Director

In 1921 Fred H. Dobbs left Conover where he had owned a grocery store with his brother, to open up his own store in Three Lakes. With his wife and children, Fred moved to Three Lakes where his family worked their store in a two-story wooden structure. This building had been built prior to 1900 as a general mercantile and one of the original owners was Frank Steiner, a well known name from the early days.In 1902, Dobbs competed with four other mercantiles on the main street of Three Lakes, Superior Street, and by 1924 all but FS Campbell's was still doing well. Campbell's store, the only brick building in town, was lost to an explosion of questionable source in 1908. Once again the face of businesses in town changed when in September of 1924 a tornado tore across the Northwoods and ran through the downtown. Not only was the wood frame Dobb's building taken to the ground, it was where the only fatality of the disaster occurred, a young boy hiding in a stairwell.The Dobbs family, not deterred, rebuilt the store with bricks instead of wood and reopened it for business. Until the last of the Dobbs family worked the now grocery store, it remained a mainstay, eventually the only grocery store in the downtown.The building has hosted a number of businesses and presently houses the Century 21 Realty -Three Lakes office and a Subway.

The brick face name is still visible on the building today!

The original general store. Note the gas pump 

September 1924. The building has collapsed on itself 

September 1924 Tornado rushes through Three Lakes with one causality. 

The Dobbs building is one of Three Lakes' most iconic buildings. This building's evolution from the general store to what is now, a Century 21 and Subway, has always been important to the needs of the Three Lakes community. When people reminisce about their childhood here, the Dobbs Store is sure to come up in conversation as a pleasant memory.Discover how a tornado ravaged Three Lakes and severely damaged the building.The building remains a public place and is easily recognizable as it still stands tall on the corner in the middle of town. The top of the building still boasts the name F H Dobbs.

The Dobbs Building

Learn the history of Three Lakes main street, today known as Superior Street, and discover the stories that shaped our town and connect our community. The Superior Street Project is an undertaking using present street address numbers to make the process of historical location identification easier. This address then covers all of the buildings that have been on that site since the towns inception in 1881.The landmarks start with the C+NW depot (currently the Three Lakes Winery), and head east on Superior Street two blocks to the Black Forest. More addresses will continue to be added to this tour. There is so much to tell and reminisce!

The development of Three Lakes into the town it is today began with the appearance of the railroad built specifically for the purpose of supplying loggers in the area. On July 15, 1881 the Lake Shore Traffic Railroad Company bought this area from the US government. In 1884 it was sold to the Milwaukee Lakeshore and Western Railroad and ultimately ended up as the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1893.Story has it Three Lakes owes its name to the railroad surveyors who came across three lakes, one at a time, as they attempted to site a line and move the rails north. Finally, finding a clear route they chose to name the supply station Three Lakes.The first Three Lakes freight traffic manager was Frank Steiner who was reported to have worked from a large tree stump on the rail platform. Within a few short years, a station depot was built, similar to the other wood frame buildings along this line. In September of 1924 the depot was destroyed by a tornado but rebuilt.The tracks through town would continue to haul freight, logs, lumber and eventually potatoes, for just more than 100 years. Warehouses built along the tracks supported these businesses.It didn't take long for tourism to become a part of the Three Lakes economy. The Chain of Lakes, with an abundance of opportunities for the eager sportsman, helped sell Three Lakes as an ideal escape from the city. The Chicago and Northwestern railroad began advertising Three Lakes as a destination to attract business to the new passenger train.Soon the depot became the heart of the town, always busy with two trains a day, 9:30 am headed north and 3 pm, back south, with people, supplies and mail. And the locals who liked to watch the trains and passengers pass by. The images from the 1915 CNWRR tourist promotion brochure show the number of resorts already established and the lack of roads, and those that existed being only dirt or trails.Upon arriving in Three Lakes by train in 1904 passengers could be found securing supplies at one of five mercantiles in town. Boats docked at Maple Lake waited to deliver visitors to distant lake homes and resorts on the chain of lakes through the new channel. There were very few roads and no bridges. Where those early dirt roads did exist, the owner of the mercantile had a horse and wagon in a livery out back to get you to your destination. A town favorite through the years, Bert Louk was also available with a dray.As automobiles became more reliable and roads improved, riding the passenger train “up north” fell in popularity. The last passenger train departed Three Lakes in 1971. In June of 1980 the very last freight train made its way out of the station and the line was abandoned and tracks removed. While the age of the railroad in Three Lakes was over, the Old Chicago Northwestern Depot continued to serve the community in a new way.The Three Lakes Centennial Celebration of 1981 inspired a group of town citizens to establish the Centennial Museum in the old depot. While only there one year, the newly established Three Lakes Historical Society found its permanent location in the nearby Johnson House.Today the old depot serves as a tasting room for the Three Lakes Winery, the second oldest winery in the state of Wisconsin, brought to Three Lakes from Eagle River in 1988 by John and Maureen McCain and family. The tracks and most things railroad are gone, but the old depot can still be seen under the new renovations and additions. And just like those early rail passengers, you too can step out of the depot doors, breath in the pine scented air, look down the road and imagine you hear the CNW conductor say,“... this is vacation paradise”

