CHAPTERS
I. Descriptive
1
II. The Indians
8
III. Early Settlement
16
IV. Growth and Foreign Immigration
32
V. Means of Communication
42
VI. Marine
55
VII. Railroads
85
VIII. Military
112
IX. Politics
133
X. Village and City Government
167
XI. Churches
183
XII. Societies and Organizations
227
XIII. Education
243
XIV. The Press
255
XV. The Professions
278
XVI. Banks and Banking
281
XVII Business and Industry
288
Errata and additions
316
Appendixes
293(A), 294(B), 300(C), 313(D)
Index
P 55 - CHAPTER VI. - MARINE.
Situated as it is upon the lake, one of the most important phases of Manitowoc
county history is that of its harbors, lake commerce and transportation facilities.
This is particularly true in regard to the city of Manitowoc, since it may be said
in all truth that its position on the lake has enabled the town to become the
thriving center it now is, and how important has been the result of this natural
and advantageous outlet upon the back country is beyond calculation. The subject
of marine history, as taken up in this chapter, naturally subdivides itself in the
following subheads: - Harbor development, transportation facilities and
shipbuilding and marine disasters. This line of division, then, will be followed.
HARBOR DEVELOPMENT
There are within the county two harbors, those of Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
Besides these two other points, Two Creeks and Centerville, capable of limited
development, have undergone some improvement under private initiative. Chief
among all, of course, in natural advantage is that of Manitowoc, situated, as it
is, about eighty miles north of Milwaukee in the recesses of a wide and deep bay,
offering safe anchorage without artificial protection and occupying a position
where boats from the lower lakes begin to near the shore. Its natural advantages
were early recognized and there is no doubt that even in the early thirties
schooners sought shelter in the bay. That the reputation of the harbor was good
from the first, is attested by an extract from a letter written to the New York
Courier and Express in 1865 as follows: "I was told last August on my approach to
this place, by an old and experienced navigator of the lakes, Captain
P 56
Chamberlain of the steamer Lady Elgin, that Manitowoc was the only point on the
west side of Lake Michigan, where there was any real safety for vessels in a
southwest gale." It is not then remarkable that the efforts of improvement should
have begun almost coincident with the first settlement of the county.
The message of the first governor of the territory in 1836 suggested "the
propriety of asking congress for an appropriation sufficient to cover the expenses
of surveying all the necessary harbors on Lake Michigan and the construction of
lighthouses and harbors." In answer to this suggestion the legislature did ask
Congress in that year (1836) for an appropriation of $25,000 for Manitowoc and
$6,400 for Twin Rivers as it was then called. In January 1837 a resolution was
presented in Congress by Delegate Tweedy, then representing Wisconsin Territory,
requesting the survey of the "Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Ioway rivers" and a Senate
resolution to the same effect was offered later. The result was the report of
Engineer John M. Berrien submitted to the War Department in October, 1837, and
brought before Congress at its December session. Manitowoc was one of the five
harbors examined and of it he said: "I have the honor to transmit to you the map
and report of the Manitowoc River, together with an estimate for its improvement.
The Manitowoc, which ranks next in size to the Milwaukee river upon the western
shore of Lake Michigan, has its source within six or seven miles of Lake Winnebago
in a low and marshy country. It is occasionally broken by rapids, as it approaches
Lake Michigan, but it is supposed to offer by far the most direct and practicable
route for communication between the waters of Lakes Michigan and Winnebago. The
rapids offer no serious obstacle and above these the stream is represented as deep
and sluggish. Its valley is fertile and abounds in valuable timber of all kinds,
especially pine. It empties itself into Lake Michigan about twenty-five miles north
of the mouth of the Sheboygan and is the first point north of it capable of
improvement. A reference to the map will show that it is peculiarly adapted to
improvement, compared with mouths of
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streams generally. Its discharge is direct and but little obstructed by bars.
There appears to be no deposit of any amount by the stream; the bar indicated upon
the map being formed by the ash of the lake. Should the contemplated improvements
upon the river be made, rendering the means of communication with Lake Winnebago,
its commercial importance would be much increased, but its value as a refuge for
the shipping of the lake is alone sufficient to warrant the improvements. It is
proposed in the accompanying plan to carry the piers into the lake to fourteen feet
water, where they are strengthened by pier heads. The mode of construction, which
experience has proved to be capable of resisting all storms upon the lake is
minutely represented by the accompanying drawings. Within the piers the channel is
to be dredged to a depth of ten feet. As no work of any extent has yet been made
at this point the precise cost of materials is difficult to arrive at, but it is
believed that those adopted are sufficiently liberal. Timber of all kinds is found
near at hand and in the greatest abundance. I know of no stone quarry in the
immediate neighborhood as much search has not yet been made, but I have no doubt
that, on a more careful examination, sufficient will be found within a reasonable
distance." The specifications accompanying this report went into details as to the
mode of piers to be built, the amount of dredging necessary, the cost of labor,
etc., the final conclusion being that the entire cost of the improvement at
Manitowoc would necessitate the expenditure of $82,979.44, while similar plans
proposed for Sheboygan and Kewaunee were even more costly.
No action, however, resulted from these recommendations although memorials and
petitions kept pouring in. Delegate G. W. Jones on Dec. 28, 1838 presented a
memorial to Congress for the improvement of the Manitowoc, Twin and Sheboygan
rivers and on the same day offered a resolution asking for further surveys. The
only practical result gained in these years was the erection of a brick lighthouse
near the harbor mouth at Manitowoc, constructed in 1840, among the first keepers
being Peter Johnson and M. Burlingame. On Janu-
P 58
ary 24, 1840, the legislature presented an appeal asking for $30,000 for Manitowoc,
saying: "Manitowoc and Sheboygan, situated north of Milwaukee, are each places of
considerable importance, possessing a water power which furnishes three or four
millions of feet of lumber annually. This lumber is all taken on board of vessels
by means of lighters at great risk and expense." The bar at the river mouth gave
much difficulty and in 1843 P. P. Smith, then a lad, spent three days in scraping
the sand away sufficiently to permit of the entrance of the schooner Solomon Juneau.
In 1844 another survey was made but still no action followed. It was March 5th of
the same year that Delegate Henry Dodge presented a petition of 76 citizens of the
territory of Wisconsin asking congress for an appropriation for a harbor at the
town of "Manitowoc on the western shores of Lake Michigan." It was in that year
that Racine and Southport (Kenosha) secured their first appropriations. When
Delegate Dodge became governor in his first message delivered in 1846 he touched
upon Manitowoc's needs as follows: "Estimates have been made under direction of
the War Department for the harbors at the mouth of the Manitowoc and Sheboygan
Rivers, where towns have been commenced and are increasing in commercial
importance, and the country settling rapidly in the interior with enterprising
inhabitants, who merit the aid that can be derived from the most secure navigation
of the lakes." In December of the same year through Delegate Tweedy, citizens of
Wisconsin again prayed for the construction of a harbor at the mouth of the
Manitowoc river and in fact an item for the project was included in the harbor bill
of that year, which was vetoed.
