set out from his mission at De Pere to visit the Illinois Indians, Cold weather overtook him and he was obliged to winter with ,some Potowatami Indians, who lived on or near Sturgeon Bay. March 29, 1677, he embarked in a canoe, assisted by two men, on Lake Michigan. This he reached by way of the Sturgeon Bay portage (La Portage des Eturgeons), where now is the canal!

This portage was also much used by early French, English and American fur traders in conveying their supplies from Green Bay to Milwaukee and intermediate points. It is probable that some of them also used Sturgeon Bay as a temporary trading post. In a letter dated May 18, 1825, H. B. McGulpin, a fur trader, mentions Sturgeon Bay in a way which suggests that it may have been one of his regular stations.! After him a young trader by the name of Joshua Johnson Boyd made periodical visits there, on which occasions the Indians used to gather to barter and celebrate. He was the son of Colonel Boyd, U. S. Indian Agent at Green Bay. Colonel Boyd was a very capable and distinguished gentleman who had been prominently employed by the Government abroad and was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy Adams. In 1832 his son Joshua was killed at Sturgeon Bay by an Indian for refusing him credit.

It was this dangerous business that Increase Claflin assumed when he in 1835 moved from Green Bay. He changed the location of the trading post from Sturgeon Bay to Little Sturgeon and for many years Sturgeon Bay lay silent and deserted save for its dusky nomads.

Among the early settlers on Rock Island and St. Martin's Island was Oliver Perry Graham. He had a sail boat, did quite a little traveling disposing of his fish, and was also associated with the fur traders in bartering with the Indians. In this manner he became a well-known figure among the Indians, who greatly respected him because of his powerful physique and commanding presence, and he was elected chief both by the Menominees and Chippewas.

On these travels he had several times visited Sturgeon Bay. He was greatly impressed by the grand forest of pine which lined the shores of the bay, particularly where now the City of Sturgeon Bay is built. He felt convinced that soon the tide of empire rolling westward would need this timber for building material, and profitable business would be opened for a sawmill. Accordingly on August 14, 1849, he entered a tract of land now included in the business section of the city and in 1850 erected the first house of the future city. This stood a little southwest of where Vendome Park now lies.

Sturgeon Bay at that time was one grand forest of pine. From the cove to the brewery, from the bridge to the courthouse and eastward for miles was n forest of tall, bulky columns of pine rearing their tops a hundred feet in the air. Where now the business houses line Cedar Street, the ground stretched smooth and soft, covered with pine needles and always shaded by the green pine.

For a year Graham dwelt here alone with his family, a hermit in a wilderness of pine. His nearest neighbor was David Greenwood, who lived on the Sawyer side of the bay. There was also Peter Sherwood, a quiet, genial old man, who lived on Sherwood's Point, about six miles down the bay. A half-mile south of him at the head of Sawyer Harbor lived Frank Sawyer, an Indian trader and trapper who had just located there. Seven miles farther west Robert Stephenson, another Indian trader, lived at Little Sturgeon, while far to the northward, at Fish Creek, Increase Claflin held undisputed sway.

It was not long, however, before Graham got more neighbors. One morning in the fall of 1851 he saw a sailboat come gently floating up the bay and land at his house. It contained Rev. A. M. Iverson, who with two representatives of his congregation in Fort Howard, were seeking suitable Government land to form a colony. This Moravian congregation of about twenty Norwegian families had

2 Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, XX, page 377. 3Peter Sherwood was a stepfather of John Boone of Rock Island, whose mother he married about 1840.

for some time been buffeted about in great hardships. A few years previously its members had left Norway partly because of economic reasons and partly because of religious pressure. They had been among the pioneers of "Walker's Point" in Milwaukee and there struggled under the handicap of strangers in a strange land unable to speak its language. In Milwaukee a Norwegian nobleman of immense wealth had come to them unexpectedly like an angel from heaven and volunteered to buy lands for them all. With joy they had followed him across the Wisconsin wilderness to Fort Howard, where the colony had been established. Unforeseen difficulties, however, had arisen, and now they were left more destitute than ever in the little Village of Fort Howard, without work, money or lands.* Now, weary with wandering, their committee had reached Sturgeon Bay to see if here, beyond the pale of civilization, lands could be obtained where they could settle and dwell in peace. i

At Sturgeon Bay practically all the land was still unpre-empted. However, that forest of pine which had prompted Graham to settle there discouraged Reverend Iverson from doing so. He was of the opinion that cvergreens grew only on poor soil, and as they wished to form a farming community he felt it would be a big mistake to locate here. He returned to Fort Howard with his committee and strongly advised against settling at Sturgeon Bay. The greater part of his congregation accepted his advice and later moved with him to Ephraim. A few, however, were impatient of further investigation and believed it more important to obtain homes at once. These were Salvi Salveson (Solway), Anthoni Thompson, Louis Klinkenberg, H. P. Hanson and Ole Falk, Melchior Jacobs, Christian Knudson, E. Rasmussen, Nels Torstenson and Philip Jacobs. Of these Salveson settled near the later city in 1851, on the spot later occupied by the dwelling of Leidiger Bros. The others moved up in 1852 and settled along the shore, Torstenson and Philip Jacobs taking land on the Sawyer side.

