Shipping Along

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Walk-In-Water Manifest

When we think of the Great Lakes shipping industry, what picture comes to mind? Great freighters like the Edmund Fitzgerald? How about the Soo Locks and the St. Lawrence Seaway? Great Lakes shipping didn't always occupy such a prominent place in our imagination, but came from humble beginnings. In the 1800s, steam ships took the lead in paving the way for the 1500-ft freighters of the 21st century.  

The Great Lakes shipping industry took off in the 1800s. Fuelled by the lumber, coal, and ore industries together with the burgeoning rail system, the lakes were a busy highway going to different states and cities. Alongside the lakes themselves, inland waterways helped link communities and people across the nation. From the height of the fur trade to urban and industrial growth, Michigan’s waterways remained the most important conduit for commerce. Quick and reliable routes to and from the Great Lakes powered the growth of the shipping industry. More commercial and recreational trips were made on the lakes than in the rest of the country. In the mid-1800s, with people streaming into the Midwest and the resources pouring out, the industry created commercial shipping demands across the Great Lakes. Fleets of ships served the burgeoning industries around the lakes and helped create thriving port cities. Michigan alone supports a $7-billion economy.

The introduction of the steam ship also increased towing businesses. Steamboat technology developed quickly in the 1830s and 1840s. With the advances in shipbuilding technology during the 1840s came dramatic changes to the steamboat fleet. Beginning in the 1840s, the Great Lakes became busy highways for moving wheat, corn, lumber, coal, and iron ore. Crops from midwestern farms crossed the lakes to markets in the East. Iron ore from the region traveled east on ships that returned filled with coal from Pennsylvania. To this day, iron ore makes up nearly half the cargo on the lakes. This relationship to the water has enabled the region to thrive. The very first steamer on the lakes, the Walk-in-Water, pioneered lake shipping. Launched in 1818, the steamer ferried people and supplies around Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan. The cabin passage between Buffalo and Detroit cost $18. In 1819, the Walk-in-Water sailed from Mackinac to Black Rock and the manifest included sugar, hams, several barrels of fish, and dried goods. Following its success, steamboats on the lakes grew in number, and additional decks were built to allow more passengers. 

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A steamship, part of the Northern Line, sailing

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Edmund Fitzgerald

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Improving St. Mary's River, Mich.

Improvements on coastal ports and harbors in the 1830s kickstarted steam vessels' frequency across the lakes. Increased trade in the 1840s and regular shipping patterns created more frequent services for passengers and freight. At the time, Michigan was the nation’s leading lumber producer from 1869 until about 1900. The only way to transport finished milled lumber from the shoreside mills in the Great Lakes was by ship. From 1869-1909, 16.8 billion feet of lumber was removed from Michigan forests, floated along rivers, and shipped to larger cities like Milwaukee and Chicago. As a result, lakeshore cities became hubs of commerce. Railroads brought in lumber, minerals, and agricultural goods from the inner cities within reach to the more urban consumers. Industrialization of the Great Lakes shipping industry often degraded the environment and allowed Michigan's bountiful natural landscapes to be decimated for high profit. 

Lake transportation evolved over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. The early fur traders began extending operations beyond the lakes themselves and built pioneer vessels. Lake fleets sprung up in a quest for control of the inland seas during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Railroad construction modified lake traffic even further. No sooner than rail operations had reached the lakeshores did corporations begin to organize lake lines to transport materials across the great watery expanses. Lumber, grain, iron, and mineral companies began to build their own vessels for the transportation of their goods. Travel on the lakes flourished after 1836. During May that year, there were 90 steamboat arrivals at Detroit. The steamer, United States, carried more than 700 people. In 1853, the principal commercial lines on the lakes were: the American Transportation Company, Western Transportation Company, New York and Lake Erie Line, Northern Transportation Company; Troy and Western Line; Lake Superior Line; Detroit and Sandusky; and Detroit and Port Huron. By the turn of the century, more modern freighters began to appear on the lakes for the transportation of ore and lumber. Vessels moved away from wood to steel construction for hardier journeys on the lakes. 