Private enterprise had, in the failure of government aid, not been absent during
this time. In 1843 a bridge pier was extended out into the lake at the foot of what
is now Franklin street and was long maintained by the firm of Case & Clark, being
sold in April, 1852 to Edwin C. Hubbard, by whom it was used in the forwarding
business for many years. Disgust and exasperation at the delay of Congress in
improving Wisconsin harbors rapidly increased. Said the engineer's
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Report in 1847, speaking of Manitowoc and Sheboygon: "Nothing has been done at
either but to make surveys, plans and estimates. These harbors are extremely
essential to the commerce of the lakes as steamboats after leaving the Manitou
Islands make for the western shore of the lake but at the present time find no
harbor or port of refuge short of Milwaukee, 160 miles distant from the islands
by the shortest line." The legislature again memorialized Congress in 1850 and
in December of that year the Weekly Herald remarked tersely: "The schooner E.
Henderson beat about the bay two days before getting in. She succeeded at last,
-- no thanks to Congress." Two years passed, however, without any move being
made. By that time citizens were seeing the absolute need of better facilities,
and decided to make a start, at least, themselves. Thus at a meeting held in
January 1852 the villagers resolved to raise $15,000 by a loan, levying a tax
of one per cent to meet the interest. They applied to the legislature for the
desired permission, which was granted and by the same act the office of harbor
master was created, while the body also memorialized Congress to add $25,000 to
the sum to be raised by the locality. The Milwaukee Wisconsin in commenting on
the action said: "The commencement of a harbor will be more likely to aid in
obtaining an appropriation from the general government, which we trust it may be
the good fortune to get this very session." The wish was realized in a limited
manner for in that year Congress did grant $8,000, scarcely enough to commence
work, although it had as an effect the failure of the village to appropriate the
money voted by it. In this year also Two Rivers secured a lighthouse the property
being bought of H. H. Smith and he doing the work of construction. A further
survey of Manitowoc harbor was taken in 1852 and under the supervision of Temple
Clark, the local agent and U. S. Engineer Graham the work proceeded. Since the
plans called for an expenditure of $60,000 it is easily seen that the sum actually
expended did not go far, merely paying for the laying of a few cribs and the
dredging of a twelve foot channel. In 1853 the legislature had asked for $15,000
in order that the work might be continued but no
P 60
further aid was forthcoming, notwithstanding frequent efforts to that end. An
appropriation of $12,500 failed of passage in 1855; another in 1856 shared the
same fate. In February of the same year Senator Dodge asked leave to introduce
separate bills for Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, and such
leave being granted, the share of Manitowoc was fixed at $12,500. Senator Seward
offered an amendment, striking out that sum and inserting $62,780.92, in order
that the entire project might be completed. This was agreed to but the bill in
its final form failed to become a law. In 1858 a special appropriation for
Manitowoc was introduced by Congressman Billingshurst but it was pigeon-holed.
Thus it came to pass that no further action was taken by the government in
improving Manitowoc harbor until after the civil war, as that conflict during its
progress put a damper on all projects of such a nature.
Manitowoc was made a port of entry in 1854, C. W. Fitch being chosen the first
deputy collector and a fog bell was placed at the river mouth during the same year.
That fall Co. K. K. Jones began the construction of what was known as the north
pier at the foot of Chicago Street. It was 950 feet in length and was built by
Capt. Rouse at a cost of $6000. Mr. Jones continued to run the pier until 1861,
when he sold it to Peter Johnston. A bridge pier was also built at Two Rivers in
1854. With these limited facilities, two bridge piers, a lighthouse and a shallow
channel, citizens of Manitowoc began to wake up to the importance of action and
had it not been for the war something might have been done much sooner. The Pilot
estimated that the village had lost in the single year, 1860, by not having a
harbor, the sum of $150,000. It was this feeling that prompted a harbor meeting,
called February 5, 1861. S. A. Wood officiated as president, C. Esslinger was
secretary, while remarks were made by H. Berners, P. P. Smith and A. C. Pool. It
was decided to appoint a committee, consisting of J. Bennett, H. McAllister, H.
Berners, S. A. Wood and H. Mulholland, Sr., to draw up a bill authorizing the
county to raise a harbor tax of $30,000. At another meeting held in April much
discussion over the
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proposed bill took place, Assemblyman Joseph Stephenson opposing it strenuously,
being ably assisted by Assemblyman Graves of Calumet county, both of whom
represented the inland interests. The matter remained in abeyance until January
1864 when another meeting was held to discuss the same project. In January 1865
the village board petitioned the legislature to allow the town to raise $60,000,
the result being that on March 11 the latter body did pass a law authorizing the
village to issue $30,000 in bonds at seven per cent., running twenty years, to be
paid in taxation. The bond issue was to be voted on at a special election, which
was not to take place unless the county, excluding the towns of Two Rivers and Two
Creeks voted a like amount for the same purpose. Harbor commissioners were named
by this act as follows:- J. Vilas, H. Berners, Jacob Grimm, F. R. Gutheil, Ira P.
Smith, Hansen Rand and J. Taugher, representing the various portions of the county,
these men being empowered to choose a superintendent of the work. Construction
was to cease in case the national government appropriated a sufficient amount to
complete the work. The plan came to naught, however, since the village board
refused to allow the matter to be voted upon, claiming that taxation and not a
bond issue was desired, although for this decision the members were roundly scored.
In 1866 the legislature amended the act materially. The town of Manitowoc was by
the later law permitted to raise during the years 1867, 1868, and 1869, $20,000
annually. The terms were much the same as that of the preceeding act, although in
this instance the board of harbor commissioners was to consist of eight members,
viz. J. Vilas, T. C. Shove, Charles Luling, Jacob Halverson, John Schuette, H.
Berners, W. Rahr and H. Becker. Application was made for government aid and the
money was to be expended under the advice of the government engineers. Another
act permitted any town by a majority vote to raise not more than $1000 annually
for harbor improvement during the same three years, but this was repealed the next
year. The town of Kossuth, however, did vote in favor of a $3000 tax in April.
The election in the town of Manitowoc was
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held on February 13, and resulted in an overwhelming majority of 304 out of 392
votes cast, in favor of the proposition.
The government in the meantime had again taken a hand. In 1865 congress had been
memorialized by the state legislature to continue improvement at Manitowoc, "the
most accessable and surest harbor on the coast." In 1866 an extensive harbor bill
had been prepared and was passed, one of the items being $52,000 for Manitowoc.
