History of the White Gull Inn

It could be a story from the nineteen seventies or eighties: a middle aged professional gives up his lucrative practice and moves to a remote village to become an innkeeper. Except that it happened in 1896.

In the 1890’s, Fish Creek, on Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula, was a bustling little town that was changing from a fishing community to a summer tourist village. It lacked electricity, telephone and automobiles, and overland access was limited to a rough and tumble stage ride from Sturgeon Bay. However, visitors so appreciated the cool air and peaceful beauty that they were willing to make the trip each summer on the Goodrich Steam Line from cities around Lake Michigan. One resort, already established, was operated by Asa Thorp, founder of the hamlet.

Enter Dr. Herman Welcker, German born and educated, who at the age of 45, had emigrated to Milwaukee with his wife and daughter. In just two years, Welcker, a virologist, had apparently established an excellent reputation and practice in his adopted city. Then, on a visit to Fish Creek, his life and career would take another twist. Falling in love with the tiny village, Welcker may have realized that if he was going to support his family in Fish Creek, he would have to create a business. He purchased land from Asa Thorp and constructed what is now the White Gull Inn, naming it after his wife, Henriette.

Welcker surrounded his inn with cottages, and purchased more land around the village, including dock space, a farm to produce food for the inn and property which would later become Welcker’s Point in Peninsula State Park. His most unusual project was moving the Lumberman’s Hotel from Marinette, Wisconsin, to Fish Creek, in 1907. The hotel (now known as the Whistling Swan) must have been dismantled before being moved the approximately eighteen miles across the frozen waters of Green Bay. Locating his new hotel one block east of the Henriette, Welcker named it Welcker’s Casino, because of the card and game tables he provided for men in the basement.

Across the street from the Casino, Dr. Welcker constructed a kitchen and dining hall, where all his guests enjoyed three hearty meals a day. He filled his inns and twelve cottages with only the finest of furnishings - walnut dressers with marble tops, oak and iron beds and a baby grand piano, at which Henriette entertained the guests. All had to be shipped in by steamer from cities as far away as Cincinnati.

What was it like to be a guest of Dr. Welcker? Fish Creek historian Ann Thorp, who researched "Herr Doktor," describes him as "strict disciplinarian, health and fitness enthusiast, gourmet, lover of art, music and nature; vigorous, stubborn, domineering, frugal, snobbish…"

"The Doctor presided over his exclusive realm with great pride and a firm hand. An early guest once saw his portly, bearded figure standing on the porch of the Casino, gazing over his resort, and announcing ‘Das ist alles mein!’ (This is all mine!)

"His early guests were often German friends from Milwaukee, people of ‘refinement’, perhaps hand-chosen by Welcker. They arrived by steamer, a rigorous trip then, and stayed for the season. The doctor reserved the right to refuse rooms on whatever basis he chose: attire, personality, or attitude. One story claims that he turned away a young member of the Pabst family and his party because of their racy and outlandish clothes and rather forward manner.

"He designed his program in the manner of European health spas of that era. He believed in exercise, hearty meals, rest, and cultural stimulation. A day’s schedule might have begun with a hike along the shore to Ephraim, stopping at one of the little rest areas named for trees in the vicinity; there was a ‘Birch Bench’, a ‘Balsam Bench’, and others, with water fountains nearby. After returning by boat, perhaps the ‘Thistle’, the large noon meal was announced by a big iron bell, and everyone was required to be on time. The table was laden with huge platters of roast pork or Wiener Schnitzel, potatoes, noodles, baked cabbage and other vegetables, smoked fish, fresh bread and rich desserts such as a three-layer cherry kuchen liberally crowned with whipped cream.

"A two-hour ‘silent’ period followed and was strictly enforced. Herr Doktor strode through cottages and hallways shaking a small hand bell, calling ‘Ruhe, Ruhe!’ (Quiet, quiet!)

"Swimming was a favorite pastime and exercise for the Doctor and his wife Henriette, and guests were encouraged to join them for an afternoon dip at the Bathing Beach (now the Town Beach). Bathing costumes were made of dark wool; a two piece suit for men, knee length (one rather imperious man was seen entering the water with his Phi Beta Kappa pin fastened to his bathing suit.) Women wore voluminous skirts and bloomers and often a white hat pinned to their hair, creating a merry picture of white dots floating and bobbing on the water.

"After another hearty meal the evenings were devoted to music, games, and socializing at the Casino. Women had a sewing room and a card room for bridge or Mah Jong. Game and billiard tables were set up in the basement for the men, and there were Ping-Pong tables and other amusements for children. There were ice boxes stocked with beer and other beverages, available on an honor system.

"Plays were presented starring some of the guests or visiting actors, and concerts performed by professional musicians from Chicago and Milwaukee. The great opera singer Madame Schumann-Heinck once sang at the Casino. The great hall was hung with paintings by famous artists. Guests sometimes went to the Town Hall to see the flickery movies of that time.

