“Our Pier”
Our Pier is now open to the public!
Enjoy fishing from the pier or use the sloped access for ice fishing and kayaking.
Our Pier is available for your enjoyment and is a “leave no trace” park. Enjoy the sun, shade, lake breeze, and water front - it’s a beautiful place for photos. We have a bike rack and space to park a dozen cars. Please plan ahead as we do not have restrooms or garbage receptacles available at this time.
Are you a teacher that would like to coordinate a field trip to study the water and shoreline environment? We are a Water Utility and could be available to assist exploring water sciences. Note: the site has parking space for buses.
We are always seeking volunteers to provide both landscaping seasonal cleanup and minor maintenance assistance. If you would like to help your community or are looking for service hours, such as for an eagle scout project, please feel free to contact our office at: 920-426-0335.
If you like Our Pier, you should also check out Our Park located at 3934 Reighmoor Rd (Cty FF), just north of Highway 21 in the Town of Omro.
Parcel History & Grant Funding: The Department of Transportation (DOT) donated a parcel of land to the District with about 90 feet of lake access located on Egg Harbor Lane between Interstate 41 and Skipper Buds. We obtained a grant through the National Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) that we used to install a 100’ long public pier with a simple sloping kayak launch in 2021. Click here for the Restoration Project Idea Form we submitted to NRDA in September 2019.
Use of this park is 100% at your own risk.
Finished Project: Completed Pier, Kayak Launch, & Pathway to the Lake
Finished parking lot and pathway to the lake
Paved parking lot and pathway to the lake
Construction of the pier, and paving of the parking lot and pathway to the lake
During paving and before pictures
A Brief History of the Site of “Our Pier”
Natives of the Ho Chunk (Winnebago) tribe understood the beauty and richness of this area for millennia. Even before Wisconsin became a state in 1848, European settlers discovered the incredible natural resources of this region and stayed to make their homes here as well.
In 1849, President Zachary Taylor signed a document releasing some Wisconsin land, thereby making some of the land available for purchase for homesteads. Not long after, in 1851, the state of Wisconsin sold a vast tract of land in what is now the Town of Algoma to Joseph Stonier. Stonier sold smaller parcels to many individuals who hoped to farm and do business here.
“Our Pier” park was part of a parcel then sold in 1866 to E.B Norton, who then sold it to C.S Allen in 1879. In 1929, Allen then sold the property to August and Lydia Abraham, for whom Abraham Lane is named. August and Lydia farmed the land which, at the time, included land as far East as the Oshkosh Corporation Headquarters property, as far South as the southern edge of nearby Highway 21, as far West as Kewaunee Street, and to the North, to what is now the first span of the Highway 41, Butte des Morts Bridge. At that time, water levels were much lower, and marsh hay and grasses were harvested for use on the farm. The Abraham farm retained most of that area, selling parcels over many years to various individuals and businesses. Descendants of August and Lydia Abraham, Michael, Alan, and Lynn owned other parcels of the original farm property until between 2011 and 2013.
The farmstead had been sold by the Abraham family in 1959 to Barton and Elda Steinert. Barton’s mother, Theresa (Abraham) Steinert, was a sister of August Abraham, thus that piece of the property also remained in the family. Bart and Elda lived in the Abraham family farmhouse with their children, Bart Jr., David, Diana, and Paul. Bart and Elda retained ownership of the original farmstead parcel into the 1980s.
In 1964, Edward and Teresa (Piller) Steinert, Barton’s brother and his wife, bought the lakefront parcel, the site of “Our Pier,” of about 20 acres from Lydia Abraham. All but about five acres was under water at the time. Over many years, the mostly marsh and bog filled property was filled in and the lake frontage used for recreation by both families. In 1979, Edward and Teresa (Ed and Girlie) built a retirement home on the spot adjacent to what is now the future pavilion site at “Our Pier.” In 1995, Edward Steinert Sr. then sold the property to his son and daughter in law, Edward Jr. and Gail (Holsworth) Steinert, who retained ownership until 2011, when the state of Wisconsin bought the property for a highway expansion project on the Highway 41, Butte des Morts Bridge.
Since its development by the Steinerts, starting in 1964, the “Our Pier” property was a site of numerous and frequent family gatherings and was a welcoming, happy place for a wide array of family and friends. It seems fitting then, that this spot, once part of a public land, is now again open for the public to enjoy.
From millenia past on to present times, this area, this spot, has been loved and enjoyed by all who have found it. Since the property’s procurement by the Algoma Sanitary District in 2018 and into the future as “Our Pier,” the abundance of this natural place will remain for all to enjoy.