Shipping on the Great Lakes went through several different periods where one resource in particular rose to prominence and was completely extracted before moving onto a different resource that rose to prominence on the Great Lakes. This list is going to go through all the different cargoes that were carried by ships on the Great Lakes by the periods some cargos are still carried aboard lakers to this day. Each of these different drove great lakes shipbuilding and growth of the Great Lakes region including Wisconsin. Additional modifications to the Great Lakes like the construction of a canal allowed for ships to reach the resources that could be exploited.
Fur 1530-1840
With the construction of Le Griffon in 1679, animal furs were the first cargo carried aboard a ship on the Great Lakes. The primary fur pelt that was desired was beaver, because due to overharvesting, beavers were nearly extinct in Europe but also included many other pelts. Aside from Le Griffon, fur on the Great Lakes was transported exclusively by canoe. Bringing furs back from the Great Lakes region back to Europe was very long and was disrupted many times due to the outbreak of disease and war. The fur trade would stop and start during these periods every time until fashion trends changed, and textiles took over.
Copper 1840-1880s
The Copper trade on the Great Lakes did not last very long. In the two decades of the 1840s and 1850s the copper rich country of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan began to be mined. At the time, there were no railroads extending into the region, therefore much of the copper was transported aboard ships. In 1855 the St. Mary’s Falls Ship canal no known as the Soo Locks allowed for ships to travel directly to the copper producing harbors on the Keweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior down to ports like Chicago and Detroit. Eventually ships would be replaced when the railroads finally reached the region. Copper ore is a very heavy cargo, and the ships of the time could only carry a limited amount.
Lumber 1840-1900
The dense forest of Michigan and Wisconsin became the primary source of lumber required to build America throughout the 1800s. Nearly all lumber harvested on the Great Lakes was shipped to Chicago due to the opening of the Illinois & Michigan Canal in 1848 connecting the Great Lakes and Chicago to the Mississippi River and beyond to the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the later opening of Chicago’s railroad links east and west allowed for the transportation of lumber to all the then corners of America. Lumber would be cut in the northern forests of Wisconsin and Michigan and then transported down to the lakes by either horse, railroad or by river where it would then be processed in a sawmill and loaded onto a schooner for transport down to Chicago. Other lumber ports included Tonawanda, Indiana, and Cleveland. Lumber was the first major cargo and lake trade throughout the 19th century until the forests were depleted. Later lumber trade on the Great Lakes would be low grade pulpwood.
Coal 1890-Today
By the late 1800s, as all the forests of Wisconsin and Michigan were cut down, coal became the dominant cargo of the Great Lakes as the refining of iron ore, steel production, steam engine and energy production all came from the burning of coal. This became a trade after coal fields were discovered in southern Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The coal would be shipped to ports on Lake Erie where it would then be transported to other ports across the Great Lakes region. The intersection of coal and iron form the upper Great Lakes, made Ohio ports like Cleveland the hub of iron and steel production. This would also serve to make Ohio the hub of Great Lakes maritime industry eventually replacing Chicago and the Lumber trade.
Grain 1860-Today
By 1860 the breadbasket of America had moved from the Ohio valley to the entire Great Lakes region. Grain would be produced in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan Iowa, and Missouri. This grain would be harvested and transported by railroad to ports like Milwaukee, Racine, Chicago, and Duluth and shipped eastward across the Great Lakes to ports like Buffalo, Cleveland and Kingston where the grain would then be shipped by canal and railroad all along the eastern United States. From 1868-1875 grain coming into Buffalo accounted for over half of the grain that arrived in New York city. As the train yards in Chicago grew congested, it was quickly realized that it was faster, easier and cheaper to transport grain by ship. Only the ships with the highest insurance ratings were allowed to carry grain on the great lakes.
Iron 1855-Today
Iron ore is the trade of the Great Lakes, but it did not rise to prominence until 1880 and has declined in the modern era. Iron ore was discovered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northern Minnesota, and eastern Quebec. In the early era iron ore was carried down from the mines by horses and carts and then processed in small forges before being loaded onto a schooner or a steamer to mills in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It was quickly realized that refining iron on Lake Superior did not work. They would then shift to hauling unprocessed iron from the mines on Lake Superior down to Pennsylvania and Ohio. The opening of the St. Mary’s Ship canal now known as the Soo Locks allowed for ships to travel directly to the iron producing ports on Lake Superior. Iron ore grew to be the primary ingredient in steel production. Iron ore spurred developments in shipbuilding to carry more and more iron ore. Ships grew larger and larger, the engines to power these ships were made larger, more powerful and more efficient to carry these loads. Therefore, locks and canals were made larger and larger. Massive ore docks were built to load these ships with iron ore more efficiently rather than with hand carts.
Salt 1840-Today
Beneath the eastern Great Lakes basin is a massive salt deposit, the remains of an ancient ocean. This salt deposit has given birth to the largest salt mine in the world. There are salt mines in Goderich, Detroit. Cleveland, and Windsor. Early in Great Lakes History salt was mined in Detroit and then shipped to various fisheries across the Great Lakes to preserve fish in a time before refrigeration. Due to the excess of lumber provided the materials to dewater the salt brine, this would be lost after the lumber was cut down. In the 1800s salt was also used to produce Soda Ash which is processed salt brine, ammonia, and limestone which is a raw material used in the production of glass, paper, caustic soda, bicarbonate soda, and other industrial chemicals. This salt is also used for road salt across the Great Lakes region.
Limestone 1863-Today
Limestone is an ingredient used in steel production. As the demand for iron grew, so did the demand for limestone. Limestone would also be transported to the forges of Ohio and Pennsylvania for steel production. Limestone is also used in cement production, road construction and construction of buildings. Michigan is the dominant producer of Limestone which was transported to ports throughout the region. Limestone is also an ingredient to produce Soda Ash which is also used in the production of glass, chemicals, detergents and other industrial products.
Taconite 1955-Today
Taconite is a low-grade iron ore with low iron content. Early in Great Lakes Iron mining history and trade, this ore was passed on in favor of purer iron ore deposits. Taconite was also passed on because the purer iron ore could be shipped directly to the smelters and forges without any processing. Being so low grade, taconite requires extensive processing before transport. Taconite was first documented in northern Minnesota in 1870 before the iron ore was struck. Later in 1915, a process was devised where the iron ore in taconite could be accessed by grinding up the rock and then running it through magnets to separate the iron ore from the rock. Although this process proved the utility of mining taconite, it was still passed on in favor of purer iron ore, and the process was too expensive. It wasn’t until 1955 when the first load of Taconite was shipped on the Great Lakes. As the high-grade iron ore decreased in northern Minnesota, Taconite was seen as a viable option, and this remains the form of iron ore that’s shipped on the Great Lakes.
Merchandise 1840-Today
Of course, general merchandise has been transported on the Great Lakes since the beginning. Early cargos included farm implements that were being shipped into Wisconsin with a growing farm industry. The former Wisconsin Chair Company of Port Washington was located right along the waterfront so its products could be shipped across the great lakes. Sheboygan was also the site of furniture production and then would be shipped to markets across the great lakes. Kenosha would also ship out metal furniture along with leather, wagons and automobiles. Kissel Motor Car Company of Hartford, and Nash Motors of Kenosha would have their cars shipped across the Great Lakes on steamships. The fruit from eastern Michigan orchards would be shipped to markets across the Great Lakes. This is just a slice of the ports and types of merchandise shipped across the Great Lakes.
