Ore dock
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An ore dock is a large structure used for loading
ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...
(typically from railway cars or ore jennies) onto ships, which then carry the ore to steelworks or to transshipment points. Most known ore docks were constructed near
iron mines Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the for ...
on the upper
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and served the lower Great Lakes. Ore docks still in existence are typically about wide, high, and vary from to in length. They are commonly constructed from
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
,
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
,
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
, or combinations of these materials. They are commonly used for loading bulk ore carriers with high mass, low-value ore, such as
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
, in raw or
taconite Taconite () is a variety of iron formation, an iron-bearing (over 15% iron) sedimentary rock, in which the iron minerals are interlayered with quartz, chert, or carbonate. The name "taconyte" was coined by Horace Vaughn Winchell (1865–1923) †...
form.


Construction

Ore docks are typically long, high structures, with a railway track or tracks along the top and a number of "pockets" into which ore is unloaded from railcars, typically by gravity. Each pocket has a chute that can be lowered to discharge the ore into the hold of a ship berthed alongside. The use of pockets and chutes allows the dock itself to be loaded with ore before it is transferred into the freighter. The docks' storage bins or pockets are typically wider at the top than the bottom, and they lead to movable steel chutes. These chutes project out over the water at a slight angle from the sides of the docks. The hinged chutes, which are lowered to drop ore from the pockets into ships, are located at twelve-foot intervals over the length of the dock. This spacing is not coincidental, as the docks and the lakers they could load evolved together, and laker hatch spacing is typically 12, or on center.


History

Since the late 1800s, ore docks have been a common sight in many
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
ports of
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and especially
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. Rich
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
deposits were first discovered in the
Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
in the 1840s and remain a significant source of wealth for the state. By the 1890s, Michigan was the largest supplier of iron ore in the United States. Railroads would haul ore from the mines to the ore docks on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
in places such as
Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...
and Marquette, where the cargo would be loaded onto ore freighters and transported to the rest of the country. Iron ore was first discovered in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...
on September 19, 1844, by William A. Burt, who was then employed to lead a party engaged in surveying the Upper Peninsula on behalf of the United States government. Variations in the readings of magnetic compasses employed suggested that something was disturbing the local magnetic fields, and, on investigation of part of the
Marquette Iron Range The Marquette Iron Range is a deposit of iron ore located in Marquette County, Michigan in the United States. The towns of Ishpeming and Negaunee developed as a result of mining this deposit. A smaller counterpart of Minnesota's Mesabi Range, thi ...
, ore was found as close to the surface as just below the sod. Development of this find was ongoing throughout the 1840s and early 1850s. The initial focus was on producing iron locally, as shipping was difficult. Early shipping attempts using
mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
teams,
plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario as well as the Northeast and Midwest of the United States in the first half of the 19th century. They were oft ...
s, and barrels loaded as deck cargo on
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s required transshipment after
portaging Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
the St. Marys River rapids, and costs proved prohibitive. However, as the mines continued to develop and railways were put in place, the volume of ore increased, far outstripping the local production capacity. In 1855, the
Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lowe ...
opened, and the volume of ore shipped increased, with a total of 1447 tons shipped on various brigs and schooners. The first dock specifically for the ore trade was built in 1857 in Marquette. It was flat rather than elevated, and the vessels were loaded by men using wheelbarrows. By 1860, the volume of ore shipped through the Soo Locks had increased to 114,401 tons; it fell to 49,909 tons the next year after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 â€“ May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
broke out. But by 1862, an additional wooden dock had been constructed at Marquette, this time featuring an elevated railway trestle for ore jennies to discharge ore into pockets. In 1911 another iron ore loading dock was built: the wooden frame work was replaced with a concrete and steel frame work. The new iron ore loading dock at Marquette was 1200 feet long; 75 feet high; and 60 feet wide. Four railroad tracks ran across the top and there was storage space inside the bottom concrete part for 60,000 tons of iron ore. The new ore loading dock incorporated a concrete bottom half with a light steel frame work on top, replacing the wooden supports previously used. While this structure was more expensive to build than previous iron ore loading docks, the builders claimed the new construction would hold up far longer than the old construction method. Schooners started to feature regularly spaced hatch covers, which sped up loading. But steamers of the day were not well adapted for bulk cargoes such as iron ore. They did not have hatches through their decks. Instead they had gangways through the sides. So ore shipments were loaded via wheelbarrows through the gangways. By having a flat surface on one side and moorings directly under the pockets, schooners could receive the ore directly. Steamers moored on the opposite side of the dock for the manual method using wheelbarrows. However, unloading was still a laborious hand-powered affair. During this period, the iron ore trade was dwarfed by the grain and lumber trade. For example, in 1866 about 1,500,000 tons of grain were received at the port of
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, alone. Chicago received about 400,000 tons of lumber. The amount of iron ore delivered to all
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
ports amounted to only 278,976 gross tons. Until 1876, Marquette was the only port on
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
that shipped iron ore to the east. After the Civil War, advancement was rapid. The
Cleveland Iron Mining Company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., formerly Cliffs Natural Resources, is a Cleveland, Ohio-based company that specializes in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping and tooling. It is the large ...
's dock was above the lake level and was originally built with 29 schooner pockets and 6 steam boat pockets. By 1872, it had been extended an additional , providing 54 additional pockets. During the 1873 season, the total tonnage of iron ore shipped from the port of Marquette was 1,175,000 tons. As additional ore ranges (the Gogebic, Menominee East, and Menominee West) began to be developed, and the US developed more rapidly as an industrial power, other ports also constructed ore docks, primarily on Lake Superior. For example,
Ashland, Wisconsin Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Ashland County. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 7,908 at the 2020 census, al ...
, the natural port for the Gogebic Range, had three docks by 1916, the first built by the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway in 1884-1885. It was long, with 234 pockets, and four tracks on the dock, and could hold 25,000 tons of ore. The natural port for the Menominee East range was
Escanaba, Michigan Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...
; the first docks there were built in 1865. By 1884, locomotives played a vital part in hauling ore from the mines to the docks. The pockets and chutes were filled using the hopper-type ore cars. In 1889, the
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, west ...
operated a dock with 284 pockets. The railroads also provided alternate transportation for people, goods and eventually, iron ore. The length and capacity of docks corresponded with the capacity of the ore freighters which they were designed to accommodate. As ore carriers increased in height and width, higher pocket openings were required and new docks had to be constructed, and older ones rebuilt. In 1867, vessels carried ore cargoes of 550 tons. The first steel ore freighters introduced in the 1880s had a capacity of 2,500 tons. By 1898, ships were carrying 6,400 tons and by 1938, 15,000 tons. The demand for iron ore grew, faster dispatch of vessels was necessary, and larger rail cars and the number of more powerful locomotives for transporting the ore from mines to the docks increased with improved technology. These developments caused the old wooden Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway ore dock built in 1898 to become obsolete. A new dock was constructed by the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad Company of reinforced concrete and steel in 1911 and 1912 in the Upper Harbor near Presque Isle Park. This dock is high, long and has 200 pockets, with a total capacity of 50,000 tons of ore pellets. By 1929, more than one and one half times the combined yearly tonnage of the Panama and Suez canals passed through the Soo Locks. The dock is still in use today. Activity also continued in Marquette's Lower Harbor. The Duluth, South Short and Atlantic Railway, in order to remain competitive, completed construction of a new dock in 1932. This dock was constructed of steel and concrete, high, long, with 150 pockets. The total capacity was 47,500 tons. The D.S.S. & A. Railway merged with other companies to form the Soo Line. The dock remained in operation until the late 1960s, when a decrease in demand for iron ore forced it to close. In 1987, the Soo Line sold its Lake States Division to
Wisconsin Central Ltd Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of Canadian National. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada (Algoma Central Railway), the United Kingdom ( En ...
. The ownership passed to the latter railroad, where it remains today.


