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Shaw Point Historic District

Bayfield, WI. - The Wisconsin Historical Society placed the Shaw Point Historic District in Sand Island, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield County on the State Register of Historic Places in November. 

The Shaw Point Historic District is significant for its varied history, telling the developmental story of commerce, maritime history, agriculture and recreation, and architecture.  The district represents the evolution of development typical of the Lake Superior region and embodies the shift that northern Wisconsin experienced as its economy transitioned from being heavily dependent on extracted resources and agriculture to being largely dependent on the seasonal tourism and second-home industries.

The first settlements relied on extractive industries and agriculture to support their economies. Commercial fishermen, miners, loggers, and farmers shipped their commodities to eastern markets first by steamships and then by railroad. These transportation networks also opened northern Wisconsin to leisure passengers, who began vacationing at resorts along the Lake Superior shore in the late nineteenth century. Eventually, seasonal visitors acquired property along the lakeshore to construct private vacation homes. The three properties in the Shaw Point Historic District reflect this arc: the Shaw-Hill Farm was an early commercial fishing camp and farm; Camp Stella was a recreational resort; and finally, the Campbell-Jensch Property was developed for private seasonal use. Eventually, all of the properties became second homes as extractive industries, agriculture, and recreational resorts dwindled in importance in the twentieth century. These sites, buildings, structures, and their settings have excellent integrity having been minimally altered over the years resulting in a collection of resources that illustrate the history of 19^th and early 20th-century life, construction, work, and relaxation at Shaw Point.

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org. 

 About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.