For awhile it looked as if the whole Moravian congregation might settle at Sturgeon Bay after all. A wealthy Moravian in New York City by the name of Clark heard of the hardships of the little wandering congregation and offered to loan them money to buy land. With great anticipation they obtained Mr. Graham's aid and selected 1,200 acres of land for the colony at Sturgeon Bay. Mr. Clark, however, suddenly withdrew his offer and their hopes were dashed to the ground. With more chastened expectations they now entereed 160 acres of additional land and invited their brethren in Fort Howard to join them. Before they could pay anything down on the land they learned that their claim had been jumped by a Mr. Lyman Bradley.

This Mr. Bradley was a prospective lumberman who with David S. Cranda!l came from Lockport, N. Y., in the spring of 1852. They went into partnership under the name of Crandall & Bradley, and bought many hundred acres of pine lands. Most of these entries are dated September 11, 1852. Next spring they brought several men with them from Lockport to build a mill. L. R. McLachlan was foreman. Under his supervision the mill was completed in October, 1853, and at once began to saw lumber. This was known as "the lower mill" and occupied the site of the Pankratz mill. Mr. Jesse Kimber, an old scttler who began work

"I came to Sturgeon Bay from Lockport, N. Y., to work for Crandall & Bradley in their sawmill, which they had built that season. There were but few settlers here then, and this was an unbroken wilderness. We cut the pine trees on the bank of the Little Lake - then known as Bradley's Lake - but we were all green as to handling saw logs, and it was slow work * * * Little Lake was frozen over on the morning of November 5, 1853, and we had some rare sport killing bass and pickerel by striking on the ice over them, and then hooking them out with a piece of wire bent in the shape of a hook. In a day or two the weather got warmer, and the ice all melted, and we had no more snow until Christmas week, when it shut up for the winter. About New Year's the snow began to fall, and for forty days we never saw the sun; but we had the most beautiful nights I ever saw. It snowed every day, and by the first of March we had 314 feet of snow on the level in the woods * * * About the month of February the Bradley mill changed hands, and D. H. Burtis came here and took possession, and the mill company was known as Burtis & Works - the property being put into their hands to await the issue of a law suit then pending in the courts of Niagara County, N. Y. In August, 1854, Bradley came here and paid off all the men, and Works gave up the property to the old firm of Crandall & Bradley, and matters went on smoothly for awhile.

"Bnt owing to Mr. Bradley's inexperience in lumbering, he failed to make much out of it, and in the crash of 1857, they went down with lots of others * * * After Burtis & Works gave up the Bradley property, Burtis built what was known as the 'middle mill, and commenced to manufacture lumber, but failed and returned to his old home at Lockport, N. Y. * * * In early days there was no nristocracy - all were alike, and we enjoyed ourselves hugely - all were bound to enjoy themselves. We could get up a dance in half an hour, have a full house, and keep the party until daylight, and then away to the woods again. * * * I have known the time when we had to make out a meal on potatoes and salt. We used to spear suckers in the creek in the spring, and then we lived high again. lonce heard Bradley remark that he had not a man about him that could get his shirt off, and when asked the reason, he said: "They had eaten suckers so long that the bones stuck through their skin, and their shirts are fast.' " 5

The principal reason for the failure of this enterprise is reported to have been the lack of experience and attention to business on the part of the promoters. Crandall and Bradley were both newspaper men but had more hope than knowledge of the lumber business. Bradley had a great slant for law, was a shrewd pettifogger and found much more interest in following anybody's lawsuit than in managing his mill. Crandall was a famous storyteller who is said to have had Íree transportation whenever he traveled because of his witty stories. While the bosses were off in distant parts storytelling and arguing law, the mill men shifted for themselves in indolence and quarreling and the result was ruin.®

¢ Dudley S. Crandall, a son of David S. Crandall, is still living near Sturgeon Bay, at the age of eighty-three, a remarkable example of well preserved physical vigor and mental wit. He came to Sturgeon Bay with his father in 1853, but did not become a permanent resident until 1870. For many years he edited one of the local papers.

