The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1910-02-17

piers were IN use Wnen we arrived
here. The light house in 1856 was the
old tower at 5th and York streets per
petuated by the postal card publishers
1t had then a fixed light, changed a
few years later to revolving flash
light.
The constant traders here, nearly
all belonging to merchants of the
town, were the schooners Traveller,
Capt Jesse Wright: Joe Villas, Capt.
Albright; Gertrude, Capt. Edwards:
Wayne, Capt. Nelson: Celt, Capt.
Simpson; Clipper City, Capt. Edwards:
A. Baensch, Capt. Fulton: Gesine,
Capt. Fred Schuette: El-Tempo, Capt.
Hughes; Col. Glover, Capt. koehler;
Transit, Capt. Hoag: Belle, Capt.
Humphrey: Two Charles, Capt. Min
sky: Jane Louisa, Capt. Jarr. When
we saw these men standing on the
quarter deck sailing into the narrow
entrance of the river in breeze of
wind it was the delight of US boys all
of whom hoped that some day we
might occupy like positions. 1t re-
quired courage and skill to do the
work that these men did: to come
down the lake with breeze of wind
and quite a sea on and make for Il hole
in the sand and get into the river,
keeping all sails on to jump the vessel
over the bar and get her inside 1t
was sight never to be forgotten.
Sometimes they missed the mouth OF
the river and several of the schooners
went ashore on either side of the
mouth. 1t happened to the Gesine
once. Perhaps Capt. Fred Schuette
remembers it, but he was not Captain
of her at that time. Capt. Jim Dono-
van was sailing her then. When they
came to Manitowoc Bay and thought
It was not advisable to try to get in
they came to anchor outside until the
breeze subsiding and the sea going
down would enable them to get inside
or alongside the piers to load. This
frequently kept them out in the bay at
anchor for several days getting a
shaking up. These schoonerS were
not enoughto carry the freight offered
and there were several outside vessels
from Chicago and Milwaukee constant
ly trading here, so one can imagine
the amount of coarse freight that was
handled in the early days.
The first vessels that | saw launched
were the "El Tempo built about
wnere the grocery department OF Tor
rison's store is now, the "a. Baensch'
built Just where the north end of Main
street bridge now is, and the "Belle"
Just west of the present dry dock up
the river, all in 1857.
The first steamboat built here,
think, was the propeller Union
about where the Electric Light plant
is now. 1t was built for Capt. Good
rich. He also had the steamer "Vic-
tor name changed to sunbeam }
built in the same place. That was the
Bates ship yard. The Sunbeam"
was built with screw wheels on the
sides with independent engines for
each wheel, but this arrangement was
not a success, and they were soon re-
moved and the regular paddle wheels
and a beam engine substituted. The
Sunbeam" was lost on Lake Superior
with all hands except one man. That
was the beginning of the Goodrich
fleet that was built here. Afterwards
were built here for Goodrich the
Orion, North West, Manitowoc, She
boygan, Chicago, DePere, Corona,
Muskegon, Oconto, Navarino, Menom-
inee, City of Ludington, City of Ra-
cine, Indiana and now the Alabama
The schooners Nabob and Sea Gem
were also built on the same ground as
the Sunbeam. Another ship yard was
started below Sth street bridge and be-
tween 1th and Sth streets. There the
barque Chicago Board of Trade" was
built in 1862. She was one of the
largest vessels on the lakes then, hay
ing a capacity of about $4,000 bushels
of grain. | was boy on her in the
season of 1868. | must mention the
numerous sailing crafts that were
built along in the seventies, at the sev-
eral ship yards of Rand & Berger,
Hanson & Scove, Butler & Windiate,
and Peter Larson, who all built some
were ever built on the lakes. | re-
there were l6 vessels built
here in 1873 and eleven in 1874 and
most all of them of modern size at
that time, and some of them the larg-
est on the lakes, viz: Geo. Murry, G..
Pfster, j. |. Case, G. G. Barnes, II. G.
Richards and David Vance. My own
sailing began in the little schooner
ellen in the fall of 1862, the year Of
the famous Indian scare. Capt. Jim
Stephenson, Levi Beardsley and my
self comprised the crew. The skipper
had it all planned that when the red
skins got too close for our comfort we
were to sal out into the lake. How
ever they got no closer to rs than
Minnesota.
The craft trading here in the sos
and SOS might be roughly classified
like this:
!. Local passenger steamers
,. Line package freighters on the