June 22, 2019 Saturday Day 34
We ate breakfast in the cabin brought by the host. $5 per person. It was pretty good and filling. The car was charged to 42 miles and we got out on the road about 10.
We drove into and around Washburn and finally parked in a residential neighborhood a block off the main street. This is a Norman Rockwell type village, clean, solid, middle America small town. The buildings are old, very rubiginous looking with lots of local stone, but well maintained. There is a multi-block business district, lots of hiking and a beautiful Lakeshore Parkway that is adjacent to white sand beaches and fronts on Chequmegon Bay, which branches off Lake Superior.
The water was very cold. No one was swimming.
We initially walked around the DuPont Historic District This had a concentration of homes built between 1880s and 1920s, many of which were built by DuPont for its workers. Initially we passed very large houses, presumably previously executive row. Then we entered a larger area where many of the homes were medium to large and most were well maintained and had pretty landscaping. We then walked to the main business district and toured the Bayfield County Courthouse, built 1896, the DuPont YMCA, built 1918, seemingly the newest building in the area, the Meehan Mercantile Company, built 1888 and now a book and coffee shop, the Bayfield County Bank and Racket Shop. We had an extended visit to the Washburn Historical Museum and Cultural Center. All of these buildings were built using brownstone quarried from the nearby Apostle Islands.
A docent, who had lived there a long time and was a retired schoolteacher walked us around the museum and gave us alecture on the area's history. The city's economy was initially primarily based on logging, sawmills which once lined the lakefront, and an active port, now all gone. In 1905 DuPont built a dynamite factory in nearby Barksdale which was the largest in the US and during WWI employed 6,000 people. It has been all downhill since then, the plant closed in 1971 and the economy now is based primarily on tourism and its position as the county seat. The population is down to about 2300, but she said that recently there had been a small influx of young families into the area seeking cheaper housing.
The Washburn Free Public Library was built in 1904, also a brownstone, was one of the many libraries we saw in this area that was built with funding from Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist who as a self made man arising from poverty, also brutally crushed the union movement at his Homestead Iron Works and later sold out to J P Morgan.
We then drove up to Bayfield, which lies at the end of the peninsula. This is a very pretty, water side village with no chain stores and lots of stately homes. Formerly the county seat, a lumbering and commercial fishing town, it is now primarily a tourist and resort town with many restaurants, BnBs and hotels, but it also has lots of berry farms and apple orchards. We were too early for picking. The rich agriculture is made possible by Lake Superior which not only provides abundant fresh water, but also mitigates the harsh weather of northern Wisconsin's winters. Its population has dropped steadily from a high of about 2400 at the turn of the 20th century to less than 500 now, although the summer population is much higher. The town was named for Henry Wolsey Bayfield, a British Admiralty surveyor who arrived in the area in 1823. A major flood in 1942 killed off most of the commercial businesses in the town.
After walking around the town, visiting the Maritime Museum and getting some ice cream, we purchased tickets for a sightseeing tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The French Jesuits named the islands. The Lakeshore consists of 21 islands (There is a 22d island in the archipelago, Madeline Island. It is the biggest island, but the Park Service did not have enough money to purchase it so it is not in the lakeshore. There are about 250 permanent residents, but many more in the summer. There is ferry service in the summer, but in most winters the North Channel freezes and you can drive to the island. We were told that a developer attempted to drive a house over one winter and it fell through the ice. The island experienced a summer "cottage" building boom in the 1920s, but that ended with the Depression.) and 12 miles of shoreline on the mainland including the Meyer's Beach Sea Caves. From the heights in the town the islands stretch out into the lake like green jewels set out in a cobalt blue sea. It was President Nixon who signed the legislation establishing the lakshore, but it was pushed by Senator Nelson.
We choose the 3 hour wrecks, rocks and Lighthouse tour. Pricey at $45 per person, but it turned out to be a good tour. Like much of this area, its first European explorers were French, then came the British and finally the Americans. All set up trading posts for furs. Later the loggers came and even logged the islands. There is now second growth forest that covers much of the islands and is host to many animals including bears. The quarries on the islands provided the brownstone that was used in Chicago and many other mid-western cities.
The weather was pleasant, but on the boat, particularly when it was moving between islands, it was pretty cool, air cooled by the cold water. Fortunately we had extra clothing. We cruised past and around most of the bigger islands, Stockton, Michigan, Manitou, Oak, Outer, Hermit and Basswood. There is camping, fishing and hunting on the islands, but no commercial activity. There is camping and hiking on most of them. A millionaire married a young woman and built her a mansion on Oak Island. She took one look at it and never returned. Hermit Island was occupied by a refugee from Madeline Island who allegedly engaged in criminal activity. We saw a lot of coves, sea caves, which become ice caves in winter cliffs and two lighthouses that guided the Lake freighters in these channels to keep them in waters protected from Lake Superior storms. The Lakeshore is home to the largest collection of historic lighthouses in the nation, but now they are just a reminder of a bygone era. We also passed the Legendary Waters Resort & Casino. Lots of Indians in this area. Nevertheless there were many wrecks and we got to observe a few of them that sank in shallow waters.
