Ahnapee & Dreams of Ore Docks

Had the village fathers of the 1870s gotten their way, perhaps today’s Algoma harbor would sport a piece of history such as the unused ore dock at Marquette, Michigan.  A September 1873 Record ran an ad looking for “men of capital” to establish a blast furnace, a paper and pulp mill, and more.

Ahnapee was a place with a harbor, the finest Lake Michigan harbor between Manitowoc and Baileys Harbor. Many saw it as a point of refuge. As early as 1859, Enterprize* Editor Dexter Garland said Ahnapee was equal to any port on the lake. Even Milwaukee papers lobbied for improvement of Ahnapee’s harbor. Many years later, on September 18, 1898,  Door County Advocate columnist  Doug Larson speculated it was only because of the ship canal that the railroad reached Sturgeon Bay. He felt Algoma (Ahnapee), because of its location on the lake shore and easier access to railroad service, could have been the commercial center of the entire region, and that  Green Bay developed as it did because of the canal.

Until the U.S. Engineers straightened the course of the river to what it is today, the mouth of the Ahnapee – or Wolf River then – was at the foot of Michigan Street.**A sandbar guarded the entrance of the river which lazily meandered downstream before making its "S" curve over that sandbar to flow into Lake Michigan. Boats with shallow drafts could usually make it over the bar, though that sandbar prevented all but the most adventuresome schooner captains from making the river. While the sandbar was a problem, a ridge of seemingly impenetrable  limestone was the  real sticking point.

By the late 1860s townsfolk were well aware  that although the harbor offered protection, it was the river that was the problem. Attendees at a February 5, 1870 harbor meeting felt harbor improvements would make it practical for rafts and other shallow vessels to be floated out to the schooners waiting in the lake, thus enabling cargo to get into the river. Residents wanted a protective pier and moved to secure government appropriations by asking the Legislature to authorize $20,000 in improvement bonds payable in one, two or three years. The $20,000 tax levy was voted in, 262 - 23, at a town meeting in April. When the Ella Doak entered the river in July 1873, townsfolk knew they were right.

But, the obstruction in the river was still there and it was the key.  Rock, about seven hundred feet long and one hundred fifty feet wide, needed to be removed to a depth of eight feet to ensure twelve feet of water at its lowest stage to ensure a sufficient basin. Enormous financial outlays seemed to make the rock removal impracticable, but since Ahnapee's harbor was the most central point for refuge along the shore, something had to be done. The U.S. Engineers felt Ahnapee's outer harbor might be constructed as Chicago's, only smaller. They knew the lake bottom was mostly clay, affording good holding ground, thereby eliminating the need for dredging before putting in cribs. Work went forward. One hundred and forty years later, dredging continues, though not for the same reasons.

Ahnapee’s natural advantages made it a prime manufacturing location, at least according to the Record. The fine harbor offered cheap, available transportation to Chicago, “the greatest market in the West.” The editors felt Upper Michigan iron ore was being shipped to distant cities while Ahnapee was much closer. Ahnapee labor costs were at least 50% less than in Eastern cities and natural resources abounded. Rent and insurance were much lower in Ahnapee, and the Record opined that it would not take long for “the intelligent mind” to realize Ahnapee’s superiority. Ahnapee was about 100 years ahead of its time offering free, desirable lots for manufacturing to “gentlemen of capital.”

Iron ore processing  and manufacturing remained in Chicago, Gary, Cleveland and the rest while citizens dreamed of what such industry could do for the area. Ironically, the only thing Ahnapee/Algoma  got from the iron ore business was the pollution coming north. Jutting out into Lake Michigan as it does, the peninsula with little industry is ripe for attracting pollutants from places such as Chicago and Gary. One hundred forty years later, Algoma is affected by iron ore. Just not the way our ancestors dreamed.

*The Enterprize became the Enterprise in 1865. **Michigan Street runs perpendicular to and east from Church Street one block south of North Water Street.  It was a street with a purpose in Algoma's early days. Finding it today is a  bit of a challenge.