Take a virtual tour to the historic buildings and places of Egg Harbor, including some of the oldest and most important buildings in the growth and development of Door County.
Calvary United Methodist Churches (1924 and 1965)
4650 County E
Calvary Church was organized as a non- denominational church, the Egg Harbor Union Society, in 1912. The original stone church was built in 1924 on land donated by Anna Manney. It was pastored by Evangelical pastors until 1946, when they joined the United Brethren.
In 1969 the E.U.B. church united with the Methodists. By 1962 a larger church was needed for summer visitors. Land was acquired and most labor was donated, not just by E.U.B.’s, but members of all denominations. Construction and financing of this 46 year old church is a revelation of faith and stamina. The church was dedicated in 1965 and mortgage burned in 1971. Members said “This is the church that faith built.”
Dr. T.C. Proctor Estate
8100 Hwy 42 (Now the Orchards Property LLC)
Dr. T.C. Proctor purchased this estate from Dr. David Graham in 1904. It was a side interest for Dr. Proctor, who had a general practice of medicine in Sturgeon Bay and visited this 240-acre farm on weekends.
In 1924 he auctioned his cattle and pursued fruit growing. Joe and Eva Kita managed the orchards from the late 1930s, eventually acquiring the buildings and some acreage in latter years. Eva lived in the home until 1905.
Dr. Proctor retired in 1933 and built a home overlooking the waters of Green Bay on the estate.
Henschel’s Cherryland Dairy Farm
4926 W. Townline Road
This farm, founded by Ed and Mary Henschel in 1902, is now run by the fourth generation of Henschel family farmers in Egg Harbor – Mike and Jamie Henschel and sons.
Raymond and Catherine Henschel were the second generation who added the cherry orchards and continued with the prize winning Ayrshire cattle. Third generation Roger and Helen started the Sawmill in 1985 with son Mike as a hobby.
The farm consists of 520 owned and 110 rented acres of crops and tart cherries. Fifty cows are milked in a 1906 stanchion barn, and the farm also has 50 replacement heifers, 40 steers, a 30 sow farrow-to-finish operation, horses, ducks and chickens. Every spring 1200 maple trees are tapped and the sap is gathered and processed to make maple syrup. The hobby sawmill is now a full time business of sawing logs, planing and kiln-drying lumber.
Old Moravian Church
7592 Heritage Lake Road
This unassuming structure was built as a Moravian Church in 1875 near the center of what was then a community of rural farmers. It was a church until 1911, when it closed due to low attendance and converted into a residence for the Woldt family into the 1930s. Roy “Decker” Woldt, considered one of the finest athletes ever to come out of Door County, was raised here. He later faced off with baseball great Satchel Paige.
The property sat vacant until the early 1980s, when Myles and Mary Dannhausen purchased it for their family. It is now home to the Dannhausen’s and their business, Egg Harbor Natural Gardens.
Jorns Sugar Bush
4518 County Hwy T
Roland Jorns is the third generation carrying on the tradition of collecting maple sap for syrup on County Highway T east of the village. Starting as a young boy due to his father being injured, he built his own maple syrup camp while in high school on the present site of his home built in 1951.
He has devoted his life to learning all the latest processes of making maple syrup. Jorns Sugar Bush has taken many top awards and Roland has had leadership roles in the Wisconsin Maple Syrup Producers Association.
The Jorns’s operate a small retail location tucked cozily into the woods here. Just ring the bell and someone will be with you soon!
Chief Oshkosh Trading Post
7631 Hwy 42
This log cabin was built by one of Door County’s great ambassadors in 1939, when Chief Roy Oshkosh came to Door County. He built his Indian Trading Post on the campsite of his ancestors. He built an amphitheater for weekly pageants in the summer featuring full regalia, drums, songs and stories.
Chief Oshkosh was well-known throughout the state for his pageants, his work with Boy Scouts, and as an honorary member of the Order of the Arrow, the first Indian in the U.S. to receive the honor.
Oshkosh became chief of the Menominee Indians after his father’s death in 1932.