"At ten o’clock sharp the day was over and all the kerosene lamps were to be extinguished. Herr Doktor patrolled the walks and would shout up to a lighted window, "Abdrehen!’ (Turn it off!)

"Welcker had his office in his home, across from the Casino. Guests went there to pay their weekly bill and were amazed at his collection of snake skins, butterflies, antlers, a boar’s heard, stuffed fish, and stacks of books and sheet music.

"Evidently he gave up his medical practice when he established his resort, but he would occasionally prescribe for a mild illness. He had once studied virology, and when a small pox epidemic threatened the village, he undertook the task of manufacturing a vaccine. At the time he didn’t have the breed of cattle necessary for the production of the vaccine. Instead, he used a local boy, Merle Thorp, then about eleven years old. Merle was vaccinated over and over, and the Doctor used his blood to make vaccine for the rest of ‘der kinder’ in the town.

"Throughout the warm summer days the figure of Herr Doktor prevailed, a sometimes romantic image. There is an old photo of him on a boat trip to Chambers Island, with a lovely young lady on each arm, his bright eyes showing his pleasure and admiration. His old-world sentimentality was evident when he named the cottages for the women in his life - the Henriette, the Matilda, the Hermine, the Tina, the Minna, and the Else."

After Henriette’s death in 1920 and Herman’s in 1924, Welcker’s Resort was managed by a niece, Martha Fahr, until her death in 1939. Then Welcker’s domain was split up, with his inns and other properties going to various owners.

The Henriette went through a succession of owners and several name changes, including Sunset Beach Guest Home and Lakewood Lodge. During the nineteen fifties and sixties, many of Door County’s historic inns were either torn down or remodeled beyond recognition to accommodate the public’s changing tastes in travel. Perhaps the Henriette would eventually have suffered the same fate had it not been purchased, in 1959, by a young couple from Madison.

Andy Redmann was a talented artist who could see beyond the aging facade. He and his wife Elsie changed the name to the White Gull Inn and set out to create their version of a New England style hostelry. The Redmanns refinished the pine floors in the bedrooms, papered the walls with colorful prints, refinished much of the original furniture and acquired more antiques. Andy’s own watercolors were featured throughout the inn and cottages.

Andy turned his attention to the 1940’s era dining room, which had been added after Welcker’s Resort had been split up. A warm, Early American look emerged with the addition of the two-way fireplace, wainscoted walls, small paned windows and rough-sawn hemlock ceiling. As resourceful as he was artistic, Andy fashioned the colonial-style chandeliers out of funnels, copper tubing and muffin tins, soldered together and spray-painted black.

Elsie took over the kitchen, where for most of the year she did all the cooking and baking by herself. One of her creations was the Early American Buffet, which consisted of roast turkey and ham, baked beans, corn bread and homemade butter, churned by the young staff in the dining room.

The most popular meal started by the Redmanns, and one the inn is famous for today, is the traditional Door County fish boil. Until the 1950’s, the meal, consisting of boiled fresh whitefish or lake trout, boiled red potatoes, rye bread and cherry pie, had enjoyed popularity in backyard and church picnics, but had not been discovered by the general public. In back of the inn, in the shade of the century old maple trees, Andy created a flagstone patio surrounded by a cedar hedge. Tables and chairs were set up for guests to watch the catch of the day prepared before them over an open fire. Andy boiled the fish, Elsie prepared the breads and pies, and an accordion player entertained the guests before and during their meal. That first year, the fish boil was held one night a week. Today, the fish boil is served four evenings a week, and guests make reservations weeks ahead, especially in summer.

The Redmanns owned the inn for five years. Afterwards they bought an old cherry orchard on the Fish Creek bluff, where they eventually established the Settlement Courtyard Inn and Shops complex.

The White Gull then underwent two more ownership changes. In 1972, Jan and Andy Coulson, the current owners, arrived, beginning an era that has lasted longer than any other owner.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, Andy had worked as a reporter for 18 months before deciding to emigrate to Australia. A year and a half later, after working his way around that country, he was living in Perisher Valley in the Snowy Mountains, employed as a surveyor’s assistant. He liked Australia and might still be there today, had he not received a telegram from an old college friend in May of 1972. The White Gull Inn was for sale. The friend and three others were looking for a fifth partner to form a partnership. A week later, Andy was in Fish Creek, learning the business and trying to ready the inn for a Memorial Day weekend opening. Andy’s bartending experience in Australia was apparently enough for his partners, as he was voted manager.

With little experience and only a week to open the shuttered resort, the partners managed to clean the rooms and cottages, hire a staff and open on time. Andy recalls, "we were lucky to be as young and as inexperienced as we were, or we might not have had the courage to proceed. In 1972, Americans outside of New England had never heard of country inns, and bed and breakfast was a concept most people identified with Europe. The White Gull was a relic of a bygone era at a time when new motels and condominiums were the norm.

"One of the first people I hired was 18-year-old Jan Lindsley, who had just graduated from high school in Green Bay, and moved to Door County. Growing up in a family as one of nine children probably prepared Jan for her future in innkeeping as much as anything.

