1808 Superior Street

Back in 1880 when the town of Three Lakes was being laid out by the railroad and land developers, the first block on the north side of Main Street was divided into seven parcels with equal street frontage. Today, on the corner of Superior Street where Highway 45 heads north out of town is the hardware store at number 1812. The Kelley Law Office is at number1804, and the parcel addressed 1808 is the Rental Store portion of the hardware store.

Both the hardware store and the Kelley Law Office building are true to their beginnings. It is the parcel 1808 between those two that has experienced disaster, change and disaster again.

Like all businesses on that block, the parcel at 1808 has lots of history. First to claim that location was FS Campbell who came to Three Lakes to run a general store. In 1886 he opened his business in a small frame building on the south side of the road. By 1902 he had outgrown that white frame building and sold it to Andrew Hanson, a leather boot maker who made caulked boots for lumberjacks. Hanson immediately moved the building across the street and then built his house next to 1808 at number 1804. This is the same white wood frame building used today by the Kelley Law Office.

Campbell, intending to guarantee his new two story mercantile would last for all time, opened his new store in the year1902, the only brick building in town at number 1808. (The Dobb's building on the opposite corner looks similar to Campbell's but Dobb's was built in 1924 after the tornado knocked down that frame building)

In the early days, Campbell's mercantile shared the block with four other store owners - Dobbs, Neu, McNinch and Olkowski. All businesses were thriving as Three Lakes was growing.

So much changed in May of 1908 when a still to this day unexplained explosion leveled the uninsured Campbell building. Believing bricks were his insurance against fire, FS did not have insurance money to rebuild. He moved to a farm outside of town and developed potato farming techniques that brought successful agriculture to this area and the state setting Three Lakes history in motion.

1808 Superior Street became an empty lot between the damaged, underinsured McNinch store on the corner and Hanson's house and business on the other side.

The next occupants at 1808 are not disputed though some names and dates are a little fuzzy. In 1911 Herman and Augusta Puls had come to the Three Lakes area and purchased 10 acres of land on Deer Lake and established a resort. They built several log cabins for guests to rent, and named their place Chicago Resort or Deer Lake Lodge. Augusta Puls cooked all the meals. Frequent guests were Mr. and Mrs. Carl Marty, Sr. and the Walter Olson family. Several acres of the Puls property were sold to the Marty's for a cabin which set more Three Lakes history in motion. This is where Carl Marty Jr. eventually built the Northernaire.

In 1918, the resort was sold and Mr. and Mrs. Puls moved to Three Lakes. Cy Williams, professional baseball player and local builder, drew up plans for a 17 room hotel which was completed in 1920 and named Hotel Badger. Lodging and meals were provided with Mrs. Puls again doing the cooking. She thought the town of Three Lakes was the greatest but times were difficult during the Depression and the hotel was sold to the Gus Anders family. The Puls moved to Sugar Camp on Highway A.

In September of 1938, the Hotel Badger was purchased by Gus C. and Sadie I. Anders, and Orville Basch. These three were already owners of the Black Forest. G.C. Anders worked in Chicago as a stock trader, and Mrs. Anders stayed in Three Lakes and operated the Chalet. Orville Basch assisted at the Black Forest and Chalet.

In the fall of 1944, the old Badger Hotel was remodeled following plans by Cy Williams into his classic Swiss chalet style. It had been renamed the Chalet Hotel in 1939, but now looked the part. In February of 1949 the Chalet was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Eickenberger and in May of 1951, the Eickenbergers sold the Chalet to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Sadowski, Jr. - from Les Anderson

Tragically The Chalet was lost to fire in March of 1992, was razed that summer and not rebuilt. When people gather and favorite stories are told, the Chalet always evokes fond memories.

Three Lakes Historical Society. The Pine, the Plow, and the Pioneer . Volume 1. Eagle River, WI. Hahn Printing, 1983.

Three Lakes Historical Society. The Pine, the Plow, and the Pioneer . Volume 2. Eagle River, WI. Hahn Printing, 1984.