The Alpine Resort and Golf Course
7715 Alpine Road
In 1922, brothers Paul and John Bertschinger built what was then Door County’s largest resort – The Alpine. Brother Fred Bertschinger designed the buildings.
Officially opened June 18, 1922, the original resort was comprised of the main lodge (about 1⁄4 the size of today), 20 cottages and several supporting buildings. It had indoor plumbing with central baths and toilets serving the lodge and cottages – veritable luxuries at the time.
Refrigeration was provided with ice from the harbor, cut in winter and stored in the icehouse for summer. The original 9-hole golf course was purchased from Orrin Glidden in 1926. Additional 9’s were added in 1948, 1976 and 2002. The third generation Bertschinger family continues to own and operate the resort, including Bill Bertschinger, now in his mid-80s but still working from dawn till dusk.
For an in-depth look at the Alpine resort and its history, read “Where Old Door County Survives – The Alpine Resort.”
Staats Countryview Farms
5706 North Country View Road
Jacob and Magdalen Staats bought 80 acres, cleared land, built a log cabin and started farming on this site in the early 1900s. Son Edward and wife Mary took over the farm in 1919.
The herd consisted of 25 cows in the 1930’s. Ownership was passed to their son Milton and wife Marion in 1949 and recognized as a Century Farm in 1983 at the Wisconsin State Fair.
Fourth generation Ed and Deb have been owners since 1985. Cows are milked three times a day and the farm is operated on about 1,000 acres. Brothers Ed and Ken Staats own the Maple Syrup business and wives Deb and Margie have developed and sell Maple Syrup products.
Schopf’s Hilltop Dairy
5169 County Hwy I, Carlsville
In the early 1900’s William and Edith O’Hern purchased and cleared the land, built a house and barn and began farming. In 1945 Eunice (O’Hern), who was married to Alfred Schopf, and son Roger moved to the farm and in 1952 built an addition to the barn and put in the first milking parlor in Door County, increasing the herd to 30 cows.
In 1959 Roger married Rose Mary Stoeger, had five children and purchased the farm in 1969, increasing acreage to 480 and the herd to 90 cows. In 1995 son Dennis and his wife Roxanne bought the farm. In 2001 they built a new milking facility, free stall barn and are currently at 500 cows and 3200 acres, 620 owned.
Schopf’s Dairy View Country Store is open to the public for viewing of cows and homemade ice cream and fudge. A 40-acre Corn Maze brings visitors from all over the United States.
Horseshoe Bay Farms
7212 Horseshoe Bay Road
This was an early site of a village from 1870-1889 called Horseshoe Bay or Cooperstown. Purchased in 1917 by Frank Murphy and family, who developed an outstanding dairy farm, orchard, park and housing. The Murphy Black and White Holstein herd were nationally famous in early years.
The classic barns are beautiful structures where no expense was spared. Note the weather vane and the dormer windows on the barns. Now owned by Barb and Glenn Timmerman, who are pursuing plans to restore the property as a historic site for future generations.
Frank Murphy County Park
7119 Horseshoe Bay Road
In 1935 Frank Murphy donated this park to the County of Door. The beach has been the scene of many summer gatherings and was once the best place to fill up a bucket of smelt in the early spring. A beach restoration project will be completed in time for the 2015 summer season.
The park is a popular rest stop for three Door County century bike rides, the Peninsula Century Fall Challenge, the Door County Century Ride, and the Spring Classic.
It is also home to the Door County Triathlon, which for 10 years has hosted 2,000 extreme athletes and their families.
Sunny Point School
6936 Hwy 42
The Sunny Point School was a log building built on land purchased from Fred Lawrence in 1883. In 1904 the school was replaced with a brick structure and a well was drilled, and in 1919 a two-room state-graded school was built.
By 1920, transportation was provided to students living over two miles from the school, and a two-year high school was added in 1930. The school was destroyed by fire in 1965, and students then attended Sevastopol Consolidated school.