Col. Sitgreaves arrived in the city in April to survey the harbor and the
government soon advised the citizens to utilize the $20,000, raised by taxation
in the construction of a dredge and in preparing the channel, the harbormasters
acting on the suggestion. The dredge was built and in the spring of 1867 the
government began to get the material ready for the work, the actual construction
being begun in June at the north side of the river entrance. The original plan of
Major Wheeler, prepared in 1866, was to extend two parallel piers to twelve foot
water and this was made possible by liberal appropriations in 1867, 1868 and 1869,
it being completed in 1871. The legislature repealed further authorization of
special village taxes in 1867 but from that time much money was nevertheless spent
in dredging, in 1867 47,070 cubic yards being excavated, in 1869 20,000, in 1870
19,000, in 1871 18,000, in 1872 41,490, in 1873 33,665 and in 1874 32,700. Docks
were also put in along the lower river frontage at a cost to be abutting property
holders and to the city of $50,000, an amendment to the village charter in 1868
having given the latter power to enforce docking and dredging. The new piers were
so far advanced by 1871 that old bridge piers were abandoned and dismantled. In
this period great gratitude was felt by the citizens towards Senator S. O. Howe and
Congressman Philetus H. Sawyer for their championship of the harbor and their
assistance in securing appropriations. J. D. Markham went to Washington in 1868
also to assist in interesting the national authorities in Manitowoc, while the
harbor commissioners as a whole were most active in their co-operation until 1870,
when they were dissolved as a corporate body and their power transferred to the
board of aldermen. The first city chart-
P 63
er conferred extensive harbor powers upon the latter body, provided for a harbor
master and through a later amendment permitted of municipal dredging projects.
In 1872 the channel had reached a depth of thirteen feet and Engineer Houston,
then in charge, estimated the cost of an eighteen foot channel at over $75,000.
It was in this year also that a breakwater was suggested as a means of deadening
the effects of the swell up river. From 1870 to 1880 the government appropriated
$100,500 and cribs were sunk at the rate of four or five a year until in 1879 the
north pier was 1620 feet long and the south pier, commenced eleven years before,
was 1550 feet in length. From 1879 to 1881 one hundred feet were added and the
plan to make the depth 13 feet with 18 feet at the entrance was carried out. A
change in the project occurred in 1881, it being decided to extend the piers to
18-1/2 feet water and to dredge the harbor to a depth, varying from 14 to 18 feet,
thus making the total estimated cost of improving the harbor $308,000 of which
$247,000 had already been expended. H. Truman went to Washington, at this time to
present the city's case but the appropriation secured was not as large as expected
and therefore the city in 1882 dredged about 9000 cubic yards outside the harbor
at its own expense in order to facilitate the work, a favor which was later
reciprocated by the government engineers. An effort was made by Mayor John
Schuette to induce the government to dredge a 15 foot channel up as far as the
bridge at Eighth Street but this the latter refused to undertake. It however,
recognized the importance of the harbor, the engineers calling it in 1885 "one of
the most important harbors north of Milwaukee". In 1885 the north pier was
completed according to the original plan of the engineers, although much of it was
rebuilt in years following while the south pier was completed in 1887. The
continued extension of the shore line, due to accretions made necessary further
extensions in succeeding years. From 1880 to 1890 $59,000 was appropriated by the
government for the harbor and it was the general comment of the engineers that the
work accom-
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plished had been successful in character. In 1890 a new project was recommended in
the construction of an extension breakwater, running northwest and southeast near
the north pier entrance. An interior harbor of refuge was also considered by the
engineers but only the former scheme was deemed advisable. J. D. Markham was
againsent to Washington and secured Congressman Brickner's aid but no appropriation
sufficiently large was secured that year. In 1892 and 1894, largely through the
efforts of Congressman Wells the necessary $40,000 was procured and the construction
took place in 1895, the Wisconsin Dredge and Dock Company doing the work.
In May 1895 the city council by ordinance fixed the dock lines above the Main
Street bridge, and action made necessary by the new railroad improvements and in
February of the following year a meeting of citizens was called to discuss dredging
along the upper course of the river. Joseph Vilas presided and among those present
were President Abbott, General Manager Whitcomb, Vice president Greenleaf and
Attorneys Gill and Abbott of the Wisconsin Central and Land Commissioner Thayer of
the C. & N. W. A committee was chosen, composed of Mayor Torrison, G. G. Sedgwick
and A. J. Schmitz, to present the matter to Congress and if possible to secure aid.
They were successful, an appropriation of $44,440 being made, with which the
government extended the south pier 500 feet to the twenty foot contour and dredged
a twenty foot channel from the harbor line outward. In May the War Department
granted the C. & N. W. the right to remove 320 feet of the south pier for their car
ferry slip and in turn the company built 2000 lineal feet of protection piling
along the lake front. Dredging in 1896 was the order of the day. The city in June
appropriated $25,000 for this purpose and with this sum excavated 273,400 cubic
yards, thus affording a twenty foot channel from the inner end of the harbor pier
up river 5500 feet. A turning basin was constructed in the upper course of the
river and in 1896 the removal of 200,000 cubic yards of earth was authorized. The
Manitowoc
P 65
Terminal Company also did a large amount of dredging and the channel resulting was
one of the deepest on Lake Michigan, that of South Chicago alone approaching it.
In 1899 a survey was ordered to inquire into the advisability of extending the
breakwater and the building of an inner harbor of refuge. The former project was
reported by the engineers to be possible by the expenditure of $37,000 but the
later was deemed by them impracticable. The congressional River and Harbor
Committee inspected the harbor in August 1900 while on a tour of the Great Lakes,
being entertained by the city. A year later up-river dredging again came up for
discussion, it being urged that the boats, which for many winters had made it a
practice to lay up in the harbor and which brought large sums into circulation,
could be better accommodated. A mass meeting was held, plans drawn up for the
dredging of the river to a twenty foot depth around the so-called Lueps Peninsula
and the contract for a part of the work let in the autumn. On the whole the
citizens of Manitowoc have not been slow in realizing that it is the harbor, in
which lie hopes of future commercial ascendancy and a spirit of liberality has
always characterized them when called upon for financial aid, sums aggregating over
$100,000 having been expended by the municipality since 1866.
