Welcome to the Ephraim Historical Foundation’s brand new blog. We thought it would be fun to publish little snippets of information every so often to keep you abreast of upcoming pleasures, events, and happenings, and to remind you of stories from Ephraim’s past. There is so much history in our little village, and since we …
NOTE TO READER: Click on the blue highlighted phrases to see a supporting document or photo. To enlarge an image that you see in the text, simply click on it. To return to the text, click on the arrow (Alt + Left Arrow) on your computer screen. Every August, sailboats drift peacefully in Eagle Harbor. …
Olga Dana Green: Sanctuary in a Bustling Landscape Read More »
The History of Bethany Lutheran Church Many of the Lutheran faith arrived in Ephraim as early as 1855. Peter Peterson (Per Hagen) arrived in 1856. He became a prominent merchant and dock owner in Ephraim. Although he was associated with Andreas Iverson and the Moravians, he cherished a dream of establishing a Lutheran community and, …
The Early History of Ephraim Moravian Church Excerpt from Early Days of Ephraim by Bishop Clement Hoyler From earliest times the religious impress of the community was very pronounced. The very ground on which the village now stands was dedicated in pray to a religious purpose, when the founder of the colony quietly stepped aside …
Fires in America’s West have been in the news. Dramatic footage of homes reduced to ash heaps and vacant-eyed, stunned survivors fill our media. The degree of devastation has been great. Even so, this nation’s deadliest blaze occurred right here in Wisconsin, 149 years ago. The Peshtigo Fire, which happened on the exact same day …
150th Anniversary of Nation’s Deadliest Fire in 2021 Read More »
What ingredient in Tillie Valentine’s recipe for “Brown Cookies”, found on page 300 of the EHF’s classic cookbook Amazing Grazing (2003), marks it as classic Scandinavian? If you answered “cardamom” you’re right! Cardamom, a zesty spice related botanically to ginger, allegedly arrived in Germany about 1,000 years ago thanks to the Moors, a Muslim population …
Matilda “Tillie” Fobian Valentine Anderson’s Brown Cookie Recipe Read More »
The Goodletson Cabin Museum is located next to the Pioneer Schoolhouse just north of the intersection of County Q and Moravia Street. Map The Goodletson Cabin was built approximately in 1855 on Eagle Island (now Horseshoe Island) by Norwegian immigrant Thomas Goodletson and his family. It was skidded across the ice in the 1860s to …
In 1857, Reverend A. Iverson recognized the need for a local school building because of the importance of education in the Moravian religion. He donated land located behind the Iverson home and a building, constructed of flat-hewn logs, for the first public school in Door County. Pauline Larsen, the first teacher, was paid $4 per …
The Iverson House was built in 1853 by Rev. Andreas Iverson and members of his Moravian congregation, who were responsible for the founding of Ephraim. After Iverson left Ephraim in 1864, the house served as a home for Moravian pastors J.J. Groenfeldt and Anders Petterson. The Iverson House was purchased by the Ephraim Historical Foundation …
The Anderson family first arrived in Ephraim in the late 1850s. Brothers Aslag and Halvor had immigrated to America in the late 1840s to find work in the lumber industry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They learned about the new settlement of Ephraim from Thomas Goodletson, a fellow Norwegian the brothers had known in …
The word, Svalhus, roughly translates from Norwegian as “cooling house.” The building’s unique designs helps it maintain a cooler interior temperature, which made it an ideal storehouse. Like many of the historic buildings in Ephraim, the Svalhus has served many functions. It was built around 1890, and was owned by Peter Peterson, a prominent Ephraim …
Museums are unique places where time has frozen and preserved the imprints of old culture, way of life and traditions. Millions of tourists willingly visit various museums every year to touch the past and learn more about the life of the past. Museums often have an extensive collection of artifacts, but only 15% of the entire collection is shown to visitors. To replenish collections and see their artifacts in the exhibition, many people share their belongings with museums. Most often, this happens voluntarily for no cost, and many senders prefer not to reveal their identity. You can easily use a fake ID for this purpose https://fakeidprice.com/best-fake-id-sites-2019/ , so that museum staff do not know for sure who the artifact came from.