Photo by Airfox Photography
Small town charm with all the amenities in the lovely northern Wisconsin bay town of Washburn.
I confess: I loved Washburn long before I ever visited by boat. I first traveled to this lovely small town on Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay in January 2013, when I was selected to read some of my work with 15 other writers and poets at the WritersRead event held at StageNorth, the local theater, home of the StageNorth groundings. It was a snowy January night, and there was a Packers game on: I figured we’d get 10 people in the audience if we were lucky. But the house was packed. Afterwards, writers and artists, readers and art appreciators milled the lobby bar, chatting until very late into the evening.
I fell in love that night. Over the next seven years I returned again and again, sometimes multiple times a year, often staying at Blakely’s Hill House, a lovely farmhouse B&B, minus the breakfast. I cherished parking my car for the weekend and walking everywhere in town: The old Carnegie library and indie bookstore, the grocery store, restaurants and cafes. I wandered the old, tree-lined neighborhoods with Victorian homes and all along the Lake Superior lakefront. I loved the friendliness, the slowed pace, the easy accessibility of necessities and art, and the community spirit.
Fast forward to the summer of 2020, when we took our family of three kids cruising through the Apostle Islands aboard our 38-foot trawler Mazurka. We had no intention of visiting Washburn, but on our first morning, anchored just off Oak Island, something didn’t sound quite right when my husband Mark tried to start the engine.
Mark rushed around, looking for his phone. “The starter won’t shut off! Get Ed on the phone!” His brother, Ed, is a large diesel engine mechanic based in the Keweenaw, best friend to Mazurka’s Ford Lehman 120-hp, six-cylinder single engine. Within an hour, while I took the kids to the bow for snacks and books, they had deduced the problem and were able to jump-start the engine while our 10-year-old revved the throttle. We were on our way. “Ed will order us a new starter,” Mark told me, “Where should he send it?”
That was a no-brainer: “Washburn!”
In a few hours we entered Washburn harbor, greeted by teenagers jumping off the breakwall into the ice-cold water. The full-service Washburn Marina has plenty of transient slips, a ship store, picnic and grill, and an expansive boat repair facility. It’s within walking distance from just about everything, including the grocery store, downtown shops and restaurants, and the auto parts store where our new starter would be arriving soon.
Built on brownstone
Washburn was founded in 1883 on a hillside overlooking the Chequamegon Bay, in large part due to its protected harbor, ample forests and the availability of sandstone, also called “brownstone.” It quickly grew to be an important industrial and commercial town, as the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad needed a lake port. In 1885, the Northern Pine Land Company opened the first of three major mills along the lakefront. Logging railroads led from town to transport raw materials into the community’s saw mills. By the late 1880s, several brownstone quarries operated along the sandstone outcrops between Washburn and Bayfield. This vital building material was shipped by waterway to Chicago and was used to rebuild the city after the Great Chicago Fire.
Examples of the rich sandstone architecture can be found throughout Washburn. You can visit three brownstone buildings on the National Register of Historic Places: The Washburn Cultural Center, the Bayfield County Courthouse and the Washburn Public Library.
Washburn was named district headquarters of the Chequamegon National Forest almost a century ago. Today, these thousands of acres of national and county forests supply timber for the state’s forest products industry, along with all kinds of recreation opportunities. In town, the lakefront is well-loved, and a paved pathway connects two parks at either end of town, Memorial Park and Thompson’s West End Park, with a stop at the marina. Just north of town, Houghton Falls offers a jaw-dropping hike along a sandstone gorge that opens into Lake Superior and a view of the Apostles. Just outside of town, the more remote Long Lake (not to be confused with the large Long Lake Recreation Area in Washburn County) is circled by a flat hiking trail, plus a small swimming beach and picnic area.