A summary of government appropriations follows:
YEAR SUM
1852
$ 8,000
1866
52,000
1867
45,000
1868
17,500
1869
17,820
1870
20,000
1871
11,000
1873
20,000
1874
10,000
1875
10,000
1876
8,000
1878
15,000
1879
6,500
1880
7,000
1881
4,000
1882
10,000
1884
15,000
1886
15,000
1888
8,000
1890
8,000
1892
28,000
1894
20,000
1896
44,440
1899
3,300
1901
45,000
_________
Total $ 448,560
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Two Rivers soon after the war closed also made efforts at improvement. In 1867
the Packard pier was constructed and in 1870 the government made a survey, which
was backed up the next year by a legislative memorial to Congress. The first sum
appropriated, in 1871, was $25,000 and the original project was to build two
parallel piers, 260 feet apart, extending to the 18 foot curve and to dredge a
channel, crossing the outer sand bars, the total cost of which was estimated at
$265,588. Appropriations were made from year to year and the work continued under
difficulties, much trouble being experienced with shifting sands. This fact made
sand-proof revetments necessary, greatly increasing the expense, and the piers also
changed the shore line. In 1874 the Two Rivers lighthouse was built and private
parties did considerable docking. A volunteer life saving service was established,
the station becoming a permanent one with a paid force in 1878. Captain Scove
first commanded the station, being succeeded by Capt. Pilon in 1880. By the later
year there had been expended about $132,000 on the harbor, but the results on
account of the shifting sands, were rather unsatisfactory, a ten foot channel being
with difficulty maintained. In 1882 this too was also obliterated, trade fell off
and Henry Mann offered to pay the expenses of running the U. S. Dredge in order to
better matters. Later in the year the city and government co-operated with each
other, removing 47,000 cubic yards of earth at a cost of about $4,000. Since the
lake commerce of the port remained, the appropriations made became nominal, being
sufficient only for maintenance. The pier extension was completed in 1884, since
which time portions of them have become dilapidated. In 1894 a great assistance
was rendered navigators by the erection by the government of the World's Fair
steel tower, 110 feet high, at Two Rivers Point, a few miles north of the city and
the placing on it of a strong beacon light, which can be seen for a distance of 20
miles. A survey for extended improvements was made in 1900 at Two Rivers, but the
report of the engineers was not favorable, the eleven foot channel being deemed
sufficient for
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the needs of the port. The river divides at the mouth into two branches, neither
of which have been dredged for any great distance. The sums appropriated by the
U. S. government from time to time are as follows,
YEAR SUM YEAR SUM
1871
$25,000 1882
$15,000
1872
25,000 1884
8,000
1873
25,000 1888
2,500
1874
15,000 1890
3,000
1875
15,000 1892
3,000
1876
5,000 1894
3,000
1878
10,000 1896
5,000
1879
20,000 1899
8,000
1881
15,000 _________
Total $222,500
The village of Centerville in 1887 and the years immediately succeeding had high
hopes of securing a harbor. The sum of $4,000 was raised for docking, half of the
amount at a public meeting, but despite all exertions government aid was not
forthcoming and the project was soon given up. In 1866 two small piers had been
authorized to be built at the place and these proved sufficient for all needs.
Similar structures were maintained by the firm of G. Pfister & Co. at Two Creeks.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES AND SHIPBUILDING.
The harbors at Manitowoc and Two Rivers were of course only a means towards an end.
Of themselves they were of little value but the commerce and better transportation
facilities that they brought about were of vast importance to the welfare of the
two cities. The first intercourse with the outside world was necessarily by the
arrival of some trading schooner and it was only natural that these should play an
important part in the early life of the community. It was by this means that the
earliest settlers reached their new homes, and the arrival of one of these "hookers"
was a great event. In the latter thirties only an occasional schooner would drop
anchor in the bay. By 1840, however, many of
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the little traders had regular routes, the schooner Milwaukee, Captain Andros,
trading between the city after which it was named and Manitowoc, and the schooner
Liberty, Captain Guyles, making voyages to Two Rivers. In the next year more
vessels visited both places, averaging perhaps two or three a week, chief among
them being the schooner Columbia, Captain Morgan, which traded at Manitowoc, and
the Ocean, Captain Guyles, at Two Rivers. In 1842 still more called at the two
villages, including the Gazelle, Milwaukee, Savannah, Jessie Smith, Wave, Meeme
and Mechanic. In the shipping lists of 1845 are noticeable frequently the names
of the schooners Soloman Juneau, Captain Quin; Eagle, Capt. Pach; Baltimore, Capt.
Cotton; D. Whitney, Capt. Fleming; and the E. Henderson, Capt. Henderson. As the
years passed it became possible for a steamer to stop off the mouth of the river
at Manitowoc in calm weather on its way from Buffalo or Chicago, if there were any
passengers or freight for the place. But for a long time the sailing vessel was
the chief means of communication. That it was utilized needs no further proof
than a reference to the marine lists appearing in the Milwaukee papers of the time.
Four schooners clearing in one day for Two Rivers was not an unusual occurrence,
these little craft bringing lumber down and carrying produce back on the return
voyage. It was a strange fact that, whereas up to 1846 Manitowoc led as a trading
center, in that year and for two or three succeeding, Two Rivers ranked highest in
the amount of tonnage, although when steamboat connections were made the number of
schooners trading at both places fell off. The first attempts to run the former
style of craft regularly to Manitowoc were made in the season of 1848, when the
propeller Rossiter made trips from Chicago as far north as Manitowoc, stopping at
Milwaukee and other intermediate points. The round trip occupied about nine or
ten days including stops and after one summer the line was discontinued. A year
before the first schooner built in the county was constructed by Capt. Joseph
Edwards, christened the Citizen and being a craft of sixty tons burden.
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Five years elapsed before another was built, but thereafter shipbuilding became one
of the principal industries of the county.
By 1850 a regular steamer line was again in operation, this time one of greater
permanence. The craft was the Champion, Captain Howe, of 270 tons and it left
Manitowoc for Milwaukee Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at seven o'clock,
stopping at Sheboygan enroute and connecting with the Buffalo boats at its southern
terminus. These also began to stop at Manitowoc in case they had any very large
number of emigrants desirous of being landed, the flood of travel having by this
time turned Wisconsinward. The Lady of the Lake, which was at that time plying
between Green Bay and Chicago also stopped at Manitowoc, P. P. Smith being the
local agent. The steamer Detroit, somewhat larger than the Champion, was placed
on the Manitowoc line by the Ward Company, who owned the steamers, in 1851 and was
in turn succeeded by the steamer Arctic, a craft of 857 tons, two years later. By
this time commercial activity in Manitowoc had been greatly increased. Said Philo
White in a communication to Congress in 1850 upon Wisconsin lake towns: "Manitowoc
is vieing with her neighboring ports in the enterprise of her citizens, in the
onward march of her improvements and in the rapid development of her material
resources. She exported in the items of lumber and fish to the value of $72,726
during the last season and her imports were $117,826. There are five schooners
owned there. Two Rivers has also asserted her claim to be inscribed in the list
of lake ports by contributing to swell the aggregate of lake commerce. As long
ago as 1847 she exported lumber and fish to the value of $53,747 in that year
alone." Shipbuilding began in 1852 to take on an important aspect, three or four
schooners being constructed in that year and double the number the next. Said the
Weekly Herald: It is perhaps no breach of modesty to say that Manitowoc is capable
of furnishing more and better lake schooners than any town of its size west of
Buffalo. And while our hand is in we might as well add that Two Rivers
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and this place can furnish employment for double our fleet. With unabated energy
the construction of little schooners progressed at both ports down to the opening
of the Civil War, the largest built up to that time being the Mary Stockton,
constructed by Bates & Son in 1853, which had a capacity of 275 tons. Other
shipbuilders of the day were Joseph Edwards, J. Hughes, E. Sorenson, G. S. Rand
of Manitowoc and James Harbridge of Two Rivers. It was the last named who built
the schooners Gertrude and Joseph Vilas.
