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Lake Superior Shipping and Navigation
Beginning in the mid-1840s, wooden cargo schooners shared Lake Superior shipping lanes
with passenger steamers. In 1888, shipyards began building steel boats to carry copper and
iron ore over the rough waters of the Great Lakes. By 1900, the shipping industry had
introduced modern freighters up to 500 feet long with cargo capacities of 10,000 tons. The
"From Sails to Steam" exhibit shows models of typical Great Lakes ships.
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Prevailing winds, rocky shores and few harbors put ships rounding Keweenaw Point at
risk. More than 200 vessels have sunk or run aground off the Keweenaw Peninsula. Three
vessels sank in Copper Harbor and were never recovered: John Jacob Astor (1844), City
of Superior (1857) and Wasaga (1910). No lives were lost. |
Her [City of
Superior] going ashore was caused by a heavy snow storm which hid the light.
(Milwaukee Sentinel, November 18, 1857) |
Bound for Duluth with 230 automobiles lining her deck, the City of Bangor ran
aground near Keweenaw Point in 1926. Abandoning the steamer, the crew survived the
ten-mile journey to Copper Harbor.
 Some of the men have frosted feet and all are badly used up. They had nothing to
eat for the 48 hours they struggled through the brush, snowdrifts [and] swamps along the
shore.
(Charles Davis, Copper Harbor Range Lightkeeper, December 3, 1926)
Once the lake froze, salvage crews unloaded the cars and drove them across the ice to
Copper Harbor. The cars were then driven to Calumet, loaded on trains, and shipped to
Detroit for repair and resale.
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