Cornucopia, Wisconsin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cornucopia is an unincorporated village in the township of Bell in northern Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on Lake Superior at the northern end of the Bayfield Peninsula, on Highway 13. The town borders the lake at Siskiwit Bay, between Roman's Point and Mawikwe (formerly Squaw) Point. Although the official limits include only the central village, most people living in the town of Bell with Cornucopia mailing addresses consider themselves residents of Cornucopia.
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[edit] History and Economy
The Ojibwe used the Siskiwit Bay area as a temporary camp and a as stopover on the way to La Pointe. "Siskiwit" comes from an Ojibwe word for a subspecies of Lake trout known in English as a "Fat Trout." A historical marker at the Cornucopia beach tells of the Tragedy of the Siskiwit, an Ojibwe battle with a band of Meskwaki on that location that lead to several deaths and the kidnapping of a chief's son.
The first white settlers in the Siskiwit Bay area were loggers who came at the close of the 19th century. Remnants of this period include abandoned railroad pilings in Siskwit Lake and a legend of stolen gold on Gold Hill at the southeastern edge of the village.
The first farmers were "Russians" who came to the Town of Bell from the Austrian Empire via Chicago. The Russians who settled Cornucopia were not Great Russians but rather Carpatho-Russians or Rusyns, an ethnic group found in the mountainous borderlands of Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, and, Romania. Rusyn surnames found in Cornucopia include Kaseno, Celinsky, Sveda, Roman, and Pristash.
Commercial fishing for Lake Trout, Whitefish, and Freshwater Herring has traditionally operated out of Cornucopia's harbor. The Jones, Ehlers, Johnson, and Ivanow families kept the fishing industry going during the 20th century. Today only the Halvorson family engages in commercial fishing out of Cornucopia.
In 1903, T.J. Stevenson and Albert Wescott, two land speculators from Iowa established a post office and gave the village the name "Cornucopia" for its abundance of resources. The centennial celebration in 2003 recognized this event.
After World War II, Cornucopia's natural beauty led tourism to replace logging, farming, and fishing as the dominant industry of the community. Today, most working-age residents are engaged in trades, service, or seasonal employment.
[edit] Landmarks and Businesses
Lumberman Walter Flieth and fisherman Herman Ehlers started the Flieth-Ehlers Mercantile Company in 1915. Now known as Ehlers' General Store, it has been the social and commercial center of the community since its beginnings. Today, the store is operated by Ehlers' son Harold and grandson Mark.
The Bell Town Hall, a large brick building in the center of the village, was a school until the 1970s. Today children from Cornucopia go to school in Port Wing, Wisconsin, 15 miles to the west. The baseball diamond was the home field of the Cornucopia Little League Baseball team during its various incarnations, the two most recent of these being in the 1990s under coach Ritchard Dunn. Demographic changes in recent decades leading to fewer children in the area have led to the decline of the town hall as a center of civic activity.
Corncopia has a harbor where the Siskiwit River meets Lake Superior. Today, two marinas, one private and one municipal, operate out of Cornucopia. There is also an extensive sand swimming beach. Numerous gift shops and lodging places line the harbor.
A popular restaurant for both locals and tourists alike is The Village Inn on the junction of Cty. Hwy. C and Hwy 13. The "Village" features food prepared by regionally famous chef and limerick writer Harold "Tyke" Peltonen.
[edit] Annual Events
Cornucopia Day takes place every year on the second Saturday in August. The event, put on for the benefit of the volunteer fire department, includes a parade, flea market, and street dance.
The Annual Fish Fry takes place on the Sunday closest to July 4.
Cribbage League is a five-week cribbage contest between the people of Cornucopia and the nearby community of Red Cliff, Wisconsin taking place every January and February.