Steam, however, in the meantime was being felt as a factor in local transportation.
In 1854 facilities were greatly increased. The Read line of Buffalo steamers
established a Manitowoc agency and the Collingwood line of steamers also touched
at Manitowoc, the Lady Elgin stopping at the harbor quite frequently. The steamer
Queen city, for which K. K. Jones was the local agent, left Manitowoc for Sault Ste
Marie on Wednesdays and for Chicago on Saturdays, while the Fashion stopped enroute
from Milwaukee to Green Bay. The next year (1855) Manitowoc was visited regularly
by the Buffalo Liners, Lady Elgin, Niagara and Keystone State, while the little
steamer Lady of Sheboygan plied between that city and Manitowoc. The Superior,
Captain Tomkins, made tri weekly trips to Chicago and also touched at Two Rivers.
She was, however, burned the following year on Lake Superior. The report for the
year shows that 82 steamers and 102 sailing vessels called at Manitowoc and 74
steamers and 41 sail vessels at Two Rivers. The year 1856 witnessed the
inauguration of the Goodrich Line, which has played such an important part in
Manitowoc life ever since. The line had been organized the preceding year and the
steamer Huron, of 348 tons, placed upon a route including Milwaukee, Sheboygan,
Manitowoc and Two Rivers, daily trips being instituted. Said the Herald in
November: "We hope that Captain Goodrich's experience will induce him to try the
route another season and that his efforts to accommodate our business community
will be duly appreciated." K. K. Jones was the Manitowoc agent of the line and
Pierpont, Hall & Co. the Two Rivers
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representatives. Besides the Goodrich line Manitowoc was also touched by the
Collingwood line, including the Niagara which burned off Port Washington in
September 1856 and was succeeded by the Planet, the Queen City, Buckeye State and
Keystone State and by the Ward steamer Cleveland built in 1852, which ran to Green
Bay ports. During the next year facilities remained the same, the Arctic, Captain
Dougall taking the place of the Cleveland in September. In 1858 the Ward line ran
both the Cleveland and the Traveler on the Manitowoc route, the former making
tri-weekly trips, while the Arctic still called en route to Green Bay. The
Collingwood liners, five in number also continued to stop during this and the two
succeeding seasons, furnishing means of transportation east once a week.
In 1858 and 1859 Captain Goodrich put the propeller Ogontz on a line running from
Green Bay to Chicago, Capt. Flood commanding. During the latter year and 1860,
however, the best facilities were offered by the Wards, the Gazelle, Capt. Butlin
making daily trips to Manitowoc and Two Rivers, but this line finally withdrew,
leaving Captain Goodrich a clear field. By that time the latter had disposed of
the hull of the Ogontz to Racine parties and had purchased the Wabash Valley, but
as he sold her to the Milwaukee and Grand Haven Transportation Co., he was
compelled to have built at Newport, Michigan, the Comet, a steamer of 385 tons
placing her in command of Captain Pabst, the later well known Milwaukeean. She
remained in possession of the line until 1870, being transferred to the Grand
Haven route. It was on this craft that so many Manitowoc soldiers were carried
away from their homes during the earlier years of the civil strife. The energetic
captain soon purchased the steamers Lady Franklin and Sea Bird, which were placed
on the Green Bay and Lake Superior routes respectively, the former being sold to
Chicago parties after two years. In 1860 Manitowoc first began to furnish craft
for this line, contracts being let to Bates & Son for the building of the
propellers Sunbeam and Union. The latter was launched in April
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1861 and was fitted out at a total cost of $25,000, having the engines of the old
Ogontz put in her. The Sunbeam costing $40,000, was launched in June and was
placed on the Manitowoc route the next season but foundered on Lake Superior a year
later. An attempt had been made to fit her out with the so-called Whittaker
side-wheel apparatus, but it proved a failure. The Union was sold in the latter
sixties to parties who ran her on Green Bay. During the war Captain Goodrich
bought the Ward Steamer Planet, 1164 tons, and the May Queen. The former was
placed in the Lake Superior trade, calling at Manitowoc, but was later dismantled
and sold to the Peshtigo Lumber Co. The May Queen ran on what was known as the
west shore route, touching Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Sheboygan and Milwaukee and sank
off Sheboygan on September 17, 1865, the hull being later destroyed by fire.
Commercial interests during the war remained largely at a stand still, in
Manitowoc at least. However, the first direct grain shipment east was made May 31,
1861, on the schooner Joseph Vilas, Captain Albrecht. The cargo of 8000 bushels
was made up by Platt & Vilas, O. Torrison, J. Bennett and S. Goodnow, and the event
marked a stage in the development of Manitowoc county, viz: the change from a
lumbering to an agricultural community. That Manitowoc was recognized as having
an interest in eastern shipping was witnessed by the appointment of Joseph Vilas
in 1863 as a Wisconsin delegate to the Canal Enlargement convention, held in that
year. Shipbuilding too had languished during the war, a few schooners alone being
constructed. At the end of that struggle, however, a great impetus was given to
the industry, in which Manitowoc shared. A new and energetic firm had been
established under the management of G. S. Rand, and he soon secured contracts of
importance. The Orion, a 600 ton sidewheeler, was his first work of magnitude
being launched December 6, 1865, and the engine of the steamer Michigan, purchased
by the Goodrich line the year before, being placed in the craft. The boat
continued to make trips on the west shore and later on the Grand Haven route
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until 1871, when she was dismantled and became a lumber barge. In 1866 the
Goodrich interests were incorporated as the Milwaukee, Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay
Transportation Company, but the name was changed two years later to that of the
Goodrich Transportation Company, with Albert E. Goodrich, W. J. Whalling, G.
