Reynolds' Pier

During the heyday of Wisconsin’s lumber industry, Jacksonport’s business and community life centered on three large piers near this spot, each with its own general store and lumber mill. Wooden schooners known as lumber hookers often crowded the piers to load cordwood, shingles, and posts for Milwaukee and Chicago. Reynolds’ Pier, the southernmost of the three, was built in 1869 for the Jackson-Harris-Reynolds Lumber Company and in 1873 was bought, along with the mill and other property, by Charles Reynolds, brother of one of the original owners. Reynolds became a prominent businessman in Jacksonport, promoting settlement of families, extending credit to farmers, and serving as postmaster for 20 years. Today, the wrecks of two lumber hookers lie along the remains of Reynolds’ Pier. The two-masted wooden schooner Perry Hannah, built in 1859 by Thomas Arnold in Newport, Mich., was carrying wood when the Great Alpena Blow on October 16, 1880, drove her into the pier, where she lodged in its center and severely damaged it; she was later hauled alongside and abandoned. The three-masted wooden schooner Cecelia, built in 1868 by James MacGiven in White Lake, Mich., was also carrying wood when, after trying to ride out a storm at anchor away from shore, her anchors dragged and she was blown ashore on September 9, 1885; her bow was pushed under the pier, she suffered extensive damage, her masts were salvaged, and she too was abandoned. The importance of the Jacksonport piers declined with the lumber business around 1920, and the piers continued in use for fishing until ice damaged them in 1938. The wrecks of the Perry Hannah and Cecelia now lie alongside the remaining pilings and cribs of Reynolds’ Pier, and the tops of pilings can often be seen above the water.

Jacksonport, Wisconsin · United States