Wait staff standing by the doorway that connects the Cabin Room with the Riverside Room which still exists to this day.

Our History

In 1883, George P. Dickinson and Lyman J. Cook came to Eagle River with a stock of merchandise which they had to transport by livery from Three Lakes as the railroad went no further. They set up a mercantile store in a tent on the north bank of the Eagle River. Later, they built a store on the south side of the river where the city’s Riverview Park is now located. This store was burned during a forest fire, and then moved to a third location. Dickinson built a log home for his family on the north shore of the Eagle River close to the bank. This building still stands and is now the White Spruce Restaurant and Tavern.

Established in 1943, The White Spruce is the oldest building in Eagle River. The log cabin portion was built in 1884. The frame house was built in 1885 and attached to the log cabin. This was utilized as a home and cold storage when the restaurant opened in the early 1940s. We are located at the end of the largest inland water chain-of-lakes in the world – 28 lakes that connect to the Eagle River which runs into the Wisconsin River.