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Draft:Lower Harbor ore dock

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Lower Harbor ore dock
Map
Interactive map of the Lower Harbor ore dock area
Alternative names
Marquette Ore Dock No. 6
General information
LocationMarquette, Michigan, United States
Coordinates46°32′27″N 87°23′24″W / 46.540909°N 87.389869°W / 46.540909; -87.389869
Year built1931–1932
OpenedJune 3, 1932; 94 years ago (1932-06-03)
DemolishedApproaches demolished in the 1990s
Height
Height85 feet 7 inches (26.09 m) above mean water level[1]
Technical details
MaterialReinforced concrete
Design and construction
Main contractorMerritt-Chapman & Whitney

The Lower Harbor ore dock is an out-of-service ore dock in Marquette, Michigan. The ore dock was constructed for the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway in 1932, and was officially designated as Marquette Ore Dock No. 6. The ore dock served iron ore trains of the DSS&A and later the Soo Line Railroad until 1971. Ore from mines in the Marquette Iron Range was transported by train to the dock, where it was stored for loading into lake freighters bound for steel mills across the Great Lakes.[2]

The ore dock was taken out of service in 1971, and the tracks leading to it were removed in the 1990s. The dock itself remains intact, and occupies a prominent location in present-day downtown Marquette. Its image features on representations of the city, such as the nearby Ore Dock Brewing Company. It is one of two remaining ore docks in Marquette; the other is still operational, and is located in the Upper Harbor near Presque Isle Park.[3]

[4][5]

[6][1]

[7][8][9][10][11]

Background

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The city of Marquette was founded as part of an iron mining boom in the mid-19th century. The high-quality iron ore from the Marquette Iron Range was in demand in Ohio and Pennsylvania steel mills, and the opening of the Soo Locks in 1855 allowed large ships to sail directly from ports on Lake Superior to mills on Lake Erie.[2]

The first "pocket dock" for loading iron ore onto ships was constructed in Marquette's Lower Harbor in 1857. Pocket docks are equipped with a series of storage pockets along the dock, which sit above the height of a ship's deck. Ore is transported to the dock by train, and ore is stored in the pockets until a ship arrives. When a ship arrives, the stored ore is dropped into the ship's hold by gravity. The 1857 pocket dock featured 75 pockets at a height of 25 feet (7.6 m) above the water level, and the design of ore docks advanced in tandem with the design of lake freighters through the early 20th century.[12]

The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway built a wooden ore dock, Marquette Ore Dock No. 5, in Lower Harbor in 1906. Dock No. 5 was 71 feet (22 m) tall,[13] and was expected to have a service life of 25 years.[2] The DSS&A began planning for a new dock in the mid-1920s, and Dock No. 5 was taken out of service after the 1931 shipping season and demolished in early 1932. Timber from Dock No. 5 was [2]

Specifications

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Cross section of the ore dock

Dock No. 6 is taller than its predecessor at 85 feet 7 inches (26.09 m) above water level, and is 968 feet (295 m) long. It was constructed of reinforced concrete, with 28,650 cubic yards (21,900 m3) of concrete and a total of 3,110 short tons (2,820 t; 2,780 long tons) of steel. It was served by a 2,400-foot (730 m) single-track railroad viaduct through Downtown Marquette. The dock's 150 pockets were capable of holding 43,000 short tons (39,000 t; 38,000 long tons) of ore, and it was claimed to be able to load a ship in less than two hours.[1]

Construction

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Plans were drawn for the construction of a new ore dock for the DSS&A, designated Ore Dock No. 6, in late 1930. Dock No. 6 was partially funded by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which operated the DSS&A as an independent subsidiary.[2]

Contracts for construction were signed in March 1931, and by early summer the construction of the new dock was in progress. A crew of up to 340 workers, most from the Marquette area, constructed the dock on a tight timeline. The dock had to be ready for the start of the 1932 shipping season, which was to begin in the spring.

Dock No. 6 was complete by mid-May, and the first load of iron ore arrived by train on June 3rd.[2]

Operation

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Dock No. 6 served iron ore trains from multiple mines, including the Ford Motor Company's Blueberry and Imperial mines, and later the Jones and Laughlin Tracy Mine.

The ore dock in 1990

Retirement

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The Lower Harbor ore dock approach tracks ran through downtown Marquette (pictured in 1997)

The Lower Harbor ore dock processed its last load of ore in 1971.

A 22-year-old airman from K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base died in September 1971 after falling while walking on the top of the dock.[10] In

Redevelopment

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Approaches removed when? They became what?[14]

2017 proposal hasn't gone anywhere

See also

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Further reading

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  • Cole, Benjamin Douglas (2011). Forging City and Lake: Marquette's Waterfront Beyond the Ore Dock Legacy (Master of Landscape Architecture thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "New Ore Dock Built Entirely of Reinforced Concrete". Railway Age. 94 (9): 326–328. March 4, 1933. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Magnaghi, Russell (1990). "HAER No. MI-45: Marquette Ore Dock No. 6, Fifth to Lake Streets Marquette, Marquette County, Michigan". Historic American Engineering Record. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  3. ^ Eckert, Kathryn Bishop (2012). "Lake Superior and Ishpeming Ore Dock and Approach". SAH Archipedia. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  4. ^ Magnaghi, Russell (1990). "HAER No. MI-45-C: Ore Dock, Lower Harbor, Marquette, Marquette County, Michigan". Historic American Engineering Record. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  5. ^ Magnaghi, Russell (1990). "HAER No. MI-45-A: Approach, Fifth to Lake Streets, Marquette, Marquette County, Michigan". Historic American Engineering Record. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  6. ^ "History of the Iron Ore Trade". 1910 Annual Report of the Lake Carriers' Association. Cleveland: Lake Carriers Association. 1910. pp. 101–117. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  7. ^ Lancour, Jenny (October 20, 1988). "Skeleton found in ore chute". The Mining Journal. pp. 1A. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via UPLink.
  8. ^ Sargent, Bud (October 21, 1988). "Police to check dental records to I.D. skeleton". The Mining Journal. pp. 1A. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via UPLink.
  9. ^ "Rare guest". The Mining Journal. December 2, 1977. p. 13. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via UPLink.
  10. ^ a b "Dies in St. Luke's: Airman, 22, Falls 70 To 75 Feet Down Ore Chute". The Mining Journal. September 15, 1971. p. 2. Retrieved June 14, 2026 – via UPLink.
  11. ^ Schneider, Dave (November 6, 1988). "Ore dock trestle, tank farm targeted for spring removal". The Mining Journal. p. 3A. Retrieved June 16, 2026 – via UPLink.
  12. ^ Rankin, Ernest H. (1967). "Marquette's Iron Ore Docks". Inland Seas. 23 (3): 231–237. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  13. ^ Merritt, D.H. (July 1919). "History of the Marquette Ore Docks". Michigan History Magazine. 3 (3): 424–430. Retrieved June 15, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Durfee, Elizabeth (June 2013). Michigan Coastal Community Working Waterfront Case Study Report: Marquette (Technical report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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