Hurson, A. Conro and S. A. Hasbrouck as incorporators and Manitowoc as the home
port. In 1866 the line purchased the propellers G. J. Truesdell and Ottowa, and
on November 15 there was launched the second steamer from the Rand yards, the
Northwest. The launching was a great event for the village, a thousand persons
witnessing it. The steamer used the Planets engines, was 250 feet long, 33 feet
beam and had a measurement of 1200 tons. She was placed on the west shore run in
May of the year under the command of Captain Williams and was considered one of
the finest boats on the lakes, a deserved tribute to Manitowoc industry. Among
the other shipbuilders of the time were E. W. Packard and Jasper Hanson, who later
associated with himself H. Scove, the firm some years afterwards removing to Two
Rivers. Small schooners were also constructed in the later sixties at Neshoto and
Mishicott.
Captain Goodrich kept the propeller Truesdell for about thirteen years, running
it on the Green Bay route but the Ottawa, after being on the same run for two
years, was sold to shipowners in Detroit and the magnificent Northwest, too, after
a shortservice on the Manitowoc route was purchased by the Detroit and Cleveland
navigation Company. On August 17, 1867 builder Rand launched the sidewheeler
Manitowoc and the event was a memorable one, the city presenting the craft with a
set of colors. The Manitowoc was 218 feet long, 33 feet beam and measured 569
tons, being fitted out with the May Queen's engines. She ran from Chicago to
Manitowoc for five seasons and was then displaced by a better craft, being turned
into a barge. In this year (1867) the Goodrich line had a rival in the shape of
the steamer Hippocampus, which ran tri-weekly from Milwaukee but the venture did
not prove very successful and the line was soon discontinued. That
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year the Goodrich company bought their present dock property and J. W. Thombs was
installed as local agent, a position he held until 1891. The company also
commenced to lay up its vessels at Manitowoc in the winter season. Then not only
did the city have a reputation arising from its shipbuilding but also as a
shipowning center, the Manitowoc fleet consisting of 37 craft, including 7 Goodrich
boats, 1 tug, 9 barques, 1 scow and 17 schooners. By the sad loss of the Seabird,
chronicled later in these pages, Captain Goodrich was sadly crippled and so
purchased the Alpena in Detroit for $80,000. The craft was rebuilt in 1876 and was
owned by the line until the time of her sinking four years later off Grand Haven.
In 1869 the sidewheelers Sheboygan and Corona were launched for the line from the
Rand yards. The former was particularly admired at the time, her upperworks being
constructed in Detroit at a great expense. The engines for the craft were second-
hand, coming from the old City of Cleveland. Both were for years on the west
shore, the former being rebuilt in 1896. She is still a staunch craft in active
service, while the Corona was sold in 1892 to Buffalo parties to be used as an
excursion boat and burned in the Niagara River soon after.
To such an extent had lake interests at Manitowoc grown by 1870 that the subject
of securing a dry dock was much under discussion. A company was formed with Jonah
Richards as president, C. H. Walker secretary and George Cooper treasurer, which
met the following January to organize. The company was a stock corporation and
many citizens subscribed for shares to aid the project which was soon after happily
consummated, G. S. Rand being chosen superintendent. The docks were maintained by
the company until 1887 when H. Burger purchased them, lengthening them some years
later. Mr. Rand in May, 1870 turned out another Goodrich steamer, the side wheeler
Muskegon, built for the Orion's machinery and in 1872 added the propellers Oconto
and Menominee to his list. The steamer Muskegon was regularly run until 1897, when
she was wrecked while undergoing repairs in a Milwaukee drydock, being later
abandoned. The Oconto was dis-
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posed of by sale, while the Menominee after running for twenty-three years was
rebuilt and lengthened fifteen feet, taking the name of the Iowa. After 1870 a
great increase in the number of schooners built was noticeable and new firms of
builders came into the field. Hanson & Scove, P. Larson, J. Butler, S. Jorgenson,
--all did much in the line of construction and in 1873 the firm of Rand & Burger
was formed, whose name was widely known on the Great Lakes. Besides the Goodrich
work, they undertook the construction of many tugs, lumber barges and vessels of
all kinds and descriptions and the employment thus afforded to labor was both
steady and lucrative. Next to the Goodrich interests as owners, Jonah Richards
ranked next, his fleet being widely known on the lakes.
In 1873 Rand & Burger launched the Goodrich propeller DePere which continued in
service until its sale, it later becoming the Barry liner, State of Michigan,
sinking off Grand Haven in the fall of 1901. In 1874 the side-wheeler Chicago came
out, taking the Manitowoc's cabin and engines and under the command of Captain
Sweeney was for many years a familiar sight in the harbor. The boat is still in
active service. Three years later Manitowoc secured new connections, the boats of
the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior Transportation Company stopping at the Truman
& Morse docks. The line was composed of the steamers Peerless, Fremont, Hurd and
Duluth and ceased calling at Manitowoc in the early eighties. As early as this
hopes were also entertained for connection with Michigan via Flint & Pere Marquette
steamers but they remained ungratified for many years. Outside of the building of
steamers after 1880 the business of construction manifested a rapid decline, due
largely to the supplanting of the sail by steam and thus Rand & Burger, which
became Burger & Burger by the death of Mr. Rand in 1885, soon had the field to
themselves. Manitowoc also lost the Richards fleet of eight craft by the death of
the owner in 1881 and the Goodrich fleet, too, changed its hailing port to Kenosha
soon after, owing to some misunderstanding as to local
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taxation. The propeller Ludington, launched by Burger & Burger in 1880 was the
only Goodrich steamer to be built at Manitowoc for nineteen years and was a very
staunch and well-modeled craft, being rebuilt and refitted as the Georgia in the
winter of 1897-1898. In 1881 the Goodrich company turned for its craft to another
source, having the steamers Michigan, Wisconsin and City of Milwaukee built at
Wyandotte, Mich., but possession of the last two was not retained for long and the
Michigan sank off Grand Haven. Captain Goodrich, whose name was linked with the
progress of Manitowoc as a marine center passed away at his Chicago home in 1888,
having for forty years been one of the notable figures of the Great Lakes. In the
years succeeding the company was ably conducted by the captain's successors and in
1888 the work of construction of a new and costly fleet was begun. The first
steamer to be built was the City of Racine, which was launched at the Burger yards
in the presence of three thousand people in 1889. Ninety persons from Racine were
present and Captain Butlin was the recipient of a set of colors from them. The
craft was 217 by 35 feet and proved a most profitable investment, being placed on
the Chicago-Grand Haven route. The second steamer of the fleet appeared in 1890,
being christened the Indiana and was the last large steamer to be built at
Manitowoc. The company a year later had the palatial Virginia and Atlanta
constructed in Wyandotte, Mich., and in 1898 added by purchase, the whaleback
Christopher Columbus. In 1896 the company constructed repair shops at Manitowoc
and has since continued to enlarge its machinery and supply shops, used in
refitting the boats during the winter season, thus giving employment to much high-
priced labor. In the later nineties the steamers Atlanta, Sheboygan, Chicago and
Georgia have made regular runs on the west shore, stopping regularly at Manitowoc
and during much of the time at Two Rivers also and both the freight and passenger
business has been large. Henry Pates succeeded Mr. Thombs as local agent until
1895, when C. F. Canright was chosen to fill the now important position, and upon
his decease George Houghton was appointed agent.
