Hika Bay Tavern

History is more than old dates, century old buildings, and dusty artifacts.  It is a set of clues and mysteries waiting to be uncovered and brought to life.  It’s the search for answers that keeps us riffling through century old documents and yellow tinted photos.   

I found manila archival folders and old photos scattered across my desk this week.  In combing through our archives, I ran across a photo that captured a scene from this county’s early days of a group of people gathered outside what looked to be a boarding house.  Where was this building?  Is it still standing? I went to our archives for answers.

After checking our files and pulling out anything that seemed to be related to the photo, I found the answers I had set out to learn.  I found that the photo, pictured here, was from the late 1800s and the building was the Union House in Hika (also known as Centerville), located along the shore of Lake Michigan south of Manitowoc. 

Now called the Hika Bay Tavern, the building was bought by Hugo Schurrer in 1899.  Schurrer immigrated to America in 1885 from Germany at the age of 18.  He was involved in the banking profession in his homeland but upon settling in the Cleveland area, Schurrer began to work for the Lake Shore Railway, earning eighty cents a day.  He then decided to go into a different occupation and went to work in a tavern in the nearby community of St. Wendel.  Presumably one thing led to another and four years later Hugo Schurrer was the proud owner of the Union House tavern and boarding house in Hika. 

Originally built about 1850 as a boarding house and tavern for sailors coming through Hika, under Schurrer’s ownership the Union House building had nine rooms for rent upstairs with three more downstairs, a dance hall, and for some time a barbershop.  All you can eat meals were fifty cents.

The building continued to serve visitors with hospitality and food until a food shortage during World War II forced Schurrer to discontinue all operations except for his tavern business. 

Historical Society Bus Tour to Hika Bay Tavern, 2011

According to Dr. Louis Falge in his book "History of Manitowoc County Wisconsin" (1911-1912), Schurrer was a highly respected member of the community.  In addition to running his tavern, Schurrer could also be found around the town in one of his many other roles – for a time he was a mail carrier, town treasurer, town constable, and a member of the school board.

When Hugo Schurrer passed away in 1961, he was the oldest Cleveland resident as well as the oldest tavern license holder in Wisconsin.  The tavern remained in the family for another decade until it was sold.  Local residents claim the Hika Bay Tavern is the oldest continuously licensed tavern in Wisconsin.