Tall Ships on the Ahnapee River

Such a sight would not have been unusual 100 years ago when  sailboats were still major transports plying the waters of Lake Michigan. Editions of the Ahnapee Record often mentioned the number of boats riding at anchor in the harbor.

At times, there were 20 or more ships awaiting loading, unloading or just awaiting their captain and crew. Perhaps it was Capt. William Armstrong’s Wren or Mary Ludwig, or Capt. Henry Harkins’ Lucy Ann or Union. It could have been Johnny Doak’s Ella Doak or John F. Price and his brother Alexander’s Sea Star and Hinsdale, or Capt. William Nelson’s Mary L. Collins or Margaret Dall.  Maybe the ships included the Ida,  the Truman Moss or one of the other ships owned by the Schuenemann brothers, Herman and August. Visits from Herman’s Christmas tree ship, the Rouse Simons, are not recorded, however it could have been in the harbor after 1910. Capt. Charlie Fellows was around from the community’s beginnings. He owned a number of ships, including the Julia Ann and the Whirlwind, which was the first ship to tie up at Dave Youngs’ new bridge pier. Capt. Billy Dingman owned the Robbie and Orin Vose was one of many captains owning the Industry.  Other ships would have included those belonging to either Capt. John or Capt. William McDonald such as Conquest, Amelia, Surprise or Sardinia. The Lady Ellen is at rest on the north side of the Ahnapee River, just west of the 2^nd St. Bridge. Capt. John McDonald used the Whiskey Pete in his stone trade during construction of the Sturgeon Bay ship canal, though the vessel was probably a lot more popular when Ahnapee Brewery manager Henry Sibilsky used it to take product north!

Maritime port that it was, Ahnapee was the site of shipbuilding for a few years. William Henry was the area’s most noteworthy shipwright, building boats in a small bay that, when filled in later, became the site of Algoma Fuel Company’s ice house and coal piles. It was Henry who designed the 173-ton Bessie Boalt, the largest boat ever built in the village. When she was side launched into Lake Michigan in 1868, near the site that would become the Utility Plant, she was rumored to cost a whopping $32,000. Ahnapee's most impressive ship had a most unimpressive ending. She became water logged and sank off Two Rivers Point while being towed ashore in 1884.

Surprising today is to learn that the first boat begun in the Town of Ahnapee – christened the Ahnapee – was built about four miles upriver. When the ship was launched and came down river on August 10, 1867, the bridge had to be taken down.

Those who know the Ahnapee River today would say that it never happened as it is nearly impossible to even kayak past what locals call “The Bend.” But in the 1860s, the river was held in place by the trees that covered Kewaunee County, and most of the northern half of Wisconsin. The demands of a rapidly growing country meant jobs and money in timber. As the mostly cedar trees along the river were cut and shipped as fast as possible, there was nothing holding the river in its course and it was left to bake in the hot sun. In the 1850s and ‘60s, the Ahnapee - then called the Wolf - was a river road with almost daily boat traffic between Wolf River/Ahnapee and Forestville.

When the Ahnapee was launched on July 1, 1867, about 200 guests traveled to the launch site* upriver where they ate, drank and danced on board the boat, built by Martin Larkin and Co. for Chicago businessmen J.P. and Titus Horton. Built under the supervision of Neil McLean, the topsail, scow schooner had a 72' keel, 22' beam and a 6' hold carrying about 80 ton. As she came down river, it was necessary to take down the bridge thus allowing the rigged ship to get to the lake. Captained by Martin Larkin, the scow sailed to Chicago to complete being outfitted and registered. Because of its Chicago registry, the scow was renamed Ahnapee of Chicago.**

Taking down the bridge was probably not the job one would think today. Wolf River's first bridge in 1856 or '57 was a footbridge near the mouth of the river, which then was a few hundred feet north of the present channel. A year or so later, a log bridge was built from what today would be the end of Church Street to about the east side of the winery. That was the bridge that came down.

And the Ahnapee? She was wrecked, and all that remains of her is the wreckage photographed for this Sheboygan harbor postcard in the early 1900s.

 

Note: The ketch in the photo at the top is for sale and comes from Tad Harvey Yacht Sales website.  
*The launch site is on the west side of the Ahnapee River, in the southwest part of Section 9 of the Town of Ahnapee.
**Other boats were built at Ahnapee but all had to be registered at a point of entry such as Manitowoc, Milwaukee or Chicago.