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C+History
History · Egg Harbor

Egg Harbor dates to 1964, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Egg Harbor was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listings are the LAKELAND (steam screw) Shipwreck and the Murphy Farms Number 1. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1970.

1964founded
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Egg Harbor began

When was Egg Harbor founded?

1964

Egg Harbor dates its founding to 1964 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 184 in 19702020 census: 1,45862 years

How historic is Egg Harbor?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia.
History grade

What drives Egg Harbor’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Egg Harbor is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Egg Harbor’s overall grade.
Founding era1964, from Wikipedia: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19406.7% of homes (±2.4) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 12 historic buildings, 77.5 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Egg Harbor’s 77.5 sits above most of its state (92% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1964.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Egg Harbor’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Egg Harbor’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Egg Harbor’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewChief Oshkosh statue: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Egg Harbor, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Egg Harbor yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Egg Harbor is a village in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 358 at the 2020 census. It is adjacent to the Town of Egg Harbor and the Town of Gibraltar on the Door Peninsula, a popular Upper Midwest vacation destination. The village was incorporated in 1964. The harbor was known to the Potawatomi as Che-bah-ye-sho-da-ning, or "ghost door".

Egg Harbor was established in 1964. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,342 to 1,458 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Egg Harbor, 1918 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1918BuiltMurphy Farms Number 1 is built
  3. 1958In the archiveChief Oshkosh statue
  4. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1964
    FoundingEgg Harbor is established
  6. 1968In the archiveRanunculus bulbosus St. Anthonys turnip
By decade

Egg Harbor, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1950s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s–1960s2 items
Chief Oshkosh statue1958Chief Oshkosh statueRanunculus bulbosus St. Anthonys turnip1968Ranunculus bulbosus St. Anthonys turnip
1970s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
LittleStrawberryIslandDoorCountyWisconsinFromEggHarbor2011LittleStrawberryIslandDoorCountyWisconsinFromEggHarborEggHarborWisconsinDowntown2WIS422011EggHarborWisconsinDowntown2WIS42AdventureIslandDoorCountyWisconsinFromEggHarbor2011AdventureIslandDoorCountyWisconsinFromEggHarborLull Abi Inn2009Lull Abi InnEggHarborWisconsinSignWIS422008EggHarborWisconsinSignWIS42Egg Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin, December 20082008Egg Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin, December 2008EggHarborWisconsin1WIS422007EggHarborWisconsin1WIS42Egg Harbor Beach Park2005Egg Harbor Beach ParkWIMap-doton-Egg Harbor2004WIMap-doton-Egg Harbor
On the map

Egg Harbor on the map, 1960 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Egg Harbor. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Egg Harbor on the 1960 USGS mapEgg Harbor on the 1981 USGS map1960Sturgeon Bay sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Egg Harbor.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Chief Oshkosh statue
Retake this viewChief Oshkosh statue, 1958

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Egg Harbor’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Egg Harbor

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
LAKELAND (steam screw) Shipwreck
LAKELAND (steam screw) ShipwreckMurphy Farms Number 1, built 1918
BuildingsSites
LAKELAND (steam screw) ShipwreckSite
All 2 listings
Murphy Farms Number 1Building · listed 2018

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Egg Harbor, census by census

0100200300400198020002020Peak: 358

Between 183 and 358 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Egg Harbor’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Egg Harbor

Nobody well known was born in Egg Harbor itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Mitchell LeisenAmerican film director · b. 1898
John McLeanAmerican athlete and coach · b. 1878
Kathleen KirkhamActress · b. 1895
A
Arthur GardnerProducer and actor from the United States · b. 1910
Tom PetriAmerican politician · b. 1940
John HubleyAmerican animation director, art director, prod… · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carlsville
Gone or out of use
Sunny Slope Runway Airportairport
1cemetery inside Egg Harbor
Saint John the Baptist

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Jacksonport2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGibraltar8 historic placesB+Gardner1 historic placeC+Peshtigo1 historic placeB−Sevastopol3 historic placesB−Baileys Harbor9 historic placesB

Questions about Egg Harbor’s history

What year was Egg Harbor founded?

In 1964, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1970 counted 184 people here.

How does Egg Harbor rank for history?

Egg Harbor is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Egg Harbor?

Two places: the LAKELAND (steam screw) Shipwreck (listed 2015) and the Murphy Farms Number 1 (2018).

How old are the homes in Egg Harbor?

7% of Egg Harbor’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1992.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.