The house was built by Freeman Thorp, nephew of Fish Creek founder Asa Thorp. (Archived May 3, 2017) Upon Freeman's death in a shipwreck, his widow, Jesse, opened the house to lodgers as a way to make money. After closing its doors in the 1960s, the site was renovated in 1986 and was re-opened as a bed and breakfast. LaVyrle Spencer was inspired to writer her best-selling novel Bitter Sweet, centered on an innkeeper in Door County, Wisconsin, after staying at the bed and breakfast during its re-opening week in 1986.
