Corner of the Past/Old Anderson House Museum

When Sister Bay was first settled in the 1850s, there were no roads, no piers, no services, and no fields. Forests and lake water were their only resources.

The foreign immigrants from the East, packed up their work-a-day tools and supplies, that would make a new life a little less difficult, into wooden crates and boxes. Perhaps they also packed a few family heirlooms to remember where they came from. Their tools and supplies would be for this new community. It was a tremendous time of courage, of innocence, and new frontiers.  The time when the ambition of a few became the ambition of many, and this combined effort would reach out and build an entire nation. It is their history that we so carefully preserve.

Thanks to a farsighted preservationist, David Lee, the Anderson farmhouse was saved when he was given permission by the Village of Sister Bay officials to put a new roof on the home. Following Lee’s death, the members of the Sister Bay Historical Society took over the project of refurbishing the home and began to collect artifacts appropriate to the old home.

Since 2000, the Historical Society has acquired numerous local buildings including a post and beam barn, a machine shed, two log cabins, a granary, a chicken coop, two early resort cabins, a 100 year-old saw mill, and a blacksmith shop. Hundreds of farm tools, implements, and Sister Bay artifacts are on display, as well as historic photos and videos of the Sister Bay area.

HOURS:  Open Tuesday - Friday from 11AM-3PM from June 9 to October 9.  Adult admission is $10, kids are free.

ACTIVITIES:  Open Aire Market and Heritage Programs on Saturday mornings, mid-June through early October.  

Learn rug making, blacksmithing, painting, and carving at the programs while finding the finest freshest produce, preserves, breads, meats, and crafts in Door County. Visit our website for a calendar of events and more details.