The construction of the Erie Canal, the Welland Canal, and the Soo Locks had an undeniable influence on Great Lakes commerce. The Erie Canal was constructed in 1825 and has a total of 34 locks to create a quick and relaible route from the seacoast to the interior. The original design hoped to have an annual tonnage of 1.5 million, which was exceeded, and enlargements followed suit to account for the increased water traffic. The canal itself lowered the cost of shipping between the midwest and northeastern coast. The Welland Canal forms an important section of the St. Lawrence Seaway that connects Lakes Ontario and Erie. Its construction allowed ships to bypass Niagara Falls, forming the shortest crossing between Erie and Ontario. Like the Erie Canal, the Welland Canal has gone through a few iterations. The Soo Locks and the Detroit River also hold crucial positions in lake transportation. All of the commerce going to and coming from Lake Superior passes through the St. Mary’s Falls Canal. The tonnage passing through the St. Mary’s Falls Canal since 1880 shows rapid increase in iron ore tonnage. The amount of iron ore shipped from Lake Superior in 1880 was 677,073 net tons; in 1895, it was 8,000,000.

In 1855, Charles T. Harvey sought to remove the barriers to shipping along the St. Mary's Rapids. Together with John Burt, his engineer, the canal was completed that year. Ships go through the locks today in an average of 18 minutes. Acting as a set of water elevators, the Soo Locks proved a vital part of the state and national economy. The initial building created a canal which was a little over a mile in length, 100 ft in width at the water line, and had an available depth of 12 ft. There were two locks, each 350 ft long and 70 ft wide, with 12 ft of water on the sill, and a total lift of 18 ft. Almost immediately after the construction was completed, it became obvious with the growing shipping capabilities that the locks would need to be enlarged. 

Diagram showing graphically Total Vessels and Total Freight passing through St. Marys River

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The Goderich sailing

The other and much more important channel is the Detroit River, connecting lakes Erie and St. Clair. Since the long-distance freight passes through one or both of these channels, the two waterways provide a fairly accurate idea of the growth of the commerce upon the whole system. The Detroit River has been an important conduit for commerce since the fur trade. Before work commenced on the improvement of the river, the channel at Limekiln Crossing supported no more than 13 ft in depth and was entirely dependent on the wind. At the Detroit River, freight tonnage from 1873 to 1895 increased by 20,000. In 1873, around three times as many ships passed through the Detroit River—handling nearly 40% of total shipped tonnage in the U.S.

Commercial shipping in Michigan has evolved dramatically since its origins in the 19th century. Over time, ships became larger, faster, and more energy efficient. After the expansion of the Soo locks in the 1960s, people began to construct larger and larger commercial ships, a period John Greenwood, an author on Michigan ships, calls "the Era of the Leviathans" (Great Lakes Shipping: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow). The first 1000-ft ship to sail on the Great Lakes was built in 1972. Commercial shipping in the Great Lakes area continues today. According to a report from the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership, the St. Lawrence Seaway saw more than 38 million metric tons of cargo shipped through it in 2021 alone. The cargo that passes through the Great Lakes Seaway System helps support a $35 billion industry, over 200,000 jobs, and more than $6 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue. Throughout COVID-19, Great Lakes commercial shipping has continued to move a significant amount of supplies and foster economic prosperity, an important facet of transportation in the United States.

However, modern commercial shipping on the Great Lakes has faced several hurdles, including some economic and environmental challenges. Supply chain failures that began at the start of COVID-19 continue to increase shipping costs, and the industry has also struggled with a recent labor shortage. Similarly, some shipping has received environmental pushback for its impact on the Great Lakes air and water quality. Some shipping organizations, however, have made strides toward creating green transportation; the organization Green Marine originated in the Great Lakes region in 2007 and offers a certification program for ports looking to improve sustainability. 

From their origins moving wheat, corn, and lumber in the 1840s to their booming business transporting iron ore, Great Lakes ships have long made up a cornerstone of both Michigan and United States industry. In 1982, Greenwood said in an address in Port Washington, Wisconsin, “the supremacy of our nation in the iron and steel trade of the world in the past century can be traced directly to the abundance of Lake Superior District ores and the low cost, reliable transportation on the Great Lakes.” The legacy of Michigan commercial shipping has continued since this speech in 1982 and is likely to live on into the future.

Today, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region is an economic powerhouse and the industrial heartland of both the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River waterway is the longest inland deep-draft navigation system in the world, connecting more than 110 commercial ports in Canada and the United States. In remote locations, a port might be nothing more than a single dock constructed to serve an adjacent industry. To learn more about the legacy of commercial shipping in Michigan, visit the Clarke Historical Library and our Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection.

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