In 1996 Guntis and Ilona Lauzums purchased and restored the building to its 1919 look and opened the Amber Jewelry Shop and Old Sunny Point Schoolhouse Inn. It’s also home to a sculpture with a rather interesting history.
45th Parallel
6725 Highway 42
Located at the wayside between Egg Harbor and Carlsville on Hwy. 42, a stone marker denotes the geographical mid-point between the Equator and the North Pole. This is a Door County historical site.
Carlsville Roadhouse
5760 Highway 42, Carlsville
Once the Carlsville Tavern or Saloon, the Carlsville Roadhouse was destroyed by fire in 2011. Owner Doris Thorn rebuilt the tavern and re-opened the following year, maintaining a tradition that dates to June of 1905, when John Alaers bought the property and established a saloon and hotel, livery barn, and blacksmith shop.
The establishment was an important stop for travelers between Sturgeon Bay and northern Door County. A dance hall was added later, and over the years it would play host to some of the most raucous, largest concert crowds on the peninsula.
Known owners include Otto Wolzien, Arnold Stoffel, Walter Bruckner, Bill and Sarah Anschutz.
Kuehn Century Farm
5226 Monument Point Road, Carlsville
John and Barbara Kuehn bought this farm from J. T. Carmody in 1901. A 44 x 96’ barn was built in 1910 and they began milking cows in 1915 by hand.
In 1952 Joseph and Marion Kuehn bought the farm from his father. They have received many awards for their high quality of registered animals and milk production. In 2002 the farm received the Century Farm Award at the Wisconsin State Fair. Currently the farm is owned by Jerry Kuehn and consists of 165 acres.
Carlsville School District #3
5806 Highway 42, Carlsville
A log school was built here in 1868 on land purchased from Thomas Carmody Sr. In 1894 townsfolk voted to build a new frame school and the lot was fenced in 1898, with a final two-room school built in 1919.
William and Anna Urban deeded one acre to the school in 1924. The school closed in 1965 to consolidate education at Sevastopol School.
The building still stands today as part of Door Peninsula Winery, which opened in 1974 and has been expanded several times since.
Spittlemeister Century Farm
4950 Plum Bottom Road, Carlsville
August and Bertha Volkmann Spittlemeister were both born in Germany and came to America with their parents. The Spittlemeister family settled in the Town of Jacksonport and the Volkmann family just a short distance from this farm.
After their marriage, August and Bertha began farming here on 80 acres of land in 1903. Eighty acres were later added to the farm. The Spittlemeisters raised 15 children, all of whom helped on the farm and with the younger children.
They all went to school at Sunny Point either by walking or riding the sleigh bus in winter. Five of the boys served in World War II. Bob Spittlemeister took over the farm in 1950 and his wife Dolores joined him following their marriage in 1952. They live at the farm and have operated it since that time.
As of 2014 the farm has been in the Spittlemeister family for 111 years.
Shipwrecked Brewery
One of the original buildings of Egg Harbor, Shipwrecked is also subject to the most lore. Some say Al Capone once escaped the watchful eye of the Feds here, and others claim the building is haunted by ghosts.
This tavern has quenched thirsts in the center of the village since the turn of the 19th century, when it was known as the Kewaunee House. Later it would become the Thimbleberry, The Blue Iris, and several other names before being renovated into a micro-brewery as Shipwrecked.
Egg Harbor Fire Station
The Egg Harbor Fire Station property was once home to the Egg Harbor School, a beautiful stone structure where generations of Egg Harbor youth were educated. After the building was razed, the property continued as a community center with a Little League field, playground, and fire station.
What do you know?
We are always on the hunt for more of the history behind the buildings and sites of Egg Harbor. If you have more to add to the stories of any of the properties above, or to the properties listed below, please email mdannhausen@gmail.com.
Cupola House
Stella Maris Catholic Church
Cape Cod Motel
Old Egg Harbor Town Hall
Doc Eames Home
Bertschinger Lumber Yard
Mojo Rosa’s
Lena’s Sip and Chat
Liberty Square
Maxwell House
The Carmody House
Casey’s Inn