The Rustic Cottages of Isle Royale
In the Summer 2016 issue of Preservation magazine, we take you to northern Lake Superior’s Isle Royale National Park, a wild and remote archipelago that’s home to wolves, moose, loons, bald eagles, and a collection of historic cabins, cottages, and boat houses dating from the late 19th century to the early 1930s. Constructed before Isle Royale became a national park, these places represent a time when people would seasonally inhabit the island either to make a living as commercial fishers or to seek respite from the increasingly industrialized and polluted cities.
Isle Royale Families and Friends Association members gather on Merritt Island for a potluck supper and to discuss options for how they can work with the Park Service to ensure a sustainable future for the historic places that have bonded them together.
Today, although the historic structures are part of one of America’s least-visited national parks, descendants of the people who originally constructed these places still maintain them, visiting each year under special permits issued by the park service. Many of these descendants have come together as the Isle Royale Families and Friends Association (IRFFA), a group established to "assure the preservation of historic family dwellings and enhance the experience of park visitors by serving as a link to Isle Royale's rich human history."
Last August, IRFFA members opened their summer residences to National Trust staff for a week-long nautical/history tour of the park. We also explored a variety of options park staff could pursue to ensure a sustainable future for its historic structures. Following is a sampling of the places we were able to visit.
Carla Anderson, along with family and friends, restored this 1916 cabin replacing rotted logs during summer visits between 2010 and 2014.
The Edwards' cabin on Edwards Island. In addition to helping maintain his family cabin, Larry Edwards keeps alive the Ojibwe method of constructing long nose birch-bark canoes.
"Moose Manor" on Merritt Island was built between 1905 and 1910.
When the How family moved overseas, their cabin was used as part of Isle Royale's artists-in-residence program. Today, it sits empty with no defined use.
Named for commercial fishers Pete and Laura Edisen, the Edisen Fishery in Rock Harbor has been restored by the Park Service and offers a glimpse of Isle Royale's commercial fishing era.
Tobin Harbor is a historic resort community comprising twelve private camps and a commercial fishery.
The Snell dock and complex, which is located on Isle Royale's main island, as viewed from Merritt Island.
Carla Anderson, along with family and friends, also restored this c. 1910 or 1911 cabin during the summers of 2002 through 2005.
The main room of the Gale Cottage, built in 1937, features a large stone hearth.
The Edisen Fishery boat house is maintained by the Park Service and open to park visitors for self-guided tours.
Interior of the Connolly cabin, built in 1914. Birch-bark parchment pinned to the wall (left) lists materials needed for ongoing maintenance projects.
Though running water and electricity on Isle Royale is limited to park service buildings, the Gale's have outfitted a serviceable kitchen by installing a gas powered stove.
As the Preservation story details, the park may soon be assuming responsibility for maintaining these historic buildings, presenting Park Service staff with a dilemma. The National Historic Preservation Act requires the park to be good stewards of historic places under its care, but the Park Service’s $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog means that inheriting new places to maintain is a challenge at best.
Later this year, Isle Royale National Park will publish a Cultural Resource Management Plan on it's "History & Culture" page for public review. Please review the plan and let the Park Service know what you think should be done with the historic camps, cottages, and fisheries of Isle Royale.
The light-filled front room of the Snell Cottage, built in 1905, overlooks Tobin Harbor.