In 1854 D. H. Burtis built the second mill in Sturgeon Bay, which was located on the site of Washburn's planing mill. Among the men who came with him were the Schuylers, Henry Schuyler, Sr., and his sons Henry, Fred and Albert. Henry Schuyler, Sr., became the first county surveyor. He had owned and operated mills in New York and had assisted in building "Walk in the Water" and other early boats. In 1844 he built Burtis' mill, then put in new machinery in Bradley's mill and finally was in charge of the construction of Graham's mill. In these jobs he was ably assisted by his son Fred Schuyler, who was also a master mechanic.*

Mr. Graham, who was the first to locate at Sturgeon Bay, was the last to build his mill. This was just east of the Reynolds Preserving Co. plant and was erected by Fred Schuyler, A.'W. Lawrence and others in July, 1855. While Mr. Graham's mill was the last of the three to start operation he had accumulated the greatest amount of timber lands. Having unbounded faith in the future of the town which he had founded, he invested all his means in timber lands. He borrowed from his friends and kindred and. bought more. He mortgaged al) he had and with the proceeds increased his holdings. Finally he had 4,900 acres of pine lands near Sturgeon Bay. Then, shortly after the whirring saws had begun to cleave the big pine logs in his trim little mill and success seemed near, the panic of 1857 laid its blighting hands on nearly all sawmills. The price of lumber went down so low it did not pay for the transportation. Like the two other mills in the village, he, too, failed in business. Sturgeon Bay for a time was a dreary monument of disappointed hopes for practically every man in the village lost a large amount ~- in wages due from the mills, varying from twenty-five to five hundred dollars.

The methods of handling the logs and lumber in vogue by these early mill companies seem rather crude when viewed in the light of later efficiency. The pine was cut - none less than ten inches in diameter - with axes. Only logs free from limbs were used. The balance of the tree was left to obstruct the ground. The big angular cuts of the axemen and the rejected tops caused a loss in lumber which would pay a modern mill's operating expenses. The logging camps were at various points a mile or two from shore and banking grounds were located at three or four different points between the present city and the mouth of the bay. From these points booms were made up and most of the logs reached the mill by water.

As soon as the ice left the bay the rafting crew would set out to get the logs from below up to the mills. This was very slow work and as hard as it was tedious. A scow about twenty feet long by eight or ten feet wide was rigged with a windlass. To this a rope four or five hundred feet long was attached. After the logs had been put into a raft the boat was pulled out into the bay by means of oars, and when the length of the rope was reached the anchor in the bow of the scow was dropped and the work of winding up began. This would

1 Fred Schuyler, who is still a hale and hearty resident of the city at the age of eighty-five, is a very well known charaeter of the county, stocked with all sorts of whimsical recollections of the early days. ''I was hired to come to Sturgeon Bay and stay thirty days,'' he tells, **aud I am here yet.'? Goodnatured but rough in speech, unassuming ond quaint, he is a rare type of an old pioneer. The following story is entirely characteristic of him: Once he doctored a sick horse for Rev. Samuel Groenfeldt. When the matter was disposed of he was asked for the bill. ''Oh, nothing,'' he replied, ''you can preach my funeral sermon to pay for it, but you must not tell any lies, But,'' he added meditatively, '"you must not tell the truth either, for that would be a d - 4 sight worse!"

probably require half an hour on an average if the weather was favorable. As some of the roll-ways were about five miles from the mill it took a long time for a raft to reach the mill after getting started. Sometimes it would require from twenty-four to thirty-six hours to take a raft of about one hundred logs from the mouth of the bay to the Graham sawmill, and the men would be completely whipped out by the long and heavy pull. A raft of 100,000 feet was considered a big one, and the rafting boss was complimented very highly for being able to handle such a large lot of timber.

After trying the scow and windlass for a few seasons, the mills began to use horses for towing. A span was hitched to the rope, and by following the shore fairly good time was made with an ordinary raft. The driver was mounted on the back of one of the animals, and often the horses were in water up to their backs. The driver was compelled to hang on, and it was not an unusual thing for him to be swept off by some overhanging tree or limb. When they came to where the shore was bold and the water deep the horses would have to swim until they could touch bottom again. Three and four men were required to keep the raft from going ashore, and when the wind blew heavily toward the land this was an utter impossibility. In such an emergency the raft would have to remain on the beach until the wind went down.

The first of these methods was also employed by many captains to take their vessels up the bay in case of a head wind. A small anchor was placed in the yawl boat and taken perhaps a hundred fathoms ahead and thrown overboard. A turn was taken around the windlass on deck and the ship was warped along until the kedge anchor tripped. One of the big anchors was then dropped to hold the vessel in position until the former operation could be repeated. It sometimes took a week to kedge a large vessel from the mouth of the bay to Graham's or Schjoth's dock.

The first village plat of Sturgeon Bay was made and recorded August 10, 1855. The proprietor was Robert Graham, a brother of Oliver P. Graham. It embraced several blocks of land bounded by Spruce and Church streets. The name of the village was Graham, by which name the later City of Sturgeon Bay was known for several years. This was the second platted village in the county, the Village of Ephraim having been platted in 1853. The village plat of Ephraim, however, was not recorded until 1859.

As all three of the mills by this time (August, 1855) were running, there was quite a population in the future city. About twenty to forty men worked at each mill - the oldest, Crandall & Bradley's, being a little the largest - making a total population of about two hundred people, of which a little more than half were floating mill hands. In November of that year occurred an election for Governor of the state, which is the first election on record held in Sturgeon Bay or Door County. The manner in which this election was conducted was unique but very effective and is well worth relating.

