The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1910-02-17
SOME "reminiscences Of THINGS
MARITIME BY TIMOTHY
KELLEY. SR.


brary on Wednesday evening" of last
week:
In complying with the request for
some "reminiscences of my early days
of navigation of the lakes and of early
local shipping, | am making a maiden
effort in the line of preparing a paper
of any kind, and am with many mis-
givings reluctantly putting aside a
natural aversion for the task. Not
that do not want to talk about ma
rine matters. That is about all that |
can talk of with any assurance. |
make no pretensions to knowledge OF
very early history of the city for there
are many happily still among US, whose
recollections of early day persons,
places and events go back 10, or
even 20 years, before mine. But my
memory of things connected with navi-
cation may be more trustworthy than
that of one who was not so directly
connected with it. In writing now |
desire to merely rapidly sketch things
which | think striking, to avoid the
narrator's personal history as much as
possible, and also that which is uni
versally known or has been recorded
in local histories. 1t is written en-
tirely from memory but is neverthe-
less, think, fairly accurate.
My earliest strecollections of the Great
Lakes and craft thereon began in
April 1856 when | came from Milwau-
kee to Manitowoc, and landed on the
old North or X. X. Jones pier, from
the steamer Cleveland, of the occasion
of my parents settling here in Manito-
woe Living here when a youngster
and near the harbor gave me an eX-
cellent opportunity to satisfy my great
delight in going on board of every
craft that showed itself in the river or
at the piers on the lake. AT this time
the river was nearly in its natural
condition. Each bank was fringed
with strip of marsh. On the south
was swamp land filing the space be-
tween Quay street and the river. At
about the foot of south Tth street pier
was built through this swamp from
Quay street to the river channel. On
the north side the marsh extended from
Commercial street To the river, west Of
-tr u-il n
taking in the whole peninsula where
the 500 Line yards are. Besides the
small pier through the marsh | think
the only river Improvements We're
small docks the width of the street at
north 9th and north 1th streets. Other
wise the river was still in its original
condition, an idea of which can be got
ten from viewing any unimproved
river with strip OF marshland on
each side. There was another i'm
provement, if it can be called that,
consisting of a couple of cribs at the
mouth of the river, which are now un-
der the Goodrich warehouse. These,
| presume, were the results of the
abortive effort 10 build harbor in
1852. They were of no use for any
purpose except for boys to dive from.
Although history may be to the con-
trary, there was not an artificial chan
mel of II feet in the river at this time
nor for many years after. At this
period, and up to the time the govern
ment harbor was built in the early
'70s, although schooners came into the
river to receive cargoes at certain sea-
sons, it was uncommon and they never
could do SO with over eight feet
draught and then only under favorable
conditions and only up to 10th street,
When schooners did come into the
river it was rarely that the bar across
the mouth would permit a full cargo
to be taken inside, and the loading
would be completed from one of the
two bridge piers jutting out from the
beach into the lake, or in case of their
crowded condition, which was usual,
from SHOWS in the lake. 1t was
common sight in the sos and SOS to
see a half dozen schooners at anchor
in the bay being laden from SHOWS
with shingles, posts or lumber. 1t
was at times quite difficult job to get
into the river even with a very light
draught before the harbor was built.
Sand bars would form that completely
blocked the mouth of the river, and
have walked across from where the
Goodrich Dock is now to where the c.
Il N. w. ferry slip is, on dry land. |
remember once a little schooner came
in as far as she could when the river
was in such condition and landed
alongside the old cribs | have men
toned, and she laid there until the
captain came with shovel and dug a
drain from the river to the lake about
20 feet and the water in the river be-
ing higher than in the lake soon wore
channel wide and deep enough for
the schooner to get inside. The
steamer .Iichigan was fast on this bar
all one winter in the early sos. The
freshet in the spring furnished water
to get her inside and her machinery
was put in the new Goodrich boat
Orion. The only bridge obstruction
in 1856 was one at sth street consisting
of two wooden platforms that tilted
up, something like the modern bascule