BERNARD-HOOVER
BOATHOUSE
Madison, Wisconsin
The Bernard-Hoover Boathouse is historically significant as the last
remaining building of the commercial pleasure boat and boat livery industry in
Madison. The boathouse is a reminder of the time when residents of Madison were
more dependent on the lakes for travel and when large pleasure boats took city
residents and vacationing tourists who visited Madison on recreational outings
to resorts, which once dotted the lakeshores.
Spanning the years 1855 to 1968, the Bernard-Hoover business was both the
first and the last major commercial boating concern in Madison. Because of
Madison’s location between two large lakes, it is no surprise that Madisonians
enjoyed a variety of boating activities from the very beginnings of the town.
The great magnitude of boating operations on the lakes might be surprising,
however. Commercial operations came in three types: boat liveries (boats for
rent for pleasure and fishing), boat builders, and steamboat operators. The
steamboats were the most impressive part of Madison’s navigational history.
Several steamboat operators built pleasure parks along both lakeshores to which
they ferried Madison holiday goers. Other steamboats made the rounds to several
picnic spots, such as Schuetzen Park (gone), or served out-of-town tourists
visiting resorts such as the Lakeside Assembly (where Park is now) and
Tonyawatha Resort (which was in Monona at the end of Dean Avenue).
A majority of commercial boating activity occurred on Lake Monona, the
peaceful beauty of which appealed more to Victorian sensibilities than the
larger and wilder Lake Mendota. There were about twenty such enterprises on Lake
Monona during the period before World War II (5 boat builders, 14 liveries, and
3 steamboat operators).
Probably the most well-known launch site was Angle Worm Station, at the foot
of South Carroll Street. Other major boating operations were at South Blair
Street and South Hancock Street. All buildings and piers associated with these
operations are gone.
The boating industry lasted on Lake Monona to the early 1940s. On Lake
Mendota, the commercial boating operations centered around the street ends of
North Franklin, North Blair and North Blount Streets.
There were about 20 such enterprises on Lake Mendota during the period before
World War II (8 boat builders, 13 liveries, and 6 steamboat operators), but they
were in general much shorter-lived than their Lake Monona counterparts. The
longest-term operation was the Bernard-Hoover business at 622 East Gorham
Street. Begun in 1855, the Bernards’ business was the first major boating
concern in Madison. It incorporated all three areas of commercial activity:
livery, boat building, and steamboats, including their own pleasure park in
Woodward’s Grove.
Charles Bernard was born in Baden, Germany in 1824. He immigrated to the
United States at the age of eight with his family. Before arriving in Madison in
1853, Bernard had served as a member of the U.S. Marine Band, a ship’s carpenter
in Brooklyn, New York, a soldier in the Mexican War, and for three years as a
tailor in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He began his life in Madison as a
tailor and fisherman.
In 1855, he bought the property at 622 East Gorham Street for a fishing
station, although he still listed himself as a tailor in some later city
directories. His boating business was well established by 1875, when the city
directory listed under his name “Charles Bernard Boat Delivery, First Class
Pleasure and Fishing Boats and Fishing Material to Let, Landing Near Woolen Mill
on Fourth Lake.” In 1890, Bernard built his first steamboat, which he named
after one of his daughters. In 1893, he built the Columbia and in 1905, he
christened another steamer, the Wisconsin.
Charles Bernard died in 1907, and his son William took over the business. At
about the same time, the family bought land at Woodward’s Grove on the
northeastern shore of Lake Mendota and opened Bernard ’s Pleasure Park. The
Bernard steamers took people on holiday across the lake to the park, which
featured picnic grounds, a refreshment stand, swings, and a large dancing
pavilion.
Bernards also offered two-hour excursions around the lake. At their peak,
they operated six large pleasure boats at a time. In 1911, the original Bernard
boathouse was replaced by a spacious new building. Four years later the new
structure was destroyed by fire, but it was quickly rebuilt in the same design.
By 1940, the automobile had cut down substantially on the commercial boating
business in Madison. William Bernard sold the boathouse, boats and docks to
Berg’s Sporting Company, which operated the business for three years. In 1943,
the Bergs sold the property to Harry Hoover, who continued the business until
1968 when the City of Madison bought it as part of its plans to expand James
Madison Park. It is currently continuing its use as a boathouse as the home of
the Mendota Rowing Club.
Statement of Historical Significance
prepared by Katherine H.
Rankin
Preservation Planner, City of Madison
July 23, 1993" "The
Bernard-Hoover Boathouse is historically significant as the last remaining
building of the commercial pleasure boat and boat livery industry in Madison.
The boathouse is a reminder of the time when residents of Madison were more
dependent on the lakes for travel and when large pleasure boats took city
residents and vacationing tourists who visited Madison on recreational outings
to resorts, which once dotted the lakeshores.
