Washington Island: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Isle Royale National Park, National Park Service

Isle Royale National Park is located in Michigan within the northwestern portion of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes which straddle the United States-Canadian border. The Chippewa Indians called it by the name “Minong,” which simply means island, although they probably gave the word specific application in this case due to its prominence. Washington Island is located at the western edge of the island archipelago, historically and geographically unique from the other islands at Isle Royale. Washington Island contains cultural resources that relate to themes of commercial fishing and tourism, and it illustrates the layering of history that is common to many of the sites on the island. Periods of significance are identified as 1885-1900, associated with shipping and transportation; 1902-1932 for the island’s role in recreation and tourism developments; and 1932-1940, associated with the conservation of natural resources. Some of the earliest buildings on Washington Island were built by Sam and Andrew Sivertson, who began fishing at Isle Royale in the early 1890s. The Sivertsons, of Norwegian descent, had initially fished from the Apostle Islands. They obtained permission from John F. Johns to build on what is now Barnum Island, which Johns owned at the time. However, when Johns decided to open a tourist resort in 1892, the Sivertsons were asked to leave. Before they had arrived for the season, Johns moved the Sivertsons’ buildings, boats, and equipment to the dock and claimed title to the island. This event initiated the Sivertsons’ move to nearby Washington Island. In addition to the Sivertsons’ Fishery, the site is also associated with Einar Ekmark, a Scandinavian fisherman who lived in the Art Sivertson cottage until his death in 1986. Ekmark left his homeland of Sweden in 1929 at the age of 24 and settled in Minnesota. In 1943, he and his brother Karl came to Isle Royale and began fishing. In 1902, Captain Walter Singer established a resort on Washington Island. Singer purchased a steamer to bring customers to his Washington Harbor resort, the Island House, and built additional vacation cabins and recreational buildings on his property. Although in close proximity to the Sivertson fishery, the two operated separately with the fishery surviving much longer than the resort development. The “honeymoon cottage” and associated privy were later incorporated into the Sivertson fishery operation. This example of recycling and reusing structures is a traditional practice of islanders in an attempt to circumvent the high cost of shipping construction materials to the islands. Buildings were frequently moved from one site to another for re-use by fishermen, resort owners, and summer residents. Washington Island remains significant as a vernacular landscape that containins evidence of evolving commercial fishing practices, tourism activity, particular local building styles and patterns, and connections to the broader features of the landscape and historic periods. The Sivertson Fishery is the longest continually operating commercial fishery on Isle Royale, and the Siverston/Ekmark fishery and its associated seasonal camps thrived between 1890 and the 1940s. The structures and abundant fishing equipment within the complex, relatively unchanged since the island became a National Park, illustrate the evolution of early 20th century Lake Superior commercial fishing techniques. Changes have occurred to many structures since the initial development, which is natural since the fishery continued to be in operation. Still, these modifications are evident, allowing visitors to experience the overall scene as well as how it has changed over time.

Washington Island: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Isle Royale National Park, National Park Service

Series