What today is the Three Lakes Winery was once the primary way in and out of our community. In an area originally only considered valuable for lumber, the railroad companies that developed and planned the town probably didn't foresee their many impacts. During the height of logging transportation in the Northwoods, railroads were focused on suppling lumber camps and delivering logs. Importantly, some adventurous tourists also hitched a ride to Three Lakes to discover the amazing chain of lakes and a paradise for sportsmen.The last train out of the Three Lakes Depot was in 1982, marking an end of one era, and a new retail opportunity. In 1988 the Three Lakes Winery began their 30+ years of business at the old depot which now houses their tasting room.The Winery can be found at the head of Superior Street on the corner of Highway 45 and County Road A. Parking is available on site.

Three Lakes Depot and Winery

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 AndersonTragically 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.

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.

1808 Superior Street

The Three Lakes theater was built originally from a Quonset hut after World War II. This type of theater design was easy to build and very cost-effective, ideal for a smaller community like Three Lakes. In order to fund the construction of the movie theater, the town sold shares of stock to the community. In 1946, local former Major League Baseball player, Cy Williams, designed and constructed the theater and went on to win an award for his design. The original theater opened on June 12, 1949, sat 346 people and helped provide entertainment for locals and tourists visiting the town.In the 1970's the theater was closed and stopped showing films. It became a crafter's mini mall, the Hodge Podge Lodge for awhile. Closing for a few decades, the theater reopened in 2009 following renovation efforts working to restore the theater to a center for entertainment for the town. In addition to showing movies, the Center hosts live events with a great variety of musical artists and speakers. It also now includes an art gallery featuring local fine artists and a concessions area. The ongoing renovation project is led by the Three Lakes Center for the Arts and the community.

This small theater has evolved from a Quonset hut, to an architectural award-winning theater, to a gift shop, and back to the beautifully rehabilitated theater it is today.The early theater, showing the latest movies, or close to the latest releases, really made Three Lakes feel like they had it all. Time changes everything of course and the little theater lost it's shine, became something else and fell into disrepair. Recognizing the historical importance and the cultural contribution the theater offered, the community rallied to bring it back.While current events are up on the marquee, a visit to the Center's website is a great way to plan a visit and check out the hours.

Three Lakes Center for the Arts

Over the years the Black Forest Pub &amp; Grille has served as a gathering place for Three Lakes visitors and locals alike to share a drink or enjoy a warm meal, but this Three Lakes landmark wasn’t always a place for meeting and eating; prior to becoming a tavern, this building served as both the Western Union and a dentist office. This all changed in 1934 when Orville Basch entered the scene. Orville was the original proprietor of the Black Forest and sought the help of a local architect and former Major League Baseball player Frederick “Cy” Williams to help him transform the building into a tavern. Orville commissioned Cy to model the tavern after the beer gardens of Germany’s Black Forest and the attractive Old Heidelberg Inn featured at Chicago’s 1933 World’s Fair. Many of the features of the Black Forest today retain their classic look from the early days of the tavern such as the beamed cathedral ceilings in the dining room, the original bar from 1934, and structure which help keep alive the original vision and character of the building envisioned by Orville at its inception. Over the years elements of the tavern have changed, such as the addition of a bowling alley which remained until the 1990s when a roof cave-in caused the transition of this space into a game room.The tavern has hosted famous Three Lakes legends like entertainer Skip Wagner. The Black Forest has continued to serve the community as a popular destination for locals and visitors.

The earliest accounts of this location tells us it began as a tiny telephone office but became another Three Lakes iconic Cy Williams building design when it was transformed into The Black Forest. It has been a beloved landmark ever since and today includes the restored Skip Wagner mural on the east side of the building,The Black Forest remains a fine food destination for both locals and visitors. The exterior of the building compliments the interior which remains true to its origins in the 1930's and invokes as many feelings as the food served inside. The Black Forest is irreplaceable as a snapshot of history.It remains a public place and deserves a stop.

Historic Three Lakes - The Superior Street Project

The Dobbs Building

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources