Great Lakes Shipbuilding in Saginaw Bay During the Lumber Era

The times of greatest shipbuilding in the Great Lakes region was during the lumbering era. From 1839 until the early 1890s, the virgin old-growth Michigan forests were cut down to produce lumber for growing towns and cities in the lower Great Lakes. Michigan was the nation’s leading lumber producer from 1869 until about 1900. The only way to transport finished milled lumber from the shore side mills in the Great Lakes was by ship.

Henry Schoolcraft Travels to Charity Island 1820

Henry Schoolcraft was asked to join an expedition organized by Governor Cass of Michigan in 1819. Its purpose was to locate the source of the Mississippi River’ and explore the Great Lakes region. As an expert mineralogist, he was tasked with describing Michigan’s significant topographical features, natural history, and mineral wealth. The expedition took approximately 40 men in five long voyageur canoes commonly used in the fur trade on the Great Lakes. At 35 feet long and 6 feet wide, the canoe had an amazing capacity of four tons. They started the journey on May 24, 1820.

A Short History of The Saginaw Bay Fishery

Historically, Saginaw Bay supported Lake Huron’s largest commercial walleye fishery and was second in the Great Lakes to only Lake Erie.

The earliest commercial fisheries dated to the 1830s, and walleye were specifically noted in catch records as early as 1858.