Boats
Boats & Boating on Green Lake
In Dartford’s early days, many small and large boats were built. They were strongly built to withstand the quick and vicious storms that often stirred up the deep waters of Green Lake. White man soon learned why the Native Americans feared the “Water Spirit” in its depths, why they respected the vast green waters, and why canoes were not heavily used upon Day-Cho-Lah’s Waters.
Heritage History of Green Lake p245
Table of Contents
Click on any image to view a detailed view of the card.
Sailboats
The Green Lake Yacht Club is one of the oldest in Wisconsin, organized around 1894. Already in the 1880’s there were boats on Green Lake that were racing in the International Lake Yacht Races. As early as 1895, the Green Lake Club joined the Inland Lake Yachting Association along with about nineteen other clubs. George C. Eldridge was the first commodore, serving from 1895 to 1915. In 1901, the Green Lake Yacht club hosted its first regatta of Class A and Class B boats in the Inter-Lake Yacht Association (I.L.Y.A.) Championship. The headquarters for this event was the Oakwood Hotel. The Chicago and Northwestern Railway helped by offering free transportation for the sailboats that had Certificates of Identification by Commodore Eldridge. The trophy cups offered that first year were the Oakwood Cup, The Peacock Cup and the Eldridge Cup.
Heritage History of Green Lake p298
The Green Lake Yacht Club is still very active on the lake and host events every summer. They sponsor the Green Lake Sailing School to encourage new members and introduce children to the sport of sailing.
Green Lake Yacht Club
Captain Pierce's Boat Landing
Captain Pierce operated his boat livery next to what is now the causeway connecting the village of Green Lake to Hattie Sherwood Park, on the west side of the concrete bridge. He was the captain of the ill-fated H.B. Harshaw Sailing vessel, that capsized July 4, 1873, when a tornado rolled in from the west. The H.B. Harshaw was travelling from Dartford to the Spring Grove Hotel when the winds hit.
Captain Pierce’s Boat Livery is to the left(west) of the concrete bridge
The buildings to the right of the road are Captain Pierce’s Boat Livery.
Norton Brothers Boats & Guide Service
John Wilson Norton, the father of Joe, Jim, John and Steve, built the family home on west Hill Street in Dartford in 1880. John W. Norton used the money he received from capturing Jefferson Davis to pay for it. When Jefferson Davis had graduated from West Point, he was assigned to Fort Winnebago at Portage. While he was there, he found the time to travel to Green Lake to go fishing on numerous occasions, and he had John W. Norton as his guide. That was how John W. Norton recognized Jefferson Davis disguised as a woman, and he was awarded the $500 reward for capturing the Confederate President.
About 1886, the Norton family started their boat works. They made most of the boats that they used for fishing and guiding at first, then they started acquiring larger launches. The largest on the lake at that time was the “Queen of the Lake”. The original Queen made daily trips around the lake until about 1929, when it was scuttled, and a newer metal Queen was built later. The “J” Norton was another Norton boat that was named after the three Norton brothers, Joe, Jim & John.
