Eagle River Downtown Historic District Listed in the State Register of Historic Places

EAGLE RIVER, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Eagle River Historic District in the city of Eagle River (Vilas County) on the State Register of Historic Places. The district is centered along South Railroad Street and East Wall Street, an area first developed in the 1880s. State Historic Preservation Office Daina Penkiunas presented a certificate to Karen Margelofsky, Karen Sailer, Nancy Schuller, Traci Schnell and Joe Lawniczak.

The downtown retail area has long served as the primary commercial/retail district for both year-round residents and seasonal tourists. Eagle River was established as a lumbering town and soon transitioned to accommodate summer tourists that flocked to the area—first by train and then by automobile—to enjoy the area’s natural beauty and opportunities for fishing, hunting and boating. While winter sports were introduced in the 1920s, they did not truly gain widespread popularity until the 1950s and later.

Despite devastating fires that continually reshaped the downtown district’s building landscape and the construction of two shopping malls on the outskirts of the community, the downtown persevered. In the 1970s, to both maintain and reinvigorate the downtown retail district’s tourist appeal, the city “re-invented” itself by adopting a city-wide “Northwoods Rustic” theme for the construction and remodeling of its buildings.

The State Register is Wisconsin's official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin's heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2816

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. The Wisconsin Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting the Wisconsin Historical Society and administers the membership program. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.