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CEDAR RIVER
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Fuller Park. A picnic area and 3/8-mile Lake Michigan beach near the Bark River. Also a popular place for perch and bass fishing. ...
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Fox Park. A township park with over a mile of Lake Michigan shore, a sandy beach, and a picnic area ...
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Cedar River Pathway. An 8-mile trail system goes along the Cedar River, then through rolling, forested terrain used by hikers, cross-country skiers, and mountain-bikers ...
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Wells State Park. Solitary beaches, enjoyable hiking trails, a big harbor, and 3-mile shoreline are highlights of this 250-acre park ...
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Kleinke Park. The sandy Lake Michigan beach at a creek mouth makes a fine place for wading and making sand castles. A pine grove reduces the impact of highway traffic. ...
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West Shore Fishing Museum. Commercial fishing on Green Bay's west shore, and Native American fishing for centuries before that, come to life at the intact house of a prosperous fisherman and several outbuildings for the collections. Grassroots paid off in authenticiity and local artifacts. ...
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Bailey County Park. There's almost a mile of pure sand beach here, with dunes behind it. A popular place for wading and swimming, picnicking, and birding. ...
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West Shore Fishing Museum
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This little gem of a museum complex is devoted to the history of the area's commercial fishing, long been an important part of the economy along both sides of Green Bay. Here, on the bay's west shore, a wide and interesting collection of commercial fishing artifacts, including an ice boat for fishing and four other boats, has been gathered at the fishery and large farmstead of the enterprising Charlie Bailey, a Seventh Day Adventist originally from Door County. The house, simple but substantial, was built around 1900 and stayed in the Bailey family, little-altered, until their daughter died at 100, at which time it was given to Menominee County to become the northernmost part of Bailey Park, given by Charlie Bailey in 1923.
The house museum is furnished as it would have been between 1910 and 1920. The homey, bright kitchen is up-to-date for the time, with its Hoosier cabinet and long counter with a hand pump in the sink. The unusual dining room has a stone fireplace, simple chandelier, and attractive varnished plywood ceiling.
The museum for artifacts stands on the foundations of the long-gone twine shed, a place where fishing families spend many hours mending nets. It houses quite a collection: spear points 7,000 years old; vivid watercolors of boathouses and fishing scenes by Marinette artist Ken Marsden; different kinds of fishing net configurations; an ice boat used for fishing, in which the fisherman was the counterweight to the sail. Crates from local fish packers tell stories, too.
Fishing methods of prehistoric and recent Native Americans are shown in the former carriage house. Part is set up as a cooperage. Making barrels was a most important part of commercial fisheries.
Four fishing boats, donated by area people, are protected under a shelter. represent every kind of commercial fishing boat used here except for the modern trawler. There's a gill net boat, a trap net boat, a pound (pronounced "pahnd') boat, and the versatile skiff, used alone or with larger boats.
When the volunteer board took over the property in 1997, it was a mess, with plaster and outbuildings falling in. Beverly Hayward Johnson and her husband conceived the idea and harmoniously marshaled local talent and energy. People with roots in commercial fishing donated so many artifacts. Having members with construction skills and sensitivity to historic buildings enabled the group to accomplish much on its own. A master gardener maintains the extensive gardens. (The Baileys had a vegetable stand in front of their house, on Bayshore Road, the old road from Menominee to Cedar River.)
Off M-35 about 9 miles south of Cedar River. From the north, 1 mile past Kleinke Park. From the south, just past Bailey Park. Open June thru Sun. before Labor Day (the museum's strawberry social). Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4. Probably Wed. morning (work day). (906) 864-1888. By appt. in summer & fall: (906) 863-9716. Admission not decided. Donations welcome. Wheelchair access: everything except house's second floor.
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