Elk Rapids City Dock was one of three docks within the village limits and served the community from 1905 to 1911. The pier extended 1,440 feet into East Grand Traverse Bay to waters 17 feet deep, and John Monroe of East Jordan and Captain Charles Lowe of Harbor Springs were among the many men involved in its construction. In 1906, the railroad car ferry Manistique, Marquette and Northern No. 1 approached the dock; the ship later floundered and sank in a 1929 storm after leaving Milwaukee, WI, with all hands lost. The passenger steamer Missouri and her sister ship Illinois frequently brought new residents and visitors to Elk Rapids, and the larger Missouri had a 40 foot beam, was 275 feet over all, and had accommodations for 300 people. Winter winds and ice shortened the dock's life, and a 1915 winter storm removed most visible pilings.