The Settlers

Settlers came in from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, England, Germany, Scotland and Ireland. As they came to Baileys Harbor they cleared more land and farming took a prominent place in the economic picture. Steamers took the place of schooners on the lake and by 1901 there were few members of the "winged fleet" to be seen.

In 1857 Mr. A.K. Sea built lime kilms. The remains of which may still be seen at the bluff behind the old Baileys Harbor School and Toft’s point and many other spots around the Baileys Harbor Township. Filled with raw limestone it was subject to terrific heat for three days and three nights during which time it changed from limestone to lime. This lime was used as plaster and chinking to fill in the cracks in the log homes being built at the time.

In 1870 Kreston Toft a Dane came to Baileys Harbor and made his home with the Thomas Panter family. Where he met and later marred Juley Anne Panter . He worked at the stone quarry in mud bay until the early 1890’s when the Sturgeon Bay Canal was dredged making easier for ships to load in Sturgeon Bay. The quarries at Garrett Bay and Mud Bay ceased operations.

In 1866 Mr. Ward sold his store and pier to Mr. T. Severn. Who in 1871 sold it to Mr. Frederick Wohltman whom was born in Germany. He successfully carried on operations for many years. (This pier can still be seen at Anclam park on the south end of Baileys Harbor). He gave work of chopping wood to Polish and German immigrants who had failed to find employment in Chicago. Many of these people later bought land and opened an area west of Baileys Harbor. Known as the Polish settlement. Here we had Theodore Zak, Valentina Kita, Cashmere Smith, Martin Schram, Peter Zdrojewski, Ignatz Charnetski, John Raza, A. Brunetski, Thomas Wesa, Fred Ray, Frank Gray, and Andrew Smith who were farmers.

Scandinavian Pioneers

When the Scandinavian’s left their homes in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland to immigrate to America, they brought with them their skills, minds, perseverance and devotion.

Most Scandinavians immigrated to America during a hundred year span between 1825 and 1925. Their reasons for coming were mostly due to poor economic and living conditions and they were filled with hopes of a better future. They were not so concerned with wealth and power, though some achieved both. They asked only for a decent living and a better future for their children.

The social heritage of the Scandinavians was both religious and secular. Most came with a religious tradition that was shaped by the Lutheran State Church of their homeland. These immigrants banded together to form Lutheran congregations and they called Scandinavian pastors to serve in them.

The church held a high place in the life of the Scandinavian country folk. To them it served a dual purpose of social and religious center. Life on the farm or at sea interspersed with friendly gossip, story telling, and the occasional swapping of horses were an important part of the cultural side of daily life shared at these gathering places.

Life on the sea as fishermen or sailors on merchant ships was a trade familiar to Scandinavians. It is not surprising that Reinhard (Hegland) Hickey devoted part of his life to working at the Baileys Harbor Life Saving Station. Lewis Hickey (son of Martin) made a life career of working as a Life Saving officer and coastguardsmen

Some of the Scandinavian pioneers were:

Gottfried Nelson - Swedish pioneer, fisherman and farmer, caught a Lake trout weighing 65 lbs. On hook and line through the ice near Washington Island

Thoma Toft - Danish pioneer who operated stone quarry and lime kilms in Mud bay

Andrew Jacobson - from Finland, farmer, cigar manufacturer, an early day sailor

Brann Brothers - John, Andrew, August, William, all from Finland came to Baileys Harbor in 1876.

John Brann - farmer, furniture dealer, captain on ships out of Baileys Harbor

Andrew Brann - farmer, hardware dealer for 40 years, local town offices

August Brann - general storekeeper, dock and ship owner and shipper of wood products

William Brann - in company with August Brann under the name Brann Brothers. He loved horses "Maude and Don Patch" performed at the county fair.

Henry Star - from Finland, carpenter, implement dealer, school director, was in Alaska during the Klondike gold rush.

Alfed Pfander - from Finland, farmer, painter, town supervisor, coast guard service, knew best fishing spots on Kangaroo Lake.

Axel Erickson - farmer, school officer
Martin Hickey - sailor, tavern keeper
Reinhard Hickey - coast guard service
Martin Peterson - farmer
Robert Peterson - farmer
Peter Linstead - farmer
Sam Olson - farmer
Gust Thelander - farmer
Peter Johnson - farmer
Christ Johnson - farmer
Nels Anderson - farmer
J.B. Lallemont - French, farmer, school, town, county, boards

Austrian pioneer were:

Moritz Weiss - blacksmith
Lawrence Hafner - farmer

English Pioneers

Formed a large group some came in the 1860’s

Some of them were:

Moses Kilgore - pioneer storekeeper, pier builder, and shipper of wood products, active in local, county and state government.

Roger Eatough - hotel owner, blacksmith, druggist, chairman of the Door County board for many years.

William Higgins - pioneer, pier builder, and shipper of wood products.

William Jackson - farmer, lighthouse keeper and justice of the peace, liked his "Dugan’s Dew

Hugh Spring - store keeper, justice of the peace

Joseph Ridings - farmer, had wonderful white whiskers

Thomas Mc Cullough - hotel owner, served on town and county boards

Thomas Panter - farmer, lost 100 cords of wood in a severe fire in 1868

William Toseland - farmer lost a field of winter wheat in same fire.

Jesse Brown - lighthouse keeper at Cana Island. His boys were daring sailors and would travel in all sorts of weather to get mail and groceries in Baileys Harbor

Adem Hendricks - pioneer, fisherman, hotel owner, served on town and county boards

Frederick Wohltman - dock owner, store keeper, and shipper. Gave work to polish settlers.

Ernest Bues - fisherman, farmer, Made good money fishing

John Anclam - dock owner, store keeper, postmaster, shipper of wood products

Otis Griffin - farmer, dock worker
John Stephan - justice of the peace, farmer
George Harbers - constable, dock worker
Herman Oldenburg - shingle mill worker
John Oldenburg - farmer, dock worker
Jacob Apple - farmer
Conrad Faust - farmer
Fred Ahrens - farmer
William Reimer - farmer
George Meyer - farmer
Fred Leonhardt - farmer
E. Schermer - farmer
Karl Peil - farmer
Janisch - farmer
Fred Wirth - farmer
Jacobi - farmer
Henry Seiler - carpenter, skilled workman

August Zahn - blacksmith, ironworker, served on town board
Adolph Jorns - farmer, tavern keeper
Fred Ehrke - mill worker
Louis Prueter - farmer, saw mill and flour mill owner and operator
Mat Hruska - dockworker
Albert Schultz - insurance and farmer
Franz and Albert Hoefert - farmers
Anton Woerfel - mill owner

Irish Pioneers

Like the polish settlers tended to live close to each other and settled in the Kangaroo Lake area of Baileys Harbor. Many arrived in the 1870’s to open up farms.

Some of them were:

Hugh Collins - farmer and first of the Irish pioneers.
James McArdle - pioneer, held local town offices.
Peter Collins - farmer, stage driver and early morning news reporter
John Collins - farmer and "teller of tall tales"
Peter Mudkian - farmer and dockworker, His team of black horses was used to pull the hearse at funerals.
John Sloan - dockworker, had a great Irish brogue
Michael Goss - lived to be 106 years old they say
John Kehoe - farmer specialist in pushing a wheelbarrow

Zahn's Birdhouse