Liberty Grove Historical Society

10/12/2026

HOW DID GARRETT BAY GET ITS NAME?

"The winter road was on the ice from Washington Island to Ephraim. In the past we had stopped at V. S. Garrett’s hotel in Garrett Bay, but in 1869 we stopped overnight at John Eliason’s. At breakfast we shared a table with 18-20 of us including ice fishermen from Racine and a crew of dock builders. Was his wife cooking for this crew?" (Imagined words of Jesse Lee Miner, pioneer historian, from Conen Bryant Eaton’s “Hotels and &c [sic] in the Pioneer Days”, DC Almanak No. 5, Pages 113-116 [Washington Island. com]. John Eliason settled in what would become Ellison Bay in the cold February of 1863. In 1867 his new wife Caroline Tappe joined him. (Research by Don Payne, LGHS Archivist).

SO DID THE PROPRITOR’S NAME OF THIS EARLY STOPPING PLACE STICK AS MORE PEOPLE ARRIVED?

We cannot explore Liberty Grove stories without meeting the people who lived and interacted with Liberty Grove in the same era. Searching for treasures like firsthand, eyewitness observations can vary as much as first person biographical narratives. Secondhand newspaper articles and census records also help. Historians delight in fleshing out the clues that they often stumble upon.

“Boarding or working men’s hotels” in Garrett Bay would have offered passing travelers, quarrymen and lumbermen a place to stay. Newspaper articles confirm there was a need in 1894, but John August Nelson may have taken over the “hotel” by 1890 or someone else earlier because Garrett’s wife was ill. We know that the village of Ellison Bay was founded by John Eliason in 1866. These facts and the attached news article help us narrow the period Jesse Lee Miner visited Garrett’s “hotel” before 1893 which was his last visit to see friends in Ephraim.

The 1863 visit excerpt (part 2) and 1874 and 1882 mail contract routes in newspapers help us determine the period Jesse Lee Miner (1849-1915) observed. Between 1869 and 1878, Jesse and his father Henry ( -1890) had a mail contract. They made their headquarters at Victor Leclaire’s cedar shanty near Europe Lake, possibly another “hotel” of the day.

Volney S. Garrett (1836 -1913) was born in NY, came to Washington Island from Illinois after 1859, died in Egg Harbor and is buried on Washington Island. He married Rebecca Lee (1828-1889) in 1855. Let’s pause a moment to imagine her cooking for the guests at their bayside “hotel” until they returned to Washington Island. Daughters Henrietta married Axel Peterson in 1874, and Alice married Andrew Koyen in 1877 also wrote reminisces that may provide more clues. (1870 Census living on Washington Island;1880-11-26 Weekly Expositor Independent)

We are grateful that Jesse Miner was a keeper of the past as well as the keeper of Potawatomi light.

10/10/2026

Today’s the day! Fall Photo Op and Vintage Market. Last day for the museum this season.

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

We are all set for your Fall Photo Op at the top of the hill. This is the final Thursday for the museum this season. Join us on Saturday for the Vintage Market and get your last glimpses of historic buildings before they are put to bed for the winter. Join us today from 10-2:00 and Saturday from 10-3:00. 🍁

10/06/2026

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

The Liberty Grove Historical Society focuses on our unique location at the tip of the Door peninsula. GEO-DC, our neighbor across HWY 42, educates us in the new Escarpment Park. The LGHS tells the stories of the humans who settled there and impacted the geography just as the land shaped the human story.

Next Monday we honor two diverse human cultures an ocean apart. One event took place over 500 years ago led by an Italian (with the support and wealth of many others) and the other is made up of humans who had lived in North America for thousands of years. These peoples were the stewards of the land and natural resources but had been conquered and ignored as the European settlers and lumbermen arrived on the peninsula. Today, Liberty Grove is part of both histories.

The richness of America’s 250th anniversary lies in how we learn lessons from the past and adopt the best of these diverse cultures. The Mink River Preserve managed by the Nature Conservancy, the stairs at Porte des Morts Town Park, the DC Land Trust and the Ridges Sanctuary all maintain the human lessons and geographical treasures of the past.

There are still silent reminders left by indigenous peoples that showed the newcomers the way by water and along the shore with signal tree markers showing the best path or “highway” of the day. Today’s Sturgeon Bay shipping canal almost exactly follows the native canoe portage trail. Wild rice still grows in the marshes of the Mink River after Potawatomi families harvested a portion for generations. The indigenous peoples fished the bounty of the Green Bay and Lake Michigan waters until the new commercial fishermen arrived and upset the balance. Thankfully, lessons have been learned.

A 1918 article in the “Wisconsin Archeologist” reported many artifacts were found on the sloping ground opposite the hotel and store on the main highway and Mink River intersection. Two Indian burials washed out about 1914. Another group of evidence was found northeast of what is now HWY 42 and Lakeview Road and another village site south of Sunnyside Lane towards the marsh and river. A series of circular pits about 4’ across and 4’ deep were found which may have been winter food storage caches.

Early settlers were wise to befriend and learn from the local natives. Sam Rogers employed Indian Ben and Indian Joe (1875 Wisconsin Census) to help develop his lumber business in Rowleys Bay. Their families remained friends even after the Potawatomi men moved their families across the bay to Cedar River, MI.

Pause to reflect on these unique cultural contributions to Liberty Grove’s story for a better future!

10/01/2026

https://mailchi.mp/1172e5d4a2d1/your-october-2026-lghs-enewsletter

09/30/2026

Get ready for our last events of the season at the Top of the Hill in Ellison Bay. Fall Color Day is on the hill overlooking Ellison Bay, where we set the scene for your fall photo op. The final Vintage Market will take place in the barn. Still many treasures, vintage and estate, to help cozy up your space. And the museum will be open for the final day, with docents on site. A reminder that the grounds are open year-round from dawn to dusk, but the historic buildings will be put to bed for the winter.

09/29/2026

LEAVING A LEGACY OF SKILLS

Recently the LGHS lost member volunteers Rene Cison, Carol Lemon and Nick Moran. They live on through the skills they shared to help preserve the story of Liberty Grove.

Renee Cison (1952-2026) was a charter member and owner of an upscale women’s boutique Renee of Door County. She came to the organization’s aid when there was no treasurer in 2006-2007. Visitors continue pause on one of the benches donated by Renee to savor a peaceful moment on the LGHS grounds. When guests stop at the big kettle at the corner of the Summer Kitchen, some think of a fish boil pot kettle or remember the pig boiler from Wilder’s “Little House in the Big Woods.” Both are early Liberty Grove possible uses.

Carol Richter Lemon (1941-2026) was a charter member and served on the LGHS Board from 2001 to 2007. Using her skills developed over 20 years running the Northport Pier Restaurant, Carol is fondly remembered for the annual spaghetti dinner fundraisers beginning in 2002-2005 and the early Taste of Northern Door fundraisers from 2006-10. We can still appreciate the Washington Ferry /Light House Door she and her father Arni Richter donated to LGHS.

Nick Moran (1941-2026) created the LGHS online presence in 2013 that reaches over 1400 Facebook viewers and many visitors on our website today. He videotaped several programs and participated in several programs and events following his retirement as English teacher and high school principal to Ellison Bay in 2005.

Our organization would not be the success it is today without these special friends.

09/25/2026

Thank you for hosting our September Site Tour!

09/24/2026

A beautiful day to hang out on the grounds of Liberty Grove Historical Society! Come and see us from 10-2:00. Docents on site.