Wisconsin's Maritime Trails

Wisconsin's Maritime Trails. Newport Historic Waterfront. , Near this spot in 1881, a Scandinavian immigrant named Hans Johnson built a large wooden pier. Soon afterward, Johnson and business partner Peter Knudson built a general store, a post office, and a lumber mill. For the next 40 years, these structures supported a thriving lumber-based economy in Newport. , , Sailing vessels and steam barges stopped frequently at Newport's pier during the shipping season. The entire community helped load the vessels with cordwood, railroad ties, posts, and other lumber products. Cargo was hauled onto the big pier with horses, but the ships themselves were loaded by hand. , , During the winter, men logged nearby forests and stacked cordwood on the shore, where it awaited the next shipping season. Most lumber was destined for the markets of Milwaukee, Racine, and Chicago. , , As Door County's forests thinned, Newport's fortunes declined. Today only skeletons of the village and pier remain. , , [Caption to upper-right photo:] , In 1887, a wood chopper earned one dollar per cord of wood delivered. In winter, Hans Johnson employed up to twenty men to cut wood from Door County's vast forests. , , [Caption for bottom-left photo:] , The village of Newport from the pier, with logs banked along the shore. Four thousand cords of wood were stacked in this area each shipping season. The man at far right is likely Hans Johnson. , , [Caption for bottom-middle photo:] Horses hauled logs and lumber products out onto the pier, but ships were loaded by hand. At times four or five men were needed to handle a single log., Caption , The long Newport Pier stretched out directly below the general store.