After the cruise we ate dinner at the Deck at Bayfield Inn just off the dock overlooking the harbor. I enjoyed a lake whitefish dinner. After dinner we walked around the town a bit and then drove back to our BnB.
The water was very cold. No one was swimming.
We initially walked around the DuPont Historic District This had a concentration of homes built between 1880s and 1920s, many of which were built by DuPont for its workers. Initially we passed very large houses, presumably previously executive row. Then we entered a larger area where many of the homes were medium to large and most were well maintained and had pretty landscaping. We then walked to the main business district and toured the Bayfield County Courthouse, built 1896, the DuPont YMCA, built 1918, seemingly the newest building in the area, the Meehan Mercantile Company, built 1888 and now a book and coffee shop, the Bayfield County Bank and Racket Shop. We had an extended visit to the Washburn Historical Museum and Cultural Center. All of these buildings were built using brownstone quarried from the nearby Apostle Islands.
A docent, who had lived there a long time and was a retired schoolteacher walked us around the museum and gave us alecture on the area's history. The city's economy was initially primarily based on logging, sawmills which once lined the lakefront, and an active port, now all gone. In 1905 DuPont built a dynamite factory in nearby Barksdale which was the largest in the US and during WWI employed 6,000 people. It has been all downhill since then, the plant closed in 1971 and the economy now is based primarily on tourism and its position as the county seat. The population is down to about 2300, but she said that recently there had been a small influx of young families into the area seeking cheaper housing.
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| Historical Society |
The Washburn Free Public Library was built in 1904, also a brownstone, was one of the many libraries we saw in this area that was built with funding from Andrew Carnegie, a philanthropist who as a self made man arising from poverty, also brutally crushed the union movement at his Homestead Iron Works and later sold out to J P Morgan.
We then drove up to Bayfield, which lies at the end of the peninsula. This is a very pretty, water side village with no chain stores and lots of stately homes. Formerly the county seat, a lumbering and commercial fishing town, it is now primarily a tourist and resort town with many restaurants, BnBs and hotels, but it also has lots of berry farms and apple orchards. We were too early for picking. The rich agriculture is made possible by Lake Superior which not only provides abundant fresh water, but also mitigates the harsh weather of northern Wisconsin's winters. Its population has dropped steadily from a high of about 2400 at the turn of the 20th century to less than 500 now, although the summer population is much higher. The town was named for Henry Wolsey Bayfield, a British Admiralty surveyor who arrived in the area in 1823. A major flood in 1942 killed off most of the commercial businesses in the town.
After walking around the town, visiting the Maritime Museum and getting some ice cream, we purchased tickets for a sightseeing tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The French Jesuits named the islands. The Lakeshore consists of 21 islands (There is a 22d island in the archipelago, Madeline Island. It is the biggest island, but the Park Service did not have enough money to purchase it so it is not in the lakeshore. There are about 250 permanent residents, but many more in the summer. There is ferry service in the summer, but in most winters the North Channel freezes and you can drive to the island. We were told that a developer attempted to drive a house over one winter and it fell through the ice. The island experienced a summer "cottage" building boom in the 1920s, but that ended with the Depression.) and 12 miles of shoreline on the mainland including the Meyer's Beach Sea Caves. From the heights in the town the islands stretch out into the lake like green jewels set out in a cobalt blue sea. It was President Nixon who signed the legislation establishing the lakshore, but it was pushed by Senator Nelson.
We choose the 3 hour wrecks, rocks and Lighthouse tour. Pricey at $45 per person, but it turned out to be a good tour. Like much of this area, its first European explorers were French, then came the British and finally the Americans. All set up trading posts for furs. Later the loggers came and even logged the islands. There is now second growth forest that covers much of the islands and is host to many animals including bears. The quarries on the islands provided the brownstone that was used in Chicago and many other mid-western cities.
The weather was pleasant, but on the boat, particularly when it was moving between islands, it was pretty cool, air cooled by the cold water. Fortunately we had extra clothing. We cruised past and around most of the bigger islands, Stockton, Michigan, Manitou, Oak, Outer, Hermit and Basswood. There is camping, fishing and hunting on the islands, but no commercial activity. There is camping and hiking on most of them. A millionaire married a young woman and built her a mansion on Oak Island. She took one look at it and never returned. Hermit Island was occupied by a refugee from Madeline Island who allegedly engaged in criminal activity. We saw a lot of coves, sea caves, which become ice caves in winter cliffs and two lighthouses that guided the Lake freighters in these channels to keep them in waters protected from Lake Superior storms. The Lakeshore is home to the largest collection of historic lighthouses in the nation, but now they are just a reminder of a bygone era. We also passed the Legendary Waters Resort & Casino. Lots of Indians in this area. Nevertheless there were many wrecks and we got to observe a few of them that sank in shallow waters.
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| Ship Wreak |
After the cruise we ate dinner at the Deck at Bayfield Inn just off the dock overlooking the harbor. I enjoyed a lake whitefish dinner. After dinner we walked around the town a bit and then drove back to our BnB.
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