On that memorable election day a group of patriotic plank pushers were sitting around the stove of the boarding house of Graham's mill after dinner. The merits of the two candidates - Barstow, democrat, and Bashford, republican - were discussed. Barstow 'was candidate for re-election and had a powerful state machine behind him. The spokesman, however, was a staunch republican and made it clear that the salvation of all depended on the election of Bashford. In order to do what they could to save the state from damnation it was enthusiastically decided to con- stitute themselves into a board of election. This was done and each man present was required to vote a straight Bashford ticket. Word was sent to the other mills that an election was in progress at the upper mill and all were urged to present themselves. Meanwhile the board of election sat in patriotic dignity awaiting the voters. Those sordid savages of the other mills seemed, however, more interested in ripping logs than in saving the nation. Seeing the mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet decided to go to the mountain. Taking the ballot box with them the board of election sallied forth and invaded the middle mill. Here, amid the flying sawdust, it was explained to the Canadians, half-breeds and Irishmen working there that it was a guarantee of their bread and butter to drop a slip in the box bearing the name of Coles Bashford. This was cheerfully complied with. Another halt was made in the snug furnace room of the lower mill and forty more republican votes were garnered in. The election board then went out into the highways and byways of the new metropolis - that is, along the water front and around the plank piles, and every person wearing trousers was required to drop the right kind of slip into the box. Toward the close of the day the board of election with great magnanimity and to avoid any suggestion of coercion permitted three voters to cast votes for Barstow. The ballot box was then carried back to its home in the dining room of Graham's mill and the votes were conscientiously counted. The result was very gratifying - 84 for "the great statesman," Bashford, and 3 for "the low-down demagogue," Barstow. A messenger was subsi- 'ized and sent on foot to Green Bay with the election returns. A few weeks later the loyal patriots of Graham were greatly uplifted to learn that Bashford had been elected by a small margin - the state saved from disaster by Graham's (alias Sturgeon Bay's) intelligent and loyal vote!

The population of the little village at this time consisted of wandering mill hands of many nationalities. This is illustrated by the complexion of a court trial which was held about this time. A German named Protepter was tried for an assault with intent to kill. On the jury were three Canadians, three Irishmen, two Americans, one Bavarian, one Portuguese, one Prussian and one half-breed. When the panic of 1857 occurred and the mills shut down, most of these early toilers drifted away to other parts and they played no further part in Door County's history.

Among them, however, were many staunch citizens who stood by the community and later saw it develop into the fair region it is. Among these early fathers of the city who came before the panic were the following, besides those already mentioned:

A. W. and W. B. Lawrence, who came in 1853. They had lived for two years previously on Washington Island, where they had been engaged in fishing. Joseph Lavassor and M. E. Lyman also came that year.

In 1854 came Andrew Nelson, the father of C. L. Nelson; Capt. Jacob Hanson, the father-in-law of the late Y. V. Dreutzer; Soren Peterson; Erik Schjoth: and Joseph Hebert.

In 1855 came Andrew Peterson, the grandfather of H. L. Peterson. He setled on a farm south of Sturgeon Bay. In this year, too, came Joseph Harris, Sr. who later started the first newspaper and made himself greatly useful to Door County in many ways. J. T. Wright, Robert Noble, Albert G. Warren,

View Of Sturgeon Bay In 1885

W. H. Warren, Geo. H. Thorpe, Iver Nelson, Hans Hanson, Henry C. Knudson and Elijah and Nelson Fuller also took up their homes here this year.

In 1857 came David Houle, who started the Cedar Street house where now is the People's Store. David Houle's father, Joseph Houle, was a very early resident of Wisconsin, settling south of De Pere about 1820. He died about 1880 at the age of 114 years. He was a man of most remarkable vitality and endurance. One week before he died at the age of 114 years he walked to Green Bay, a distance of fourteen miles. In his eighty-fourth year he walked from Green Bay to Shawano, a distance of thirty-six miles as the crow flies, carrying a hundred-pound sack of flour, twenty-eight pounds of pork, some tea and coffee and 4 jug of whiskey. This was in 1850, when there were only rough blazed trails to follow through the unsettled wilderness. He had sixteen children. His son David is a chip of the old block. He is still, at the age of eighty-six, daily tending his bar. When he was young he was very athletic and a great scrapper. During his first years in Sturgeon Bay he carried the mail to Two Rivers, a distance of sixty-five miles, once a week, for which he received $10 per month.

When David Houle opened his tavern on Cedar Street, it was not yet cut out. Some of the best timber had been hauled to the mill but the inferior timber with brush piles and huge stumps still littered the ground. His place of business was therefore considered to be quite a long ways out in the woods. However, as it was the first and only place where liquid refreshments of the desired kind could be obtained, the citizens cheerfully straddled the stumps and gathered there for grand pow-wows.

