Ship Channel

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Bird's-eye view of the Manitowoc Harbor facing east from Northern Grain Company's Elevator B. In the foreground, Mathews & Keith's pile driver scow is secured along the dock line on the left. Spanning the Manitowoc River are the Main (Tenth) Street and Eighth Street swing bridges. At the mouth of the river, a ship is moored at the Goodrich Transit Company docks. Opposite the docks, the entrance to the Chicago and Northwestern Rail Road's new car ferry slip is partially visible. A long coal shed with four "travelers" on the roof is to the right. In 1892, Congress granted approval to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of a ship channel, twenty feet in depth, connecting the waters of the Great Lakes between Chicago, Duluth and Buffalo for the improvement of commerce on the lakes. All sections of the deepened channel were to be completed in 1895. Manitowoc, with a river depth of fourteen feet, began a massive program of harbor improvements in 1895 in order to accommodate expected larger vessels with twenty-foot drafts. At the same time, the Wisconsin Central Rail Road was constructing a rail line into the city with car ferry service to Michigan and making harbor improvements, as well. In June of 1898, dredging between the U.S. government piers at the river's entrance was completed. The channel, up to the new turning basin adjacent to Burger and Burger Boat Yard, had attained a depth of twenty feet.