The Port - Today

Escanaba grew from a small town into a growing city in a brief time through the expansion of lake shipping at its port. Over the years, Escanaba harbor experienced boom-and-bust periods in the fishing, lumber, and iron industries. Although lumber and fish are no longer shipped from the port, the Chicago & Northwestern railway and iron dock still thrive on Escanaba harbor. During the 1980's and into the 1990's, the Chicago & Northwestern shipped 5-6 million tons of iron ore annually. In the bay stand the Escanaba coal dock and, beyond it, the Chicago & Northwestern ore dock. The Chicago & Northwestern dock was completed in 1969 after the last old wooden pocket docks were removed and a new conveyor-type dock was erected. Large piles of ore pellets occupy a 60 acre dock storage yard that can hold 2 1/2 million tons of iron ore pellets ready for shipment.

Escanaba, Michigan · United States