Bayfield’s history has been shaped by its location on the shores of a deep natural harbor, sheltered from Lake Superior’s storms by the Apostle Islands. Lighthouses, shipwrecks, and the historic waterfront reflect the city’s maritime past, while its fresh air and spectacular setting long attracted tourists. The eastern waterfront and ferry dock traditionally served as a departure point for tourists and summer residents seeking recreation in the Apostle Islands. Ferries have carried people and freight between Bayfield and La Pointe on Madeline Island since shortly after Bayfield’s founding in 1856, beginning with the Morrin brothers’ bateau, a large flat-bottomed rowboat. Hotels were eventually built near the docks to house growing numbers of summer visitors, and some of the earliest survive, including Gruenke’s First Street Inn, originally called La Bonte House, which has accommodated guests for more than 140 years.