Sand Island (Wisconsin) facts for kids
Sand Island is one of the beautiful Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin. It's located in Lake Superior and is part of the amazing Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. You can find it in the Town of Bayfield in Bayfield County. On the island, you'll discover the historic Sand Island Light, the Sevona Cabin, the Shaw Farm, and the West Bay Club.
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Who Were the First Settlers on Sand Island?
After the logging industry cleared much of the land in the late 1800s, many Scandinavian pioneers moved to the Bayfield and Apostle Islands area. They hoped to start farms, fish, or work in logging and iron ore industries.
The Shaw Family: Early Island Life
In 1870, Francis (Frank) Shaw came from Ohio to explore starting a fishing business. He bought 37 acres on Sand Island's southeastern shore. By 1871, Frank was setting up fishing nets. For a few years, the Shaws lived in both La Pointe and Ohio before settling permanently in Wisconsin.
Frank Shaw developed his fishing camp on Sand Island. Unlike other fishermen, he owned his land. By the early 1880s, the island property became a summer home for his family. Frank stayed there from spring to fall. He also started planting crops, but fishing was his main job. By the 1890s, he had a fleet of more than four boats and hired several men.
In 1897, Frank and Josephine Shaw began living on Sand Island all year. Frank built a log house, a root cellar, a workshop, and a smokehouse. He also expanded his dock. Many of these buildings are still there today as part of the historic Shaw-Hill farm.
Norwegian Pioneers and Island Growth
Louis Moe, a fisherman from Norway, was one of the first Norwegian settlers. In 1893, he claimed land on Sand Island. Soon after, he bought a farm and fishing setup on East Bay. Peter and Dorothea Hansen, also from Norway, came to Sand Island shortly after Moe. They fished for Moe until they could buy their own boat.
By June 1895, 46 people lived on Sand Island. This included families and many men who likely lived in fishing camps. About a third of the residents were born in Scandinavia. The rest were born in the U.S. In 1899, Louis Moe returned to Norway to get married and brought his wife back to Sand Island. With families like the Shaws and Moes, the island's population slowly grew.
Camp Stella: The First Island Resort
In 1886, Samuel Fifield opened Camp Stella, the first resort in the Apostle Islands. It offered simple places to stay where guests could enjoy nature and escape allergies.
How Did Sand Island Become a Community?
In the early 1900s, Sand Island grew into a real community. Enough families lived there year-round to have a school, a post office, and a cooperative store. Many Norwegian fishermen and their families settled at East Bay.
Louis Moe's home included buildings for fishing, farming, and logging. The Hansen family also lived there. Fred Hansen married Agnetta (Nettie) Johnson in 1904 and built a house nearby. Herman Johnson, Peter Johnson's brother, bought his house and fishing gear when Peter moved away. Herman married Hattie Hovland in 1906, starting another family at East Bay.
Harold Dahl and his family also moved to Sand Island by 1910. These Norwegian fishermen often sold their fish to Jacob Johnson’s fish company. Jacob Johnson lived in Bayfield but had a house on East Bay and owned a lot of land on Sand Island. The fishermen like Moe, Dahl, the Hansens, and the Johnsons also farmed to get food and sometimes extra income. Swen Bergstrom, a carpenter, was the only Swede living on the island then.
New Families and Farming Efforts
Between 1909 and 1912, Edwin Bonde, a Norwegian immigrant, encouraged many Norwegian families from Minnesota to come to Sand Island to start farms. Bonde bought and divided land, planting fruit trees and ginseng at East Bay. Families like the Palms, Loftfields, and Norings built homes there. They had some success with farming and living on the island permanently.
Life on Sand Island: School and Services
The community on Sand Island was similar to the one on nearby Madeline Island. Both relied on fishing, farming, and tourism. At its busiest in the 1910s, about 70 people lived on Sand Island all year, mostly at East Bay.
The one-room school built in 1910 was very important. It allowed families with children to stay on the island year-round. Before the school, families often moved to Bayfield for the school year. The Sand Island School taught students from first to eighth grade. It had 16 students in its first year and 27 at its peak. The school also hosted community events, like Christmas parties. Today, only the schoolhouse foundation remains.
After Camp Stella closed in 1915, more summer homes appeared on the island. These included the Campbell home, the West Bay Club, and a small group of summer homes at East Bay.
The Hill Family and Island Connections
Frank and Josephine Shaw lived on Sand Island year-round until 1905 when Josephine's health declined. They then spent winters in Bayfield. In 1910, Frank Shaw sold his fishing business and island property to his son-in-law, Burt Hill. Frank Shaw passed away in 1914.
Burt Hill was born in Wisconsin in 1871. He worked for a newspaper before marrying Anna Mae Shaw in 1894. Before 1910, the Hills spent summers with the Shaws on Sand Island. When Burt bought the property, he was looking for a healthier lifestyle. In 1910, Burt and Anna Mae Hill made Sand Island their full-time home. Burt learned pound net fishing from his father-in-law.
The Noreng Family's Island Adventure
Bertam and Bergit Noreng came to the USA from Norway in 1906. After living in Minnesota, they heard about land opportunities in the Apostle Islands. They bought land on Sand Island. Their fifth child, Harold A. Noreng, was the last child born on Sand Island in 1920.
The Noreng family worked hard to clear trees and build a home. They farmed and fished Lake Superior year-round for whitefish, chubs, and lake trout. They repaired fishing nets with handmade wooden tools. To get to the mainland, they would build bonfires on the shore to signal for a small boat. Crossing Lake Superior could be dangerous due to waves, strong winds, and bitter cold. In winter, people could walk or use a horse-drawn sled across the ice. When other pioneer families visited, they would have feasts and play music on the porch, singing both Norwegian and American songs.
Island Population and Services
In January 1911, Louis Moe reported 56 people living on Sand Island. By January 1920, the census counted 44 people, mostly Norwegian or Norwegian-American.
In 1911, Burt Hill organized the Shaw Post Office on Sand Island. He became the postmaster in June. Mail was delivered easily when the lake was open by a boat that also picked up fish. In winter, Hill had to walk across the ice to meet the mail carrier from Bayfield. He resigned in 1916, and the post office closed.
In 1915, Hill and other island residents worked to bring telephone service to Sand Island. The Sand Island Telephone Company was formed in 1918. An underwater cable connected Sand Island to Bayfield in October 1918. The first message announced the end of World War I. Regular telephone service began in December. However, the cable soon broke and was too expensive to fix, ending phone service to the island.
What Happened to the Sand Island Community?
Many younger people left Sand Island when they grew up. Life on the island was challenging, not just farming. The school on Sand Island closed in 1928.
In 1921, the Sand Island lighthouse became the first automated lighthouse in the Apostle Islands. A few years later, a summer resident leased the lighthouse.
The Great Depression in the 1930s changed things. It sped up the decline of logging and slowed tourism. People returned to the land and water to grow and catch their own food. The commercial fishing industry also changed. However, fishing was still good, especially for whitefish. Herman Johnson Jr., a second-generation Sand Island fisherman, moved and started a fishery nearby.
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