The Edisen Fishery is a fishery located in Rock Harbor in the

Isle Royale National Park Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1977.

Description

The Edisen Fishery is a collection of seven buildings making up a

commercial fishery Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

.Edisen Fishery
from the state of Michigan, retrieved 8/20/09 The complex includes a single-story fish house and net house, cabins, a chicken coop,

whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

, and ancillary docks and fishing equipment. All buildings are constructed from logs covered with

tongue-and-groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together t ...

siding. Fish House: The fish house is a one-story gable roof building constructed half of horizontal logs with saddle notching, and half of frame construction with vertical flushboarding. It was constructed in 1900. Residence: The house was also built in about 1900. It is a small one-story combination horizontal log and shiplapped building, with a gable roof and on a log foundation. There are two entrances to the three-room house, with random window locations. The interior has wooden tongue-in-groove floors. Net House: The net house was constructed in 1895. It is a single-story building, built as a combination of saddle-notched, horizontal log construction on one half and a frame structure with a shed roof with horizontal planks on the other. The exterior is sheathed with tarpaper, and there is a simple plank door. "Honeymoon" Cabin: An auxiliary sleeping cabin, built in 1925 by Peter Edisen. It is a one-story, one room, frame shiplapped structure built on a log foundation with a gable roof. A simple, two-paneled door is located on one elevation, and a small window on another. Sleeping Cabin: Another sleeping cabin dates to 1895. It is a one-story building constructed of horizontal logs with saddle notching, and chinked with moss and cloth. It has a gable roof covered with asphalt. One elevation contains a vertical plank door. Chicken Coop: The chicken coop was built in 1934. It is a frame, horizontal flushboarded building with a shallow-pitched gabled roof and log foundation. It contains a plank door and several windows. Privy: The privy is of later construction, and is a frame building with horizontal plank walls and a shed roof sheathed with asphalt shingles. A vertical plank door is in one elevation.

History

In the 1880s, the fishing industry around Isle Royale was booming due to the relative ease of shipping goods via refrigerated rail cars. The fishing population was composed primarily of Scandinavians fishing at Isle Royale in the April–November months, and returning to their homes on shore during the winter. Two such fishermen, a Mr. Mattson and Mr. Anderson, established this fishery, building a log cabin and net house in 1895, and a main residence and fish house in 1900. The buildings were constructed using easily available local materials and built using strictly functional designs. In 1905, Mike Johnson purchased this fishery. In 1916, Peter and Laura Edisen, Johnson's daughter and son-in-law, began fishing here. The fishery was in fact named for Pete Edisen, one of the last commercial fishermen on

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

.National Geographic Society (2009).
''National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 6th Ed.''
p. 83. National Geographic Books. The Johnsons and Edisens added a sleeping cabin and chicken coop to the complex in 1925 and 1934, respectively. The Edisens lived in the net house until 1951, when they moved into the main residence and the net house was converted back to its original use. As of 2009, the fishery is still operational and open to the public.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Keweenaw County, Michigan Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan 1894 establishments in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Keweenaw County Buildings and structures in Keweenaw County, Michigan Tourist attractions in Keweenaw County, Michigan Isle Royale National Register of Historic Places in Isle Royale National Park