Welcome to Heritage Village! One of the most important things this site offers is the opportunity for visitors of all ages to have immersive educational experiences. Knowing this, it will come as no surprise that the desire for hands-on learning is at the heart of the origin story of this place.

In 1991, a group of middle and high school students from Sturgeon Bay had a transformative experience at a living history mining camp in upper Michigan. When they returned to Door County, they knew that their community needed something similar, and presented their idea for an interpretive village representing the time period of 1880-1910, or what many consider the “founding” of most peninsula towns by White settlers.

The Door County Historical Society leased a portion of land from Crossroads at Big Creek, and christened the newly formed village by moving its first historic building from Jacksonport, the Kohl Fish House, to the grounds. Over the past thirty years the Village has grown to include many other vital elements of a small settlement in Door County, like a school, general store, church, and family.