A fishery, a family, and a community preserving both.
West Shore Fishing Museum stands on the former homestead and fishery of Charles and Aurora Bailey, preserving fishing life on the West Shore of Green Bay across generations.
Preserving fishing life on Green Bay.
West Shore Fishing Museum is committed to preserving and portraying fishing life on the West Shore of Green Bay in prehistoric, pioneer, and modern eras.
A working commercial fishery
Charles Bailey operated one of the area’s largest commercial fishing operations on this site from 1893 to 1950. The Bailey home, working spaces, boats, and shoreline connect today’s visitors with the people and labor behind the fishery.
A place preserved for the public
The Bailey property was preserved for use as a museum and natural area, allowing the fishery story and the Green Bay landscape to be experienced together.
A museum shaped by volunteers
Creation of West Shore Fishing Museum began in 1997 through the Bailey Property Preservation Association. The West Shore Fishing Museum is operated by the Bailey Property Preservation Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The all-volunteer Association works with Menominee County, which owns the property and buildings.
A whole landscape of fishing heritage.
Boats & working gear
Commercial fishing boats, tools, engines, nets, and equipment show how the work changed across generations.
The Bailey House
The restored family home brings the domestic side of fishery life into view through rooms, furnishings, and stories.
Work behind the catch
The twine shed, the recovered tar vats, and other work spaces reveal the preparation, repair, and preservation needed to keep fishing gear ready for the water. Before nylon, cotton and linen nets rotted quickly and had to be mended and re-tarred all season long.
Archives & local history
Opened in summer 2026, the Williams-Ruleau Visitor Center includes the Pioneer Room, a local-history video reel, modern restrooms, air conditioning, and an archive room preserving local history and connecting the museum to the broader community.
Trails & shoreline
Nature trails, boardwalk, dunes, swales, Red Rock, and Rochereaux Point connect fishing history to the Green Bay landscape itself.
Great Lakes heritage
West Shore is part of the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail and is a Michigan Registered Historic Site.
This museum runs on volunteers.
Volunteers welcome visitors, care for the grounds, maintain exhibits, support events, preserve collections and archives, and share the stories that make West Shore meaningful.
Part of the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail
West Shore connects a local fishing community on Green Bay to the larger Great Lakes fisheries heritage story.