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“DSS&A Ry. = Ore Docks

Source: The Daily Mining Journal, Marquette, Mi.
Monday, April 28, 1890

Larger Harbor is Needed

As year by year and traffic at this port increases the
inadequacy of the harbor, becomes more and more apparent.
Today, all of the dock room is filled, and overflowed.
Four great ore docks stretch out into the lake to the
utmost limit allowed by law. The coal pier reaches nearly
as far as will be constantly occupied and all ready there
is complaint of loack of room at the merchandise docks.

In fact only two steamers can unload package freight at
once.

With all the great commerce of this port there is little
protection for it. It is notorious that in a gale vessels
cannot safely. load at the old MH&O dock, but must seek
shelter under the breakwater. The great No. 1 dock, the
largest of the port is totally without protection. Any
further building of ore docks, and at the present date they
will be needed before long, must be still further to the
southward and in a still more unsheltered siduation.
Before long the necessities of commerce will absolutely
force the spending of a large amount of money in the
improvement of the Marquette harbor. How it may be wisely
and judiciously spent is a matter to be given careful and
earnest consideration. Marquette needs her harbor
improved and needs it not in the penny-ante scale now in
vogue. This thing of spending 325,000 one year and get
just far enough to make a nice target for the next storm
is played out. There has been too much of that nonsense.
What Marquette wants and must have is harbor improvements on
a large, generous, provident scale, work which will consider
the future as well as the present.

Tne Lake Superior region supplies over 50% of that metal
manufactured in the United States. Over 20% of this amount
is shipped from from the docks at Marquette. In other
words the ore for one-tenth of all the iron manufactured in
the United States during the year 1689, passed through into
the holds of vessels from Marquette's docks. The ore
trade to say nothing of coal, brownstone, pig-iron and minor
metals is interstate in its character and the United States
should therefore afford it necessary facilities. Instead of
doing this properly money hes been doled out little by
little with the result that much more has been spent in
repairs than in actual construction.

As the bay is an open roadstead with little or no actual
shelter to prevailing gales, the question how an adequate
harbor is to be provided here becomes a serious one. ot
May be that the best plan will be to build an enormous
mole out from the mouth of the Carp or thereabouts,
extending the present breakwater towar it. It may be
thought more advisable to fence in Dead River bay and
dredge interior slips in flats of that stream. These are
questions for engineers to study and decide. But one
thing is certain and that is that the problems of
furnishing an adequate harbor for Marquette is one
demanding earnest study and liberal and early
appropriations. It is time now to begin to prepare for
the certain increase of commerce in the future.