01/25/2026
During Prohibition, alcohol continued to flow in secret across Wisconsin from speakeasies and hidden bars to private at-home cocktail parties. The Badger State played a notable role in this underground world, and many locations still carry ties to the era today.
Wisconsinโs Northwoods became a favored retreat for gangsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger. One of the most infamous sites is Little Bohemia Lodge in ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, where a dramatic FBI shootout with Dillingerโs gang unfolded in 1934. Original bullet holes remain visible, and the lodge now operates as a restaurant with historical exhibits.
In ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป, the Wonder Bar was a well-known stop along illegal alcohol routes into Wisconsin and attracted figures such as Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Al Capone.
๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฎ also has a rich gangster past, with many properties rumored to have been owned by mobsters and outfitted with hidden features like extra-thick concrete slabs. Today, the Maxwell Mansion - Lake Geneva honors this history with an on-site speakeasy.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐โ๐ โHolylandโ region settled by German Catholic immigrants emerged as a major moonshine-producing hub. Locals used barns and faux cheese factories to distill and transport illegal liquor via nearby rail lines, supplying cities like Chicago.
In ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ, speakeasies flourished. Shakers Cigar Bar & Speakeasy, for example, operated under the guise of a soda bottling company to conceal its true purpose.
Up north, locations such as Norwood Pines Supper Club in ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐ฐ๐พ๐๐ฎ and Dillman's Bay Resort in ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ were popular hideouts for gangsters seeking refuge. Baby Face Nelson is believed to have passed through the area while fleeing the FBI after the Little Bohemia shootout.
The city of ๐๐๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ earned a reputation as one of Wisconsinโs most notorious Prohibition-era destinations. Its Silver Street district was packed with speakeasies and brothels frequented by โvacationingโ mobsters.
Thereโs even speculation that Al Capone owned a fortified estate on Cranberry Lake in ๐๐ผ๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐, Sawyer County, known as โThe Hideout.โ The property reportedly featured guard towers and served as a landing site for whiskey flown in from Canada by hydroplane.
Any other spots you would add to the list?
Learn more about Al Capone's connections to Wisconsin in this Wisconsin Public Radio article: https://wihist.org/3NKActc
๐ธ: Little Bohemia Restaurant and Lodge | circa 1930 | WHI Image ID 53880
