Marquette Lower Harbor Ore Dock 3 B W

by Paul LeSage

Title

Marquette Lower Harbor Ore Dock 3 B W

Artist

Paul LeSage

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Marquette's Lower Harbor Ore Dock, once a cornerstone of the regional economy in this area of Michigan, was constructed in 1931-1932 for the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad at a cost of $1.32 million.

The railroad tracks leading to the top of the dock have been dismantled and removed.

Iron ore extracted from mines in western Marquette County was transported via rail to the top of the dock, emptied into the structures pocket chutes and loaded onto vessels docked below. From the docks first day of service on June 3, 1932 until its closure in 1971, nearly 24 million tons of ore left Marquette through the Lower Harbor. In the decades since its closure, the dock has been a source of great interest and inspiration for the community.

In the 1890s, Upper Michigan was the largest supplier of iron ore in the United States. Railroads would haul ore from the mines to great ore docks on the Great Lakes in places such as Escanaba and Marquette, where it would be loaded on ore freighters and transported to the rest of the country.

The first dock specifically for the ore trade was built in Marquette in 1857. It was flat rather than elevated, and the vessels were loaded with wheelbarrows.

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July 10th, 2016

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