News & Fun in Michigan
Explore Great Lakes shipping, a vital industry that connects ports transports goods and showcases the region’s rich maritime history and economic significance.
We’re standing at the crowded dock in Port Hope, Michigan, sometime around 1905 to 1913. A Great Lakes steamer, its name on the bow blurred but appearing to read “Flora” or “Lora,” presses so close to the pier it almost scrapes …
Side-wheeler steamers were used across the Great Lakes well into the late 1800s. The East Saginaw and Bay City line ran on Michigan’s Saginaw River.
Operation Taconite, launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, is an extensive ice-breaking initiative in the Great Lakes aimed at maintaining vital shipping routes for Michigan’s economy during winter. This operation ensures safety for vessels while balancing economic, environmental, and community needs throughout the region.
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.
An account of the Great Lakes Steamer B.F. Ferris burned to a total loss while at the docks in Caseville in 1891.
Tales of four ghost ships of the Great Lakes. The 1800s was an era of ships plying the waters over 2000 miles of waterways. Some never made it to port but sailors claim to see these ships still plying waters.
Work continues after the launch of the Mark W. Barker. The first U.S. flagged new Great Lakes freighter to be built in Great Lakes waters in 40 years.
One interesting little site, located in a county park, is the Lightship Huron. Lightships are floating lighthouses that could be anchored on the lakes where it was too deep or impossible to build a lighthouse.