Today

Many docks have been torn down or abandoned, but a few remain in operation. The Lake Superior & Ishpeming dock, one of the docks at
Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...
, loaded its 400 millionth ton of ore after 90 years of service. Another dock, built later by
Merritt-Chapman & Scott Merritt-Chapman & Scott, nicknamed "The Black Horse of the Sea", was a noted marine salvage and construction firm of the United States, with worldwide operations. The chief predecessor company was founded in the 1860s by Israel Merritt, but a ...
for the
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) was an American railroad serving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It provided service from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and St. Ignace, Michigan, west ...
(DSS&A), was taken out of service in 1971. , there are plans to redevelop this ore dock. ''
The Mining Journal ''The Mining Journal'' is the predominant daily newspaper of Marquette, Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Like most market-dominant daily papers, the ''MJ'' is a six-day paper. ''The Mining Journal'' is distributed over a wide area, ...
'', a local newspaper, has stated that these include "ecological education facilities, year-round indoor botanical gardens, historical preservation and education, and community spaces." The largest dock of the type in the world exist in Superior, Wisconsin as part of BNSF's Allouez Taconite Facility, however, these docks have been abandoned since 1978. Ore docks in Duluth, MN, and Two Harbors, MN, are still in service and operated by Canadian National Railway and
Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , is a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It began operations in 1896. The LS&I continues to operate as an independent railroad f ...
. Ore docks are mentioned in popular culture, at least one high school athletic team, the
Ashland, Wisconsin Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Ashland County. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 7,908 at the 2020 census, al ...
Oredockers takes their name from them, and they have been mentioned in song.


See also

*
Dock (maritime) A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning vari ...
*
Hulett The Hulett was an ore unloader that was widely used on the Great Lakes of North America. It was unsuited to tidewater ports because it could not adjust for rising and falling tides, although one was used in New York City. History The Hulett was i ...
- a device used to remove ore from the freighter's holds at the other end of the journey *
Lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of m ...
- general
bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...
ship whose evolution paralleled that of the docks.


References

{{Reflist


External links


The Ore Docks of Marquette
NMU Archives Steel Rail freight transport Civil engineering Mineral transport Shipping