Sheboygan's harbor was once considered more important than Chicago's | Throwback Thursday
SHEBOYGAN - The city’s harbor has seen many changes since the 1830s when white settlers first arrived where the Sheboygan River meets Lake Michigan.
According to the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center book, “Sheboygan, A City Defined by Water,” Dr. Elisha Knowles in 1845 wrote a letter with glowing words about the Sheboygan River.
Knowles wrote in 1845: “The Sheboygan river is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever seen — water is as pure as Christal — a quick sliding current — banks not deep, but good water power at the falls. … We are six miles from the mouth of the Sheboygan river where there is another village (Sheboygan) growing upon the lake shore, very thriving and will one day be our