The Hedeen Orchard in Liberty Grove in Door County is now listed on the State Register of Historic Places. (Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society)
LIBERTY GROVE (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Door County orchard is now listed on the State Register of Historic Places.
The Hedeen Orchard is located immediately northeast of the village of Sister Bay and is representative of the Door County Cherry Boom.
In the early twentieth century, the Hedeen family transformed a small-scale dairy farm into a mid-sized commercial cherry orchard. They planted cherry trees after acquiring the property, and the land became productive in the late 1920s when the family advertised for pickers and flourished until the 1960s.
In response to labor shortages during and after World War II, the Hedeen Orchard utilized Mexican workers and families of Tejano migrant workers to pick cherries each summer. The orchard’s reliance on Tejano migrant workers continued through the early 1960s as Door County’s cherry industry became heavily dependent on the labor provided by these families.
Character-defining features of the property include its collection of wood-frame vernacular and utilitarian buildings that convey its function as a working orchard dependent upon migrant labor. Graffiti created by Tejano migrant workers in the mid-twentieth century remains on the interior walls of three buildings, along with bunk beds, ladders, signs, and pails.
The orchard is now part of a private residence.
The State Register is Wisconsin’s official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin’s heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.
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