Mud Bay Quarry Company / Toft Point
Gallery
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Mud Bay Quarry Dock and Schooner Ebenezer site plan
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Quarry at Toft Point
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Lime Kiln at Toft Point
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Toft Point complex layout, overlaid on modern aerial imagery
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Piles of rock and quarry at Toft Point
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Large pile of rock at Toft Point
 
Details
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Michigan
Trail Name: Green Bay/Door County
Year Built: 1870
Nearest Address: 7950 Ridges Road
Nearest City: Baileys Harbor
County: Door
Zip Code: 54202
Latitude: N 45° 04.703'
Longitude: W -087° 05.076'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: No
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: Yes
Dive guide?: No
Trails sign?: No
National Register?: No
Attraction
Description
The Toft Point site is located about two miles northeast of Bailey’s Harbor within the Toft Point State Natural Area on the south shore of Mud Bay. In 1870, the lime works firm of Buckley & Wing of Manistee, Michigan, purchased the land with the intention of quarrying the high-quality limestone from the outcrop along the shore. This stone was destined for the lime kilns of Manistee or for pier cribs along the Lake Michigan coast. Financial troubles shut the company down after a few years of operation. After the company went bankrupt, the property was put up for auction to satisfy the wage claims of Thomas Toft, the manager of the quarry. Toft bought the land and resumed quarrying at Toft Point.

Two cabins near the quarry were reserved for married workers and their families. Others commuted to work at the quarry from nearby farms and homes. One worker stayed at Toft Point during the work week and then returned to his farm on the weekends. Unmarried men lived in the main house and ate together in a lean-to kitchen. The quarrymen’s families kept a garden near the eastern shore of the point and stored food in a cave on the shore. Workers could get water straight from Lake Michigan, from a spring in the quarry floor, or from a well near the kitchen. Limestone from Mud Bay was described as high quality. Claims abounded that it burned faster and produced a higher grade of lime in the kilns. Toft eventually built his own lime kiln on the property; the ruins of that kiln still exist. Quarrying ended in 1892 at Toft Point. Stacks of stone remain on the property, ready to be hauled away by schooners and stone scows that will never arrive. In 1905, a storm destroyed the timber structure of the quarry dock.

While the quarry was still operating, Thomas Toft began purchasing acreage surrounding Toft Point. Toft did not intend to log any of this acreage. His wife, Julia, had instilled in him and their children a deep appreciation for nature. As Door County was logged, the pristine forest of Toft Point attracted more and more unwanted attention. Many offers were made to the Toft family for the lumber on their property. In 1919, Thomas Toft suffered a fatal stroke. The family blamed his death on the stress of ongoing disputes over timber. The Toft family still wanted to preserve and maintain the natural beauty of Toft Point but were under significant financial pressure. They found a solution in the burgeoning tourism industry. The Toft family rented out remaining buildings at the quarry complex, founding what became known as the Toft Point Resort. The bunk house for the single workmen was remodeled into a lodge for tourists. The resort welcomed guests for fifty years before the family sold the property to the Nature Conservancy. The property was then transferred to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and designated a State Natural Area. Today, visitors can still view remnants of the complex, including the quarry, wharf, and lime kiln.
 
Map
 
Nearby
Attractions (8)
Baileys Harbor Lighthouse (Old)
Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Cana Island Lighthouse
Christina Nilsson Buoy
Christina Nilsson Maritime Trails Marker
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Higgins Pier / Frogtown
Mud Bay Quarry Company / Toft Point
Shipwrecks (24)
Agnes Willie (1862)
Belle (1848)
Chicago
Christina Nilsson (1871)
E.P. Royce (1873)
Ebenezer (1863)
Emeline (1864)
F.J. King (1867)
Fairfield (1846)
Frank O'Connor (1892)
View 14 more
Shipwrecks (24)
Agnes Willie (1862)
Belle (1848)
Chicago
Christina Nilsson (1871)
E.P. Royce (1873)
Ebenezer (1863)
Emeline (1864)
F.J. King (1867)
Fairfield (1846)
Frank O'Connor (1892)
Free Democrat (1853)
Illinois (1848)
Janette (?)
John C. Fremont (1856)
Joseph Cochrane (1856)
Josephine Lawrence (1854)
Lewis Cass (1846)
M. Capron (1875)
M.J. Bartelme (1895)
Peoria (1854)
South Side (1867)
Two Katies (1873)
Warren (1835)
Windsor (1856)
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