The Old Anderson House Museum and The Corner of the Past Walking Tour - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Anderson House

The centerpiece of The Corner of the Past, the Old Anderson House is believed to have been constructed in the Marinette/Menominee area in the 1870s and moved to this location across the ice of Green Bay — in whole or in part — in the late 1800s. Beginning in the 1910s, it was the home of Alex Anderson, his wife Emma, and their two children, Sceone and Ivan. A few years after Alex died in 1915, the family began moving to other locations, but kept coming back here during the summers. By the 1950s, the visits had stopped, and after years of deterioration, the Village bought it in 1993 with the intent of tearing it down. A local science teacher intervened to help save the house, and in 1997, after thousands of hours of volunteer work from member of the newly formed Sister Bay Historical Society, the restored house was opened to the public as the Old Anderson House Museum.

The Anderson House never had indoor plumbing, so they would have used an outhouse similar to this one. This version was a three-seater Ladies outhouse. This outhouse was located on the Ralph Charney farm just up the road from here on Fieldcrest and was donated in November 1997. It was believed to have been at least 100 years old at that time.

3. Summer Kitchen

Many farms in Wisconsin had separate small buildings situated just steps from their main home which they called their “summer kitchen”. In the summer months, this enabled the farm wife to keep the heat out of the main farmhouse when she was doing hot chores like baking, canning and preserving, churning butter, and ironing.

The signature building of small-grain farming in the mid-west was the granary, where the grains from wheat, corn, oats, and other crops were stored. The building was typically built on some sort of concrete or stone foundation that raised the building off the ground — this provided ventilation underneath to help keep the grain dry, and to lessen the chance of rodent infestation.

This old log structure and the one next to it (called the Preacher’s Cabin), were originally used for living quarters by early pioneers. These two log cabins were restored by local master builder Don Erickson at his property on Scandia Road. This one was given the name “Loom House” because Don’s wife Judy used it for her weaving hobby.

6. Preacher's Cabin

This cabin was built in 1884 by Hans Olaf Hanson when he settled on a farm in the Appleport area, east of Sister Bay. It is typical of the spartan housing of early settlers. After many moves, it was restored by local master builder Don Erickson on his Scandia Road property in Sister Bay. Following the restoration, Erickson called it the “Preacher’s Cabin” because he was fond of the North Carolina lifestyle, where buildings like these were used to house traveling preachers.

This barn was built in 1887 and was once the dominant building on the Ed Koessl Sr. farm, which was located on Highway 57 near the intersection with Highway 42, where the Birchwood Lodge stands today. The center structure was moved intact down Highway 57 to its present location in the winter of 2001.

8. Blacksmith Shop

The Blacksmith was an essential craftsman in the era of horse-drawn carriages, wagons and buggies. There were a number of Blacksmith shops in and around Sister Bay beginning in the 1870s. The present structure is a replica of a typical shop and features a collection of Blacksmithing tools donated to the Museum.

9. Chicken Coop

This chicken coop is a replica of one that would have been found on an old farm. Like the replica Blacksmith shop, it was built by Don Erickson for his collection of pioneer buildings at his farm in Sister Bay. Free-range chickens were allowed to enter and exit at will during the day in good weather. At night, the birds returned to the roost and the doors were closed to keep out predators.

10. Picker's Cabin

Many, many hands were needed to pick Door County’s cherry crop up until the 1960’s when mechanical tree shakers were developed. Many of the workers came from outside the area and needed housing — so they were put up in tents and barns, and in many cases, cabins like these. During World War II, when workers were difficult to find, pickers were brought in from Mexico, Jamaica and Barbados, but even those were not enough. In 1945, at the end of the war, about 2,000 German POWs were stationed at seven camps in Door County, and they helped to pick the crop.

11. Scandinavian Cottage

This cottage, made of hand hewn logs, was built by a member of the Olson family in Ephraim, and is thought to date back to the late 19th century. In consideration of the Scandinavian heritage of the Olson family, and much of Sister Bay, the Historical Society decided to name this home the Scandinavian Cottage. The furniture and other decorative items inside are typical of those from Sweden or Norway, and were donated by local residents.

12. Little Sister Barn

The Little Sister Barn is an over 100-year-old barn that originally housed dairy cows, and later served as a site for square dances and other local events. Many local residents have fond memories of community get togethers there. When the Little Sister Resort was sold, and the Barn became available, it became clear that the Barn would be an ideal building to turn into a year-round History Center at Corner of the Past.

13. Koessl Granary

This building is one of the newest of our acquisitions. Although it may not look like a typical granary, it once was part of the Ed Koessl Sr. farm, which was at the junction of Hwy. 57 and Rt. 42. That farm, which is now the site of the Birchwood Lodge, also contained the Koessl Barn and Machine Shed that were moved to our museum grounds.

14. Birch Cottage

The first tourist resort in the Sister Bay Area was the Liberty Park Lodge built in 1898 just north of Sister Bay. It is still in operation today, and is known simply as the Liberty Lodge. Around the 1910s, the lodge owners added 10 cottages across the road on the shore of Green Bay, and this Birch Cottage was one of them.

The lumber industry was a major part of the economy of Northern Door County, and virtually all of the county was logged over in the early years. A number of farmers maintained their own mills to provide lumber for themselves and their neighbors. This 100+ year-old sawmill originally belonged to Hjalmar Holand of Ephraim, noted Door County historian and author.

16. Machine Shed

This shed was built in the 1950’s to house farm equipment and serve as a repair workshop. It was located on the Ed Koessl Sr. Farm, which also housed the Koessl Barn that’s on the museum grounds. The restoration includes a replicated tool room displaying antique hand tools, and a gallery for vintage photos.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

The Old Anderson House Museum and The Corner of the Past Walking Tour

Created by Mark Polczynski on July 29th 2022, 12:53:39 pm.

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Description

The Old Anderson House and preserved farm buildings, sawmill, cottages, and collection of farm implements comprise Corner of the Past. The Museum and the historic buildings feature turn-of-the-century furnishings, tools, large and small farm implements, and other artifacts and information depicting Sister Bay’s history. The machine shop photo gallery and other sites feature photographs dating back to the early settlers, merchants, the destructive 1912 fire, the steamships at Roeser Dock, early logging, ice cutting, and women pioneers. Guests will be able to take a self-guided tour with the use of our new audio system, called “The Discovery Pen,” or they may request a volunteer tour guide to share with you the wonderful stories of the folks who founded Sister Bay, such as Alex and Emma Anderson family, who lived at the Old Anderson House Museum, and what we now call Corner of the Past, formerly an 80-acre farm. Guests may purchase guided tour tickets only at https://doorcountytickets.com/ or visit the site and choose to do their own self-guided tour.

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