Sturgeon Bay at this time was a very crude place. It really consisted of three little communities about a half-mile apart, having their little jealousies, At each place was a rumbling sawmill spouting forth slabs and sawdust. Near to each mill was an ugly, unpainted boarding house, surrounded by a few very primitive shanties. Far back in the woods, although now included in the city, were the more substantial and neat farmhouses of the early Moravian farmers, mostly Norwegians. Between these scattered settlers no roads had been opened up, only rough trails meandering through the timber. Wild animals were abundant, especialiy wolves, of which there were thousands. Even bear were very common. One day when Anthoni Thompson and his wife were out on the bay they heard a commotion at their house. They hastened home and found a bear had broken into the pigpen. Just before they arrived the bear attempted to carry the pig off, but their little daughter without thinking of danger had rushed up, giving the bear a blow across the head with a hardwood club. Startled by this sudden attack, the bear dropped the pig and rushed off into the underbrush.

There were up to this time no roads in the county. Sturgeon Bay was separated from Green Bay by a fifty-mile impassable jungle. All travel was on boats or on the ice in wintertime. The Michigan, a steamer plying between Chicago and Buffalo, made occasional stops at Sturgeon Bay in the years 1852, '53, '54 and '55. The Ogontz, plying between Chicago and Green Bay, used to visit the port of Sturgeon Bay in the years 1856, '57 and '58. The Franklin Moore was another craft which used to visit Sturgeon Bay occasionally and unexpectedly. She was akind of a portable dry goods, groceries and general merchandise store, supplying fishermen and others with tea, coffee, tobacco, whiskey, flour, clothing and other necessaries of life. Isolated as the village was, it was dependent upon these and other wandering vessels for its supplies, as very little farming was done, the only important crop as yet being potatoes.

The arrival of the steamboat was a picnic for the people, since she brought with her supplies of goods and also the latest news from "America," by which name the pioneers were accustomed to designate the eastern states from which most of them had migrated. When her whistle sounded there was a general rush for the pier by such of the population as were not bedridden, the women, babies and cripples bringing up the rear. These watched the business of unloading cargo and "wooding-up" with lively interest, the boys and men often lending a hand in these operations, being glad of an opportunity to thus exhibit their regard for the link that connected them with civilized mankind.

In November, 1857, the weather suddenly became severely cold and during a heavy northwester the bay was frozen. Not having anticipated so early a stoppage of travel, the village people had not yet obtained their winter supplies, although they expected to receive part of them by the Ogontz on her next trip. The loss of these supplies would be a serious matter to the village, Lyman Bradley alone, whose mill had started up again, having at this time nearly a hundred persons in his employ. A few days later the Ogontz appeared off the mouth of the bay, but not being prepared to plow a channel through the thick ice she made no attempt to reach the village.

It was on a Sunday when the Ogontz hove in sight and a large number of people had gathered on the pier to see her force her way through the ice. -For a time there was a period of suspense and indecision, as if the captain of the vessel was in doubt as to what to do. When the vessel finally turned her prow out to sea again and the people saw that they were to be left without any supplies, a wail of anguish arose. They felt like a needy mariner, stranded on a desert island, when he sees the vessel on which he relied for rescue turn away without offering help. Everyone realized that unless supplies were brought to them starvation would be their fate. "There were no roads to Green Bay and the ice would not be safe to travel for many weeks.

However, the Ogontz did not mean to leave them utterly destitute. When the captain saw it was impossible to land at Sturgeon Bay, he went to Egg Harbor and landed the supplies there. At that time there was no road further than to Bassford's farm. Beyond that a dense and trackless forest stretched unbroken Íor thirteen miles to Egg Harbor. What was now to be done?

When Lyman Bradley learned that the supplies were landed in Egg Harbor he swore in his customary vigorous and picturesque style that he would either "find a way or make it." He proceeded to make it. A large gang of choppers began to hew a path northward and in about a week a route was opened to Egg Harbor. It was an exceedingly primitive road, so rough that teams could haul only a few hundred pounds, but it raised the siege and brought the needed supplies to the anxious mill operatives. So slowly did the work of transporting the goods proceed that teams were engaged throughout the entire winter in making the transfer, while the freighting was as costly as it was prolonged.

But those who were,not in the employ of the mills did not obtain much relief from these supplies. The Crandall & Bradley Co. had no more than would meet the strictest demands of their employees and therefore refused to sell to outsiders.

Charles Scofield

Much distress resulted, and if the rations common in many households during that winter and the following spring should today be set before the boarders in an almshouse there would be an instantaneous riot. The usual bill of fare included only potatoes and molasses. A few exceedingly particular persons insisted upon peeling their potatoes but the great majority, being democratic and economical, simply mashed the murphies in their jackets and then poured over them the molasses, Although flour at that time cost but $6 a barrel, bread was a luxury which some families scarcely saw during the winter. As for cake, that was simply out of the question. Some reckless and improvident housewives, who were so lucky as to obtain a little flour, did go so far as to waste a portion of it in making gingerbread, but society "sat down" upon them so heavily for their wanton extravagance that they dared not repeat the performance. When the ice became passable a limited amount of supplies was brought from Green Bay and for a little while relief was had. But after the ice became unsafe in the spring the privations were greater than ever and the horses belonging to the mill company nearly all died from starvation.

The general distress had the good effect, however, to draw the victims closer together. Like shipwrecked voyagers, they were alike involved in the calamity and bravely endeavored to make the best of the situation. If they could not have a feast they could at least have fun, and they did. Probably the village never before or since witnessed such a jolly, social winter. With feet as light as their stomachs were empty, the people had frequent dancing parties, these festivals taking place successively at various homes, the dancers being occasionally regaled with hemlock and wintergreen tea. Whenever a family was fortunate enough to obtain some food out of the common order, the event was made the occasion of a general "gathering of the clans," who were made partakers of the luxury.

The reopening of navigation was never more anxiously awaited than in the spring of 1858, and Robinson Crusoe did not more joyfully greet the approaching sail that was to deliver him from his island prison than did the people of Sturgeon Bay welcome the first sail that brought them relief in the first week in May. The children of those days are now old men and women, but they will never forget . that queer mixture of mirth and misery they experienced during the starvation winter of 1857-8.

The first merchant in Sturgeon Bay was Oliver Perry Graham. He had a store in connection with his boarding house which was closed in 1857 when the panic stopped all business. Shortly afterward David Houle opened up a little stock of merchandise which he sold out in 1860 to Wied & Hoyt. About this time E. T. Schjoth also opened a general store. The business done by these men was small, however, compared to that of F. B. Gardner at Little Sturgeon. As he early put up a very good grist mill, his place of business was the center for most of the buying and the selling in the county for many years.

Sturgeon Bay was the county seat, however, and for this reason most of its people had faith that it would soon develop into a place of great importance. For this reason also Joseph Harris in the spring of 1862 started the Door County Advocate, the first newspaper in the county, which is still being published under

$ This store building is now used by D. D. Donavan as a residence. It originally occupied part of the site of the Reynolds Preserving Plant.

the name of the Sturgeon Bay Advocate. The publication of this newspaper was a great boon to the city and the county. It centralized interest in local affairs by furnishing a medium of exchange for news and ideas. Under Mr. Harris' and later Mr. Long's able management it also became an excellent advertisement of the county's resources and brought a great many settlers into the county. Being ably edited from the start it soon achieved a position of great importance, with a large subscription list. This was frequently paid for by cordwood, hay and potatoes, but the publisher adapted himself to local conditions and labored with and for his readers without complaint.

Joseph Harris was the great man of the county in those days. Almost from the first issue of his paper he pointed out the possibilities and great significance of a canal to connect the waters of Green Bay with Lake Michigan. Year after year he untiringly worked for its realization, using a great deal of his time and money to push the project forward amid an unceasing array of obstacles and indifference. Due to his unremitting energy it finally became a reality and Sturgeon Bay became a city, as is told in another chapter.

Mr. Harris was also the first county clerk, county treasurer, and register of deeds in the county, procuring the books of record and getting these three offices in running order. He was alsp our first state senator. In 1864 while in the Senate he framed the charter of the Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan Ship Canal and Harbor Company. Whether it was to give a speech at a gathering at home or a trip to Washington to plead the needs of the county before Congress, Hon. Joseph Harris was the man that could do it.

John Garland, who originally settled down on the bay shore in 1853. He was a very popular county clerk for many terms. Garland Street is named after him.

Chas. Scofield came in 1868. For a time he operated one of the largest shingle mills in the county and did not become permanently identified with Sturgeon Bay until about 1880.

John Leathem and Thomas H. Smith are two of the best known business men of the peninsula. They operated several sawmills in different places, finally taking permanent residence in Sturgeon Bay about 1880. The Sturgeon Bay bridge was built by them in 1884.

Judge F. J. Hamilton came to Sturgeon Bay in 1871, and for a number of years was principal of the schools. He later became county judge. O. E. Dreutzer, for many years a lawyer of great prominence also came at this time.

Leroy M. Washburn came in 1870 and entered the mercantile business started by A. W. Lawrence, who later became his father-in-law. The same year also came Archibald McEacham, the first physician to permanently locate in Door County.

N. Arnold Wagener and William Wagener came in 1873. The Wagener family has ever since been prominently connected with the politics of Door County on the democratic side.

Sturgeon Bay in the '60s and '70s was really a very insignificant place. As late as October 22, 1863, Mr. Harris through the Advocate offered to give a lot, 50 by 150, on Main or Cedar streets to any blacksmith who would start a shop in

State Fish Hatchery, Sturgeon Bay The Fish That Made Sturgeon Bay Famous

Sturgeon Bay. He was evidently not very hopeful of any one taking immediate advantage of his offer, for he adds: "This shall be a standing offer for the next six months."

There was no physician in the village (or in the county), but in 1862 there was a standing advertisement from one Lottie Cahoon stating that although Sturgeon Bay was a very healthy location it was not entirely exempt from disease and she had therefore "given considerable attention to the study of homeopathy, first in the family and later among others, and invariably with success. So many are applying for advice that I have sent for a fresh supply of medicine and have decided to charge two shillings for a prescription. To those unable to pay it is gratuitous as before." Which must be said to be very generous terms, indeed.

In a later issue there is the joyful announcement of the opening of a drug store in Menominee and complimenting the people of Door County upon the close proximity of such a desirable convenience.

The first church building was started in 1857. A church had this year been started in Ephraim (the first in the county) and the Moravians of Sturgeon Bay now felt that they must do likewise. There was as yet no congregation organized in Sturgeon Bay and as the Moravians there were few in number they invited people of other sects to join with them to build a Union Church. This proposition was accepted by a number of Lutherans, Quakers, Methodists and others. On a certain day in 1857 they met on a lot given by Anthoni Thompson and began to erect a church under Hans P. Hanson's leadership. A foundation was built, trees were felled and the logs were neatly hewed and deftly joined together. When the walls were about four feet high one of the workingmen discovered that the laws of Wisconsin required that a church building must be deeded to a certain church organization. A debate now arose as to what church organization should hold the deed. There was as yet no church organized in Sturgeon Bay. The discussion finally got so heated that all the men present picked up their tools and went home. For six years the halfbuilt church stood there neglected, with its rotting piles of big pine logs on one side, a monument of distrust. Finally in the spring of 1862 a Moravian congregation was organized by Rev. A. M. Iverson. By his help legal title was obtained to the church lot and building and in 1863 the church was completed. The original church building started in 1857 is now used as a church parlor and is a part of the present church.

The Methodists were next to organize and build a church. Rev. A. M. Iverson, the county's first pastor, had for some time been conducting English services in Fish Creck. As his friends there were mostly of the Methodist faith, Reverend Fullmer, a Methodist minister, was in 1862 induced to settle there and take up the work that Iverson had begun. Fullmer preached all over the county, but found his best support in Sturgeon Bay. In 1863 a Methodist congregation was organized in Sturgeon Bay and Fullmer began to collect funds for a church. When he shortly afterward removed to other parts "Deacon" Geo. Pinney, who was not ordained

,but had some ability as a speaker, took charge of the work. About two thousand dollars was collected, and by June 22, 1866, the frame of the church was raised by voluntary labor. This church building is now used for a seed store.

Mr. Pinney was in charge of the church work for some time, but later on difficulties arose and Mr. Pinney was expelled from the church. -A very exciting trial followed, both before ecclesiastical and common law tribunals. Mr. Pinney at first had Dr. E. M. Thorpe, a pettifogger from Fish Creek, as his legal adviser, and for a while had the best of the argument. Later the tide turned.®

About the same time as Mr. Pinney took charge of the Methodist Church work he was also, according to published advertisements in the Advocate, selling fruit trees. Mr. Pinney owned a tract of land in Ohio which he had never seen. This he traded for a quantity of fruit trees which were shipped to Sturgeon Bay. It was from this lot of trees, the first to be brought into the county, that Robert Laurie and Joseph Zettel, the first fruit growers of the county, in 1866 obtained their stocks. This apple tree business was pushed by Mr. Pinney for some years until it was turned over to Henry Schuyler and Mr. Pinney went into the evergreen nursery business. By 1876 this business had assumed large proportions, Mr. Pinney shipping from four to six million seedlings annually. A. W. Lawrence was associated with him ïn this business.

Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Pinney were also in partnership in publishing the Expositor, the second newspaper in the county. Its first issue came out October 24, 1873. Between the Expositor and the Advocate there now broke out a bitter warfare of vilification to the great entertaiment of the people of the village. This was kept up until Frank Long in 1875 bought the Advocate and put a stop to the fighting. j

Besides these church fights and newspaper quarrels there were also other subjects of interest for the people of Sturgeon Bay in the '60s and '70s. Among these may particularly be mentioned hogs, spirits and Indians, which indiscriminately were infesting the village. For a time it was the hogs which claimed most attention. These were permitted to run loose to the great annoyance of those who would rather grow peas than pigs. Finally in 1867 a local ordinance was passed, the hogs were shut up and everybody took new courage. The spirits, however, were not so easily controlled. As early as 1866 spiritualistic seances came into vogne and disentombed spirits were roaming about at any time and place eager to impart immaterial information. With the organization of several religious congregations the excessive "spirituality" gradually found expression along more conventional lines.

In these early days Indians were frequent visitors in the village. They usually came in considerable numbers, begging and bartering and in quest of spirits, but of another kind from those mentioned above. In May, 1876, there was a large concourse of Indians in the village, among them being Pottawatomies, Winnebagos, Chippewas and Sioux. One superannuated warrior, gaudily arrayed in a pair of earrings and one coat sleeve, was circulating a paper with the following appeal to the charitable, prepared for him by the editor of the Advocate (D. S. Crandall) inscribed thereon: "This may certify that the bearer is an aboriginal cuss in whom there is no guile. He never lifted a scalp nor robbed a henroost in daytime. He is the father of some of his children and uses no cologne. He has that noble attribute of his race - an untutored mind. His squaw has gone to the spirit land and he wishes to visit that earthly land of spirits, where trouble is forgotten at the rate of 10 cents a spirit. He respectfully asketh aid of the pale faces. No order for groceries received."