Photos above: Felicia Schneiderhan
Photo Courtesy of AdventureUS
Resources
Bayfield County Tourism
travelbayfieldcounty.com
Washburn Area Chamber of Commerce
washburnchamber.com
Washburn Marina
washburnmarina.com
Photo Courtesy of Washburn Inn Facebook
Photo by Felicia Schneiderhan
A growing downtown
With a current population of about 2,000, Washburn is often overshadowed by its two neighboring Chequamegon Bay towns, Bayfield and Ashland. That’s probably about to change, though, as Washburn has gained notoriety in recent years. The lovely small town feel and easy access to the outdoors attract visitors and small business owners, and the Washburn Area Chamber of Commerce has done a lot in the last two years to support new and existing businesses. In the past years, local businesses have received a number of Wisconsin Main Street Bounce Back grants, which award up to $10,000 for a new or existing business to move into a vacant downtown or commercial property. Walking along Bayfield Street, you’ll find new stores and restaurants popping up, along with some long-standing community favorites.
Washburn is a community of craftspeople, and artists are growing their spaces. Artists Squared Gallery and Karlyn Yellowbird Gallery have expanded, and renowned local artist Jamey Penney-Ritter, known for her photography and vintage posters, has recently opened a new studio and gallery. Indie-bookseller Chequamegon Books offers readers a cup of coffee while they meander through more than 80,000 titles in stock.
For hungry boaters, Dalou’s Bistro serves excellent wood-fired pizza, and Good Thyme Restaurant is known for its outstanding dinners in the big yellow house. Downtown, Patsy’s Bar and Grill dishes up the best burgers in Bayfield County. Boaters can sip a cocktail at the new 211 Martini Bar or enjoy a local brew at the South Shore Taphouse. Harbor House Sweets uses local dairy and fruits in their incredible chocolates and delectables. A well-known secret among locals is Tetzner’s Dairy Farm on Nevers Road; this small dairy grocery is stocked with local cheese, milk, ice cream and other favorites — all self-serve. Patrons write their own receipt and leave their cash or check in the box.
Mayor Mary Motiff, Chamber Director Melissa Martinez, and local business owners like Amy Trimbo, owner of AdventureUs (a small business devoted to sewing for an outdoor lifestyle) all agree that sustaining the small town feel and public access to the lakefront and outdoor amenities are priorities for the town, even as it grows.
On our first morning in Washburn, we all ordered breakfast at the walk-up window at beloved Café Coco, whose indoor seating was closed during the pandemic. Its super-fun staff bakes fresh pastries, desserts and breads (the Russian Rye sign jokes that it’s known as a doorstop — and it’s delicious). They make tasty daily soups and breakfasts, and the atmosphere — even outside on the sidewalk — was friendly and eclectic. We headed over to the fountain across the street for a lovely alfresco experience.
The next day, while Mark installed the new starter (he even put in a kill switch, just in case), I took the kids to the playgrounds in town, picking raspberries along the way, then to the ABC Thrift Shop, the grocery store and AdventureUs. The next morning we headed for Stockton Island, but not without some serious discussion about keeping our boat at Washburn the next year. That hometown feel with plenty to do is hard to top!
Three photos above courtesy of each company’s Facebook page.
Photo by Felicia Schneiderhan
Events
Washburn’s Brownstone Community Block Party, Brownstone Days, is held in late July. This community-wide event features the North Coast Car Show, Lion’s Club Golf Outing, Washburn Garden Tour, historic Washburn Trolley Tours, plus a movie in the park and fireworks at night.
Washburn Wednesdays celebrates midweek with a farmers market, live music, kids’ activities and special offers from area businesses.
Big Top Chautauqua, offering local and international music performers all season long, has a kiosk in downtown Washburn where you can buy tickets and catch a shuttle ride to the venue.
But it’s not just summer. Fall, winter and spring are gorgeous, too. See the fall colors while visiting the local orchards. On February 19, 2022, Book Across the Bay is a chance to ski, snowshoe or hike across the frozen bay, from Ashland to Washburn, lit by luminaries under a deep winter sky.
Photo Courtesy of Washburn Area Chamber of Commerce