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The shipbuilding industry at Manitowoc manifested a steady increase during the
nineties. Although the work was largely in repairs, Burger & Burger have built
during that period the steamers Petoskey, Fanny Hart and numerous smaller craft.
As early as August 1887 there were rumors current of the establishment of a
steamer line to Ludington. A petition was numerously signed in the city asking
for such connections to the east and forwarded to the F. & P. M. officials in
January of the following year. The latter visited the city in June and seemed
favorably impressed with the facilities offered but no definite action followed
until 1890, when the line was established, E. P. Gaines being appointed local
agent. It was thought that a new line might lead to more liberal harbor
appropriations and great satisfaction was felt upon the arrival of the first
through shipment on the steamer R. & P. M. No. 1, on January 10, 1890, the event
being the occasion of the booming of cannon. Said the Pilot: "For over thirty
years Manitowoc has been looking for this consummation." At first a round trip
was made every two days but as business grew a second and in February a third and
fourth boat were placed on the line. At about the same time the C. & N. W. built
a large warehouse on the south side of the river entrance for this new line and
flour from the west soon filled the building to its utmost capacity, coming in at
the rate of over one hundred carloads a day. The route was essentially a winter
one and during the summer of the three succeeding years the large steamers were
withdrawn and the propeller R. T. Stewart placed on the line. In the spring of
1893 regular trips on the route were discontinued and for several years trans-lake
shipments were few. An experiment was made in the summer of 1893 in bringing pulp
wood rafts from Canada to Manitowoc, thence to be shipped to the paper mills of
the Fox River valley, but the attempt did not prove successful and was given up
as impracticable. In December of the same year the first whaleback to enter the
harbor, the Pathfinder, unloaded coal at the C. & N. W. Docks.
After a period of depression, as far as harbor interests
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were concerned, a reawakening took place with the entrance of the Wisconsin
Central. Buffalo grain steamers of a size never before entering Manitowoc began
in the summer of 1896 to visit the port, the deep water then attained by dredging
making it possible for them to unload at the Central freight docks, built that
spring above the Main street bridge. The first of this class to arrive were the
Wetmore and Globe and in 1896 the Great Lakes Steamship Line was regularly
scheduled on the Manitowoc-Buffalo route, consisting of the steamers Olympia,
J. W. Moore, Globe, Charlemagne Tower and Pascadena. To accommodate this new
class of transportation it became necessary for the Northern Grain Company, a
Chicago corporation, to build two mammoth elevators, A and B, the former being
constructed in the Wisconsin Central yards in 1896 and the latter on the south
side of the river near the C. & N. W. depot in 1898. The grain capacity of these
two structures is very high and they were built at an approximate cost of $600,000.
The first shipment of grain from the elevator system took place on May 1, 1897,
the steamer Moore taking a cargo of 50,000 bushels. Although the Great Lakes Line
was discontinued in the fall of 1898 steamers of other lines and of a large
capacity have continued to transport cargoes of grain to Buffalo and business seems
likely to have a great future. A profitable feature of these new facilities for
Manitowoc has been the fact that many of the large liners have made it a practice
to lay up for the winter in the upper harbor, on account of the cheap and spacious
accommodations offered. A large amount of money has thus been put in circulation
through the purchase of necessary supplies, repairs, etc. In 1904 the Barry line
of steamers commenced to touch at Manitowoc, running the Empire State and Badger
State on the west shore route.
A few words in regard to the growth of the carferry system. This novel method of
transporting freight without breaking bulk was initiated by the Ann Arbor line
between Kewaunee and Frankfort in the early nineties. The steamers Nos. 1 and 2
commenced calling at Manitowoc in 1896
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and have continued to make the port more and more regularly as local business
warranted, connecting with both railroads. Slips were built to accommodate the
craft at the C. & N. W. and Wisconsin Central yards and in the winter of 1895
the F. & P. M., which by this time had resumed the Manitowoc route, had built
for their use at West Bay City, Mich., the carferry Pere Marquette, later known
as Number 16, the largest in the world. It was launched May 19, 1896 and was
fitted to accommodate 32 cars and 156 passengers, being 263 by 56 feet in
dimensions. Its first arrival at Manitowoc took place on the morning of February
16th of the next year and from that time it ran regularly between Manitowoc and
Ludington, often making two round trips in a day. During 1897 the Big Four
carferries called for some months at Manitowoc, the other terminus being Benton
Harbor, but the distance was too great and the plan was given up. In 1900 the
F. & P. M. was obliged to construct another carferry, the No. 17, in order to
accommodate increasing business. It was of the same dimensions as the older craft
and made its first appearance in Manitowoc on August 25, 1901. Another carferry
the No. 18 was added to the line in 1902. This mode of transportation has been
successful beyond all hopes and has raised Manitowoc to a high position as a center
of through shipment.
As tending to show the growth in commerce a table, tabulating the clearances and
tonnage of the craft at both Manitowoc and Two Rivers is given under the head
Appendix B. A list of the craft built at Manitowoc, with their tonnage, is also
appended.
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MARINE DISASTERS.
In concluding the record of the marine history of the county some space should be
devoted to disasters, both those that have taken place in the vicinity and those
in which Manitowoc was particular sufferer. The first loss of importance on the
lake in the neighborhood of Manitowoc was the burning of the steamer Phoenix on
November 21, 1847. The craft had arrived at Manitowoc on the morning of the 20th
and had on board two hundred passengers and a large crew, the former being bound
for Milwaukee. Only about thirty were Americans, the rest being immigrants from
Holland. The boat laid at the south pier all day awaiting calm weather and left
late at night. At about four in the morning, while eight miles from Sheboygan and
four from land, fire was discovered and in a few moments the craft was all ablaze.
The flames were discernable in Sheboygan and the propeller Delaware, that happened
to be in port, started to the rescue, as did also a schooner and thus about one-
quarter of the number on board were saved, the rest perishing by water or the
flames. The captain was ill with a broken leg at the time but was safely conveyed
to the rescuing boat. The disaster caused widespread sympathy in the lake towns
and was long remembered. On the same day the schooner H. Merrill went ashore at
Manitowoc and a Mr. Woodward, who was on board, was drowned. Two years later the
brig Ontario was beached on Two Rivers point but got off after some difficulty.
