Hotels & Motels
Hotels, Motels, Guesthouses & Private Residences
Through the years there have been many different establishments to accommodate all the visitors to the area. Some were large resort type places like the Oakwood, and others were small houses that took in borders during the summer tourist season. Many of them produced postcards as mementos of your stay at Green Lake. There are even a few postcards that showcase private residences.
This is the largest number of cards in the collection. I have created separate pages for the places that we have more than 20 cards to display.
List of establishments on this page
Click on name to jump to that section
Adler's Cottage
The Adler’s Cottage was located on Forest Avenue, along the north shore just west of Dartford Bay. This H. Montgomery card is a nice shore view looking north into Dartford Bay. In the spring of 1966, the house was hit by lightning and burned to the ground.
GL Memories II P229
I find it odd that Harris Montgomery produced this card, as I could not find that this house was ever used as a hotel or guest house.
Bay View Motel
This cool little motel along Lake Street has been around for long time. It is currently named Bay View Motel & Marina.
Sunset Point Cabins / Gordon's Green Lake Motel
Sunset Point is the area on the east shore of Dartford Bay, just north of the Bay View Motel.
The Sunset Point Cabins were located at the site first. Some of the cabins were demolished to make room for Gordon’s Motel. A few of the cabins were left and were part of Gordon’s Motel.
Gordon’s Motel and all the cabins were razed to make room for the Sunset Point Condominiums.
Location and historical information provided by Diane Egbert
Bel Air Motel & Spur Lee Motel
In 1937, Joe Rake purchased some land from V.S. Kutchin and began building a large supper club along the old Hwy 23. In 1959 Rod Sperle built a motel to the west of the Supper Club. The supper club is long gone, but the motel has ben remodeled and is going strong. In 2022 Matt Rogatz purchased the motel and did extensive renovations. Now the Green Lake Inn will be around for many years to come.
The Boulders
In 1927 The Hadley’s bought this property and called it the “Boulders”. In the early 1920’s this property was sold to “Bugs” Moran, and there are many stories about the tunnels that run from the house to the boathouse. The property was sold to the Adlers in 1986.
GL Memories I p208
Carvers on the Lake
Carvers-On-The-Lake was once part of the Sunnyside Farm development by General John McDonald shortly after the Civil War. It was situated on the east end of the lake on Highway A just north of Sunset Park. It was here that Henry Dick, grandson of the Winnebago Chief Big Soldier, was born.
in 1925 Mr. Enoch Carver built a private home on the property and used it as a summer retreat until 1932. In 1932 The Carver family winterized the home and added a kitchen and dining room. They opened their home as Carvers-On-The-Lake, a guest house serving well-prepared food. It was not long before it became necessary to expand the facility to accommodate the large number of people coming from all over the country. An addition that was four times the original size was built with five dining rooms.
By the early 2000’s the hotel and restaurant was demolished and the property was divided into 4 parcels, that last of which has been built on as of February 2024.
Heritage History of Green Lake p146
Dartford Motor Court
The Dartford Motor Court was built in 1949 and at that time it was Wisconsin’s first drive up motel. By the late 1960’s the motel had a heated pool and all 32 rooms had private baths. In February 2022 there was a fire there that did considerable damage. As of January 2024 it is still operating and taking reservations as the Dartford Inn.
Derings Inn
One of the most beautiful spots on thenorth shore of Green Lake is the gentle approach of land that lies at the end of Illinois Avenue. Mr. Charles L Dering and his wife Alice purchased this property in 1900 and ran the Dering inn until 1947. The inn was operated by Herbert Weeks until 1968.
Lake View / Gurdy Hotel
In 1891, Henry Oelke built a hotel on the southeast corner of Hill & Gold Streets in downtown Dartford. It was a large two story building with plenty of guest rooms a large dining room and verandas on the front and west side. It was called the Lake View Motel because of the excellent views of Green Lake from the Verandas. The Goose Blind Parking lot is now located where this grand hotel once stood.
Heidel House
Herb & Lucille Heidel bought the 12 acre Kelly estate and opened the Heidel House on New Years Eve 1945.
Follow this link to see the Heidel House postcards
Roger Williams Inn
Here is a small collection of postcards showing the Roger Williams Inn on the grounds of the Green Lake Conference Center.
I plan to develop a dedicated page for the Lawson Estate, and there will be more cards there.
Maplewood Hotel
Victor Kutchin built the Maplewood Hotel on land he bought from his in-laws, the Sherwood Family.
Northern Lights Lodge
The Northern Lights Lodge was located on South Street behind the Norton’s Boat Landing on the site that now contains the Bayside Condominiums.
The first owners of the Lodge were George Clark and J.R. Brooks. In the early 1900’s Clark and Brooks began to take in borders. The James Baird Family bought the property in 1911. They remodeled the site into a summer home. The Biard’s sold the house to the Otto Christianson family in 1915 and they used it as a lodge to accommodate summer visitors and tourists. Women’s clubs and many card parties were held at the Northern Lights Lodge. By the early 1970’s, this old building and many other buildings in the area, were torn down by the Norton Bay Corporation.
Oakwood Resort
The Oakwood Hotel was the first summer resort west of the Niagara Falls.
Follow this link for images of the Oakwood
Pleasant Point Hotel
Pleasant Point Hotel was built in 1880
Point Comfort / The Lion Manor / Angel Inn
This distinctive Greek Revival Home rests on land that was originally part of the 1600 acres purchased by John & William Sherwood. The lot was sold to Victor Kutchin and his wife, Hattie Sherwood in 1879. It remained undeveloped until 1909 when this lot was sold to Frank & Emma Sullivan. The Sullivan built one of the larger houses on the lake at that time. They named it Point Comfort. Today the house operates as a bed & breakfast under the name Angel Inn Bed & Breakfast.
GL Memories II p189
Princeton Cottages
The Princeton Cottages were located along the north shore, east of Beyer’s Cove.
Sherwood Forest Hotel
Here is the Sherwood Forest cards
Spring Grove Hotel
Mrs. Derrick J. Loomis was one lady that many remember that had a cottage on Green Lake. Her husband owned a lumber company in Waupun. After her husband passed away, she owned this unique cottage on Forest Avenue near Norton’s Restaurant.
I do not think that it was ever used as a hotel or guest house.
Heritage History of Green Lake p397
