What a sight Lake Michigan must have been in the days of
the wind ships. What it must have been like to witness 12 or 15 - or even more - schooners riding at anchor in Ahnapee/Algoma harbor is nearly impossible to imagine. The likes of the Wren, Industry, Shaw, S. Thal, Whirlwind,
Evening Star, Glad Tidings and Sea
Star and more will never be seen again. However, the Lady
Ellen lives on in the memories of those who remember part of her above the
water near the southwest side of the 2nd Street Bridge.
As early as October 1866 Kewaunee Enterprise told readership that the amount of shipping in Ahnapee was "a revelaltion." In one day alone six schooners and one steamer cleared its bridge pier.
Built by respected Civil War hero Major William I. Henry, also Ahnapee’s most noted shipwright, the two-masted Lady Ellen was built of walnut that more than likely came from the area’s virgin timber. Henry built the schooner to join Capt. Bill Nelson’s Whiskey Pete in Capt. John McDonald’s stone trade, however she was used for lumbering operations, fishing and was also one of the Christmas tree ships. Put out of business by the steamers, the hardworking Lady Ellen was docked on the north side of the river about 200' feet west of the 2nd Street Bridge where she eventually rotted and sank.
As early as October 1866 Kewaunee Enterprise told readership that the amount of shipping in Ahnapee was "a revelaltion." In one day alone six schooners and one steamer cleared its bridge pier.
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| Lady Ellen sunk in the Ahnapee River |
Built by respected Civil War hero Major William I. Henry, also Ahnapee’s most noted shipwright, the two-masted Lady Ellen was built of walnut that more than likely came from the area’s virgin timber. Henry built the schooner to join Capt. Bill Nelson’s Whiskey Pete in Capt. John McDonald’s stone trade, however she was used for lumbering operations, fishing and was also one of the Christmas tree ships. Put out of business by the steamers, the hardworking Lady Ellen was docked on the north side of the river about 200' feet west of the 2nd Street Bridge where she eventually rotted and sank.
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| 1883 Ahnapee Birdseye Map |
The Ellen eventually sank in the river but was remembered by Algoma youngsters, such as Jag Haegele,
who sat on the gunwales each winter while putting on ice skates. The
schooner Spartan is another which sank
in the Ahnapee River, forgotten until Jim Kersten began improving the lot on
which Capt. K’s campground sits. Spartan remained where it sank on the southeast side of the 4th Street Bridge near the
old Detjen dock for most of 100 years..
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| Removal of the Spartan from the Ahnapee River |
The Spartan,
reported the Ahnapee Record in
September 1885, was the oldest vessel plying the waters of Lake Michigan. Since
construction in Montreal in 1838, the schooner had made all 5 Great Lakes and
even sailed the Atlantic. By the time of the article, the schooner was laid up
in the Ahnapee River, its final resting place.
It was only two months earlier that the Spartan was undergoing repairs in Ahnapee when a kettle of pitch on
the cabin stove caught fire. Fortunately the damage was not severe, but when
she was bound for Clay Banks two weeks later, exceptionally strong winds forced
her to seek refuge in Ahnapee’s harbor for two days. By the 1st of
October, the old schooner was allowed to sink in the Ahnapee River.
During 1890 the Advocate
carried an article saying the Spartan
was being broken up. Three years later the Record
editorialized saying that the old Spartan
was nearly rotted to the waters’ edge and that if it was not removed then, the
work would be far more difficult. In April 1894, the paper again called for
removal, this time saying that if much more was cut away from the old boat, it
would not be self-supporting and that removal would be quite expensive. The
paper felt that a powerful tug could lift what was left at substantial savings.
The paper also encouraged the City to have the job looked at by one of
experience. What the paper didn’t say was that there was too much diddling
around by the City and failure to act was costing the taxpayers more as the
days went on. As it worked out, it was Jim Kersten who took care of removing
the boat in 1986, about 100 years after the boat was “laid up.”
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| Frank McDonald photo |
The amounts of wood products to be shipped are evident in
this Frank McDonald photo dating to before 1900. Writings prior to 1900 tell
about wood products awaiting shipment as far as one could see all along the
river’s edge from Ahnapee to Forestville. As the forest was cut, the river was
left to bake in the hot sun and eventually seep into the surrounding area
leaving the narrow, shallow Ahnapee River that exists today.
During the community's pioneer days - before the trees were all cut - it was possible to make Forestville by boat. Twenty years earlier, in 1834, Joseph McCormick and a party of men sailed upriver to today’s Forestville. Trees made the vast difference.
While wind ships have faded into the past. work, vessels such as lake freighters more than make up for them. One hundred years later, it is the old postcards telling the story.
Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the Riverc. 2001; Ahnapee Rcord Algoma Record Herald, Door County Advocate; Kewaunee Enterprise. .
During the community's pioneer days - before the trees were all cut - it was possible to make Forestville by boat. Twenty years earlier, in 1834, Joseph McCormick and a party of men sailed upriver to today’s Forestville. Trees made the vast difference.
While wind ships have faded into the past. work, vessels such as lake freighters more than make up for them. One hundred years later, it is the old postcards telling the story.
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| Tow through Sturgeon Bay |
Sources: An-An-api-sebe: Where is the Riverc. 2001; Ahnapee Rcord Algoma Record Herald, Door County Advocate; Kewaunee Enterprise. .
Photos: Frank McDonald; Kannerwurf-Sharpe-Johnson Collection
