Hadland Fish Camp: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service

The Hadland Fish Camp cultural landscape is the northernmost camp on Rocky Island, located on the south shore of a narrow isthmus between the main island and a northeastern peninsula. Rocky Island is one of twenty-two islands in the Apostle Islands archipelago in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior, and one of twenty-one islands included within the boundaries of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS). Rocky Island has historically been associated with the commercial fishing industry and has also been the scene of lumbering and tourist activity. Unlike the other Rocky Island fish camps, the Hadland Fish Camp has a southern orientation because of the beach’s easterly curve. The landscape occupies approximately 2.75 acres and includes one intact cabin, the ruins of a collapsed building, the remains of net drying reels and a float drying platform, and other features such as a privy, a bench, a deteriorating skiff, and a breakwater. The camp was the longest used camp on the island (1938-1988) and the first of its neighboring properties to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NR). The Hadland Fish Camp was listed individually on the NR on August 18, 1977. The periods of significance noted in the nomination are two specific years: 1920, when construction began on buildings at the camp, and 1938, when construction of the camp was mostly completed. The camp landscape reflects the culture and lifestyle of fishermen of Nordic origin, many of whom had been fishermen before immigrating. Remaining structures and tools offer evidence of ethnic heritage, while also indicating where techniques were combined with those of other communities or adapted to best suit the environment. In 1931, John Fried moved to Rocky Island from Finland and built the small cabin that still stands at the site. Christian Hadland, of Norway, purchased the property from him in 1938, and several buildings were added to the camp by re-location and construction. The Hadland Fishing Camp is significant as being the last working family fishing camp within the boundaries of APIS, also associated with the evolution of the commercial fishing industry in the region. In the 1950s, overfishing and depredations by the sea lamprey made large scale commercial fishing uneconomical. The camp was the only family camp still regularly used for anything near its original purpose at the time the APIS was established in 1970, as most island fishing camps has been abandoned, destroyed, or converted to recreation use. The site has been unoccupied since 1998 when the remaining Hadland brothers, Harvey and Clifford, vacated. The Hadland Fish Camp was also included in the Rocky Island Historic District Nomination entered into the NR on July 3, 2008. This nomination includes five fish camps with a period of significance spanning from 1931-1958. The overall condition of the landscape at the Hadland Fish Camp is fair due to loss of integrity. Several structures have been lost to shoreline erosion, and vegetation has encroached on the remaining structures. A large open area once existed where the Hadlands were able to work on their fishing equipment and dry their nets. Logging, occurring between 1928-1931, has also had considerable impact on the island’s landscape. Despite its individual loss of integrity, the Hadland Fish Camp still contributes a high enough degree of integrity to the Rocky Island Historic District and to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to help convey its significance and historic character.

Hadland Fish Camp: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service

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