The Story of Turtle Point outpost
THE NAME
Turtle Point Outpost is a 4 1/2 acre piece of paradise in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. It's not just paradise for humans, but also for many many turtles that lay their eggs each spring on the property. From painted turtles to snapping turtles, their instincts draw them back to this location year after year to start the next generation. We are lucky to share our space with them, and felt it only fitting to name the property and cabins we're sharing with you after them. If you're here early in the season, you may get to experience this unique happening and we ask that you give the turtles of Turtle Point Outpost all the space they need to safely unload their precious cargo.
THE HISTORY
As recent owners of the property that is now Turtle Point Outpost, we are still discovering the history of this amazing place. We know the story starts in the 1940s when the lodge and cabins were first built. At that time it was known as Karr's Lodge. A neighbor of ours on Grant Lake was gracious enough to give us the business card he had kept from this original resort. Sometime before 1954, the owners and name of the lodge changed. It was re-named The Flambeau Outpost Resort and the owners last name was Wolffe. The owners of The Flambeau Outpost not only shared the cabins, but also the 8 (yes 8!) bedrooms in the main lodge with guests. In addition they also operated the bar and provided meal services to their guests as well. On their advertisements they shared that they would even pick up their guests from the train depot in Mercer, WI. We're pretty certain that our amazing place was run as The Flambeau Outpost at least until 1963. From there, the history we have falls off for a period of time (we clearly have more research to do!). We've heard that at some point, the quaint cabins fell into disrepair. We took ownership from the O'Tools, and we do know that they not only rented the cozy cabins in the early 2000s but also put a lot of work and effort into bringing the property back to life. We're excited to share this special place with all of you and give you the opportunity to step back in time and enjoy the serenity of the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
Moose track near Turtle Point Outpost in the northwoods of Wisconsin.
Karr's Lodge Business Card, it was the original name of Turtle Point Outpost.
Turtle Point Outpost lake cabins in the northwoods of Wisconsin.
Front of the Turtle Point Outpost lodge after a northwoods Wisconsin snowstorm.
A puffy white cloud day on the dock on Grant Lake at Turtle Point Outpost.
The Flambeau Outpost lodging receipt, which was a previous name of Turtle Point Outpost.
Northwoods Wisconsin Snapping Turtle laying her eggs at Turtle Point Outpost.
About TJ & EB
It was a happy accident that we ended up here. Late in 2015, my cousin and his wife purchased a great new home in Montreal, WI which is about 30 minutes north of here. Being the good and nosey cousin, I went out to the Real Estate website to check out their new house - - it is beautiful! After that, I just started paging through the listings in the area to see what was out there. My scroll immediately stopped when I saw what is now Turtle Point Outpost; I had to click in and see more. I immediately fell in love with the house, the cabins, the lake, the location, everything about it was magical and I showed it to my husband TJ. He too was captivated. We chatted a bit about it that night, but I couldn't stop thinking about it in the coming days. A couple of days later, TJ said to me: "I think I'm about 75% on buying that property in Mercer!". Well, that's all I needed to hear! First, we needed to insure it wasn't too good to be true - - so we engaged a good friend of ours as our Realtor and started asking questions. Everything came back positive. Then, we had to go see it - - maybe it wasn't everything it looked to be in the pictures. We made the 4 1/2 hour drive from Minneapolis to tour the property and the minute we stepped inside, we just knew. From there everything just fell into place. It was clear it was meant to be. We picked up our life and moved from Minneapolis, MN to our own little paradise in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Turtle Point Outpost has quickly become an inviting and comfortable gathering place for our families and friends - - Family 4th of July Celebrations, New Years' Eve Celebrations and even more. We're excited to share a bit of this paradise with you.
A little about us specifically.....
TJ is an accomplished software engineer that works remotely for a FinTech company out of New York City. He is an Iowan by birth, but has embraced all things Northern Wisconsin from skiing, to ice fishing, to ATVing, fishing, hiking and all things in between. After he's done building awesome technology for the day, you can usually find him out on the lake - - Ice Fishing in the winter or fishing from his kayak in the summer. He's an avid Iowa Hawkeyes and Seattle Seahawks fan in the land of the Packers and Badgers. TJ has become a bit of a northwoods lumberjack and has learned to fell trees, split logs and build AWESOME fires. He is always busy doing something to insure Turtle Point Outpost is at it's best.
I (EB) am also a technology professional. I have worked for multiple fortune 500 companies building teams and driving Agile & Cloud transformations. In addition to running Turtle Point Outpost with TJ's help, I'm currently an independent IT Consultant focused on helping companies, teams and individuals reach their potential. I also have deep roots in this area, so in a way I have come home. Though I grew up in Minneapolis, my family is from this area. My Dad and his parents are from the Ironwood / Bessemer area and my Mom and her parents are from the Hurley area. My maternal grandfather built a hunting camp from the trees on his 40 acre plot of land just north of Turtle Point Outpost and I grew up spending time and creating memories that shaped me in that camp in the winter. I also love all things outdoors in Northern Wisconsin and am an avid Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers fan (of course!!!).
When you visit Turtle Point Outpost you will also meet the beautiful dogs of Turtle Point Outpost; Eleanor the Borzoi, Birdie the Scottish Deerhound and Mylo the Borzoi. They are nothing short of friendly, but be careful if you pet them because they will lean on you to insure you don't stop!
We are all looking forward to sharing our Northern Wisconsin paradise with you at Turtle Point Outpost.