Ore and Timber

The hull of an ore boat is a single giant cavern, without partitions. Loose ore is simply dumped in. In the early days, unloading is handled the hard way, with shovels and wheelbarrows, to transfer the ore to rail cars.

As ore traffic increases, machines are developed to speed up the job. They use a row of overhead cranes to drop a row of buckets down every hatch, hauling up loose ore by cable until clear of the hatches.

The buckets then travel sideways, on long overhead rails, to a position over the dump zone. Ore accumulates in huge piles, to be later scooped up into rail cars for the continuing journey to Pittsburgh.
Iron ore boats 1890

  Turning up the Volume
By 1890, iron ore boats are arriving in Lake Erie at an average rate of 20 per day, until winter ice suspends operations for the season. Each of the big steamers holds enough ore to fill 40 rail cars. That's a lot of material to unload, every day. The largest ore-handling ports are in Ohio, at Ashtabula and Cleveland. Most of the boats are built in Cleveland, and south of Detroit.

Soo Locks, 1890 map

  Huge Traffic Boost
The Soo locks dwarf anything previously seen in America. The original lock is three times longer than those being used in the Erie Canal, but within 25 years a larger lock is added, which is half-again bigger. By 1890, there is yet another new lock in operation, this time eight times the size of the Erie Canal locks, and designed to handle four ships at once. Soon enough, however, ore boats grow to such a size that only one can fit through at a time.


Michigan lumber, 1890 map

  Wood for Housing
During the same period, loggers are hauling huge loads of virgin timber from central Michigan. This is mostly white pine, which is hauled in astonishing loads over snow and ice. As the areas close to rivers are logged out, timber companies build their own private railroads to reach further into the interior. Even more timber is cut on the western shore of Michigan, bound for Chicago and Milwaukee. After 40 years, Michigan is effectively logged out by 1900.