In a storm on November 27, 1850, the schooner Jeanette was driven high and dry on
the beach near Manitowoc, and other vessels, among them the Gleaner, had narrow
escapes from the breakers. A series of years then passed without any accident in
the vicinity. In a gale in November, 1885, the brig J. Irwin was lost off Two
Rivers and the schooner Amelia off Manitowoc. Three years later the schooner
Andromeda was lost about forty miles northeast of the latter port. In the loss
of the Goodrich steamer Lady Elgin off Waukegan on September 8, 1860, only one
man from the county, Fred Haeffner, of Two Rivers, lost his life. Seven years
then passed without any notable wreck, but then came a series of them. On
November 24,
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1867 the barque Tubalcain went down off Two Rivers with 18,000 bushels of wheat on
board, the loss amounting to $20,000 and in December the propeller Adriatic went
ashore near Manitowoc.
Then came what, for Manitowoc, was perhaps the greatest marine disaster ever
experienced, viz., the burning of the Seabird. The terrible accident occurred
eight miles from Waukegan on the morning of Thursday, April 9, 1868. The steamer
was one that Captain Goodrich had purchased from the Ward line and was nine years
old at the time. The crew and passengers numbered thirty-five and a majority of
them were from Manitowoc and Sheboygan, en-route to Chicago. It is thought that
the fire originated from coals, scattered from the stoves, which the porter was
engaged in cleaning. When the blaze was first discovered the boat was imprudently
headed for the shore and the wind which was northeast, sent the flames forward and
soon reached the machinery. The engines became so heated that they stopped and
the four small boats, capable of holding ten persons, could not be lowered, while
it was too late to receive any assistance from the shore. The terrible news of
the disaster was soon abroad and the wires conveyed it to Manitowoc, the whole
village being thrown into consternation by the tidings. R. D. Smart was dispatched
at the head of a party to search for bodies along the shore, but very few traces
of the accident were ever found. Only three persons escaped two Sheboygan men and
James. H. Leonard of Manitowoc. The loss to the north side was particularly heavy.
Among those from Manitowoc who lost their lives where George W. Emery, a prominent
merchant, Captains N. T. Nelson and John Sorenson, vessel owners, James A. Hodges,
clerk of the craft, Charles Reicher, foreman of the Goodrich repair shops, Joseph
Dawcett, a grocer, Miss Theresa Olson, a seamstress, James Leykom, August Wilde,
Richard Flossbach, William Barter, John Melke, Casper Kleiner, John Fuchs, Herman
Jacoby, P. C. Danahy, Amos Meyer, Henry Meinam besides Martin Rogezginter and
Wenzel Hartichek with their wives and children, these latter being on their way
to Nebraska as col-
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onists. Capt. Nelson was on his way to purchase a tug in Chicago, while Capt.
Sorenson and Mr. Emery were also on business trips. The terrible happening left
an impress on the people of the village, that was deeply felt, particularly by
those whose friends had been thus wrested from them. In September of the same
year the steamer Richard Roe sunk near the Manitowoc harbor pier and on October
30th the schooner James Nevagle went down off Two Rivers. Capt. Joseph Gagnon
and nine others of the volunteer life saving crew then in existence made a heroic
rescue of the crew of the doomed vessel. On board the Nevagle were 15,000
bushels of wheat en-route to Oswego, N. Y. from Milwaukee, all of which was lost.
In December, 1871, the schooner Industry sunk about midway between Two Rivers and
her destination, Manitowoc, a cargo of produce being lost.
The year 1875 witnessed the loss of the schooner Cornelia D. Windiate, which in
December went down between Manitowoc and Milwaukee with her crew of nine men and
a cargo of 21,000 bushels of wheat. She was built by Windiate and Butler in 1873
at a cost of $20,000 and had a capacity of 332 tons, being one of the finest
schooners on the lake. On November 8, 1877, the Canadian schooner Magellan, bound
from Chicago to Toronto, with 20,000 bushels of wheat on board, was lost off Two
Rivers. Nine sailors were drowned, the bodies being washed ashore some days after
the occurrence. The schooner Joseph Duval shared the same fate at the same place
in July, 1880, while en route from Kewaunee to Chicago with 140 cords of bark,
seven were drowned and the vessel which had been built by Rand & Burger in 1875 at
a cost of $7,000 proved a total loss. In a terrible storm on October 16, of the
same year the Goodrich steamer Alpena went down on the east shore, carrying
seventy-five passengers and a crew of twenty-six to a watery grave. Arthur Haines,
the clerk and William Shepard, the steward, were both Manitowoc young men and
their death cast a gloom over the city. In the succeeding March the treacherous
Two Rivers Point claimed the barge Grace Patterson, the crew, however, being saved.
On December 3rd a terrible storm was the cause of the wreck
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of the Goodrich steamer DePere, between Manitowoc and Two Rivers and the schooner
Oliver Cutler near the latter place. The DePere was in a perilous position for
months and it was thought that she would be a total loss, but by well-directed
efforts she was saved from destruction the following spring and rebuilt.
Another terrible disaster, long to be remembered, occurred off Two Rivers Point
on October 28, 1887 in the loss of the screw steamer Vernon. The Vernon was owned
by the Northern Michigan Transportation Company and was enroute from Charlevoix,
Mich., to Chicago with from thirty to fifty persons on board, only one of whom,
Alfred Stone, a fireman, survived. He was insane for the remainder of his life,
having suffered terribly, so the true story of the accident was never known. It
is supposed that the accident occurred by some mishap in the stearing gear while
the steamer was trying to make Manitowoc and that the boat was swamped in the
trough of a tremendous wave. A schooner passed through the wreckage and saw some
persons clinging to boards but was unable to give assistance. Fishing tugs picked
up nineteen bodies during the succeeding days, besides much wreckage. An inquest
was held before Justice Walsh at Two Rivers and nine of the bodies were interred
in potter's field at that city, others being identified by friends. Several
relics from the disaster were preserved, being on exhibition at the Teren's Museum
at Mishicott. The Vernon cost originally $75,000 and was commanded by Captain
Thorpe at the time of the disaster. An accident occurred at nearly the identical
spot on November 15, 1890, when the steambarge Nevada, foundered, the crew being
picked up by the steamer Manchester. The craft was eight years old and was valued
at $50,000. The steamer Wetmore suffered a similar fate off Centerville in
November 1894 and in 1898 the schooner L. B. Shepard went ashore off Two Rivers
after being waterlogged, the loss being $3500. A more recent marine disaster was
the sinking of the scow Silver Lake by collision with the carferry Pere Marquette
a few miles east of Manitowoc in March 1900. The collision took place in a fog
and the crew of the scow,
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whose home was in Racine, lost their lives. On the whole Manitowoc has borne her
share of the sorrow that always comes at frequent intervals to a people dwelling
near waters, upon which they seek a livelihood.