"Those early years were hard work, but a lot of fun too. We tried to make up for our lack of capital and experience with enthusiasm, and somehow, what began as a lark, became a labor of love. We decided to restore rather than replace and look for customers who shared our love of tradition.

"An innkeeper must be able to wear many hats, and in the early years Jan worked in nearly every position at the inn, including housekeeping, waitressing, hostessing, cooking and baking. I was usually at the front desk, but when I had a chance, I’d be out on the patio helping Masterboiler Russ Ostrand at the inn’s traditional Door County fish boil and sometimes accompanying his accordion playing with my five-string banjo."

Jan and Andy Coulson were married in 1975. By the time they came to the White Gull in 1972, the inn’s kitchen had fallen into disrepair, and the only meal remaining was the fish boil. As soon as they could, they revived the breakfasts, lunches and the Early American Buffets. With no recipes from the buffet, the young innkeepers visited former innkeepers Andy and Elsie Redmann, who still lived in Fish Creek, and who provided the young couple with an old menu. Drawing on her family cooking experience and recipes gleaned from historic cookbooks and cooking magazines, Jan recreated the Early American Buffet, eventually developing many of her own recipes, such as Corn and Clam Pie. Eventually the Coulsons changed the buffets to Candlelight Dinners, served from the menu, and they are now served on the evenings where there is not a fish boil. The Candlelight Dinners have grown to be as popular as the Door County fish boils.

The main building and cottages have been renovated, remodeled and redecorated several times since 1972. Eventually, all received new foundations, plumbing, wiring and were fully insulated for winter use. Jan redecorated the rooms and cottages with coordinating prints and fabrics, utilizing many of the original antiques as well as others the Coulsons found at antique stores throughout Wisconsin. Slowly, the inn’s clientele began to grow, and the season grew from three months to six and eventually twelve. In 1977, a man named Norman Simpson came to visit. He was the author of a book called Country Inns and Back Roads, and according to him, there were other inns like the White Gull out there, and a growing number of people who liked to visit them. The Coulsons accepted his invitation to be in his book, and within a few years the inn was featured in dozens of country inn and bed and breakfast guides, travel books, newspapers, magazines and cable travel and cooking programs.

Notable expansions of the White Gull since 1972 have been the expansion of the dining room in 1979, and the acquisition of two cottages and two staff houses in Fish Creek. After becoming the sole owners of the inn in the early 1980’s, the Coulsons purchased a large home about a block from the inn. Built by the first grocer of Fish Creek, the Lundberg House is now a four bedroom guest house for the inn.

In October of 1985, the Coulsons interest in historic Fish Creek led them to purchase the original Welcker’s Casino building, a block from the White Gull Inn on Main Street. The Casino had also undergone a succession of different names and owners after Welcker’s death. After six months of extensive renovation and redecorating, the Casino reopened the following spring as the Whistling Swan Inn, a seven-room bed and breakfast. In what once had been the music room where the Welcker’s guests enjoyed live concerts, Jan opened the elegant Whistling Swan Shop, featuring women’s and girls’ clothing and gifts.

For ten years, Andy continued to manage the White Gull while Jan held fort at the Whistling Swan. In 1996, the Whistling Swan was sold to Jim and Laurie Roberts, and Jan rejoined Andy at the White Gull. The Coulsons have three daughters, Meredith, Emilie and Hannah, all of whom have worked at the inn during school breaks.

Shortly after New Year’s Day, 2000, the Coulsons began what became their largest expansion of the inn. Down came the Beachcomber, a small saltbox cottage next to the main inn, and in its place was built the Welcker House, consisting of four luxury suites, all with fireplaces, private decks and double whirlpools. The Welcker House was designed and constructed to match the existing historic buildings, with many added architectural details. Showcased is an all-season, combination porch and entryway, featuring small-paned windows, and leading to the open, cherry-railed staircase. The best compliment to the design of the new building, according to the Coulsons, is that new guests of the inn think it has always been a part of the property.

Thirty years in the inn business is longer than the original owners, and longer than most people spend in one job. "By now, innkeeping is in our blood and it is hard to imagine being anything but the keepers of the White Gull," says Andy. "We continue to be in awe of a lifestyle that is anything but boring. Our days take us from one century to another, from winding the 200-year-old grandfather clock in the lobby to designing and updating the White Gull website on the Internet. Where else, we often ask ourselves, would we get to wear the hats of cook, hotelier, decorator, restorer, landscaper, housekeeper, maintenance person, fish boiler - the list never ends?

"The greatest reward of running the White Gull, however, has been the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and interesting people. A building, after all, is just stone, mortar, wood and plaster, but it is the people - those who stay in it and those who care for it - that make it come alive and provide its history. We are lucky indeed to have made so many friends during the last 25 years, and have enough memories to last a lifetime."

(reprinted from the White Gull Inn Cookbook, Copyright 1997, 2001, by Jan and Andy Coulson. All rights reserved)