Aglon Bay Business District, Sturgeon Bay

Up to 1875 Main Street was the principal street of the village. Just north of the present Advocate building, on the same side of the street, still stands one of the oldest landmarks of the city - the Peterson building, built in 1856 and used for a hotel for many years. Just across the street from the Advocate is the site of the first county courthouse. Adjoining this on the southeast was Leidiger's brewery. The courthouse was a two-story building with a basement. The basement was used for a saloon, which was very convenient for the court and jury. However, it was customary for the jury to provide itself with refreshments in another manner. After O. E. Dreutzer had harangued the jury into a real bellicose attitude, the jury would retire into its sanctum sweating under the collar. A rope would then be dropped to a side door of the brewery and a keg of beer hauled up. After due investigation of the contents of the keg the verdict would be returned.

In this old courthouse whose site is now marked by a big hole in the ground, many famous legal battles of the county have been fought, the narration of which is beyond the province of this account. An amusing incident of those days is, however, not out of place. Once upon a time, shortly before the Fourth of July, old Judge Henry Schuyler was holding court, listening to the evidence prosily presented by D. A. Reed and G. W. Allen. Patrick Ryan and Frank Long passed hy and prompted by a desire to inject a little life into the proceedings they threw a large lighted firecracker in through the window. The firecracker fell at the feet of Mr. Reed and exploded at once. Instantly there was a mighty hubbub, with Mr. Reed jumping about in an excited manner yelling, "I am shot! I am shot!" Squire Schuyler, who was no friend of Reed's, pounded the desk, and shouted, "Shut up, you d - d fool! It serves you right. You should have been shot long ago!" 1°

Sturgeon Bay was incorporated as a village in the spring of 1874. The first president of the village was John McKinney. As a guide to the position of the men who in those years were most prominent in material things the following list of heaviest taxpayers, January 1, 1878, is interesting:

""The other day an old man of three score and ten, with long tangled locks and matted gray beard, was found sitting in a chair in a lonely cabin in the woods near Bayfield, dead. It was the end of one of life's stirring careers, The old man, deserted, alone, rough, uncouth, unlettered, had played an eventful part in life; had sat in Legislatures, plead before courts, held a commission in the army, and had lived beyond the days of his usefulness. He was personally known to hundreds of readers of the Enterprise. That old man was D. A. Reed. Thirty years ago he was a leading politician and lawyer of Northeastern Wisconsin; has twice represented Kewaunee and Door counties in the Legislature, and for many years was prosecuting attorney for Door County. Many anecdotes are told of him savoring of pioneer days in the courtroom and in polities. He was an indefatigable talker. No bill was introduced in the Legislature that eseaped the ordeal of his long and dreary oratory. Once, when Gabe Bouck was speaker, a point of order was raised and Bouck's decision was questioned. Reed arose, stroked his long gray beard, and, in a grand, eloquent harangue of an hour's duration sustained the speaker's ruling. At the conclusion of his remarks Bouck said with cutting irony: 'Since listening to the gentleman from Door, I am fully satisfied that I am in error; my decision is reversed.''' Reed was a man fierce and relentless in his enmities, yet withal of a suave and kindly nature. He was one of the characters of the old era.'"

Two Year Term

The fourth ward of Sturgeon Bay, commonly called Sawyer, was added in 1891. Sawyer was founded by Hon. Joseph Harris who platted the village in 1874 and called it Bay View. The same year he started to build a summer hotel in the new village. The plans called for a main building measuring 40 by 40 with a wing of 20 by 30 feet. It was to be surrounded by a park of twelve acres. Distractions of various kinds, however, did not permit Mr. Harris to carry out his plans.

By help of a persistent advertising campaign this favorable location soon developed into a large village. A ferry had already been established in 1860 by E. S. Fuller. When Mr. Fuller's charter expired in 1863 Mr. E. T. Schjoth obtained a charter for a ferry which he operated for ten years. In 1873 Robert Noble established a steam ferry which did good service for many years. In 1883 he was succeeded by Dr. A. McEacham who operated the ferry until the toll bridge was built. Leathem & Smith in 1886 obtained a charter to operate a toll bridge for twentyfive years and the bridge was completed in 1887.

Beginning in 1869, numerous attempts were made to build a railroad to Sturgeon Bay. However, the vessel interests were determined to keep Sturgeon Bay and Door County an island dependent on their uncertain mercy. However, in 1891 their opposition was finally conquered and three years later the railroad was in operation. Sturgeon Bay's isolation and pioneer days were at last passed.