Town of Gibraltar

Town of Gibraltar. A Summer Tourist Haven. , One hundred years ago, the Fish Creek dock was a bustling portal to a summer vacationland. , , Arriving tourists, decked out in elegant clothes, waved cheerfully as steamers delivered them from the summer heat of Chicago and Milwaukee. Many stayed for the summer at the Welcker Resort, the Thorp Hotel, or other places around the harbor. , , It Began with Asa Thorp , Asa Thorp, one of the first settlers in Door County, was drawn to Fish Creek in 1855 to create a town. He and his hired men built a pier and cut cordwood to fuel steamships on Green Bay. Soon, ships loaded with settlers and tourists began to arrive. The Thorp Hotel, the second oldest tourist hotel in Wisconsin, started from Asa renting rooms in his family home. , , Welcker's Resort , Dr. Herman Welcker, German immigrant and Milwaukee virologist, enjoyed a family vacation at the Thorp Hotel. He fell in love with Fish Creek, bought land from Thorp, and built the Henriette Hotel in 1896, named after his wife (now the White Gull Inn). He added a casino and 12 cottages all known as Welcker's Resort. , , Sweet Memories of Summer , The lake steamer would deposit us in all of our finery on the shaky dock planks where we would be welcomed by "Herr Doktor," proprietor of Welcker's Resort. A carriage whisked us to the cottages hidden in the woods. A gong announced dinnertime where schnitzel, cabbage and "cherry kuchen" were served family style. For a month we fished tadpoles, played shipwreck in a beached rowboat, plunged into the lake, rode horses through the streets, watched flickery movies in the town hall, or went to the casino where we listened to lieder singers, watched melodramas and played games. , -Adel Clark, Fish Creek Echoes , , [Back:] , , Historic Sites , Peninsula State Park , Discover Wisconsin's second oldest state park, established in 1909. Enjoy camping, hiking, bike trails, scenic overlooks, summer theater, a sand beach, and a golf course. Climb the 75-foot Eagle Tower for spectacular views of Green Bay and islands. , , Eagle Bluff Lighthouse , Perched on a bluff 76 feet above Green Bay in Peninsula State Park, this lighthouse has guided ships since 1868. The building and tower are open for tours. , , White Cliff Nature Preserve , Hike a 1.5-mile loop trail through an undisturbed forest of white cedar, hemlock, American beech, and sugar maple surrounding an alkaline-rich fen. , , State Natural Areas , In Peninsula State Park, White Cedar Forest and Beech Forest natural areas protect unique communities along dolomite cliffs. South of Fish Creek, Thorp Pond is a bog lake surrounded by a fen, wet-mesic forest, and hardwood swamp. , , Peninsula Players Theater , This "Theatre in a Garden" started behind a motel near here in 1935. It moved to its current location along the shore of Green Bay in 1937. It continues to provide productions of classic and contemporary literature. , , Fish Creek Parks , Fish Creek Park, where you're standing, offers walking trails through the woods along Fish Creek. It is the original site of the Peninsula Players Theater in 1935. , The Fish Creek Public Beach is a sandy retreat on hot summer days. , Clark Park, adjacent to Fish Creek dock, is a great place to soak up the harbor atmosphere. , Sunset Beach Park, on the west end of Main Street, is an ideal place to watch the sun sink into the bay. , , Historic Fish Creek , Fish Creek embraces its rich history. Four sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Welcker's Resort Historic District features many early buildings. Take the Gibraltar Historical Association self-guided tour and step back in time. , , Alexander Noble House , Built in 1875, this is the oldest frame residence in Fish Creek. Tour the restored house with many original furnishings and artifacts and discover what early village life was like. Open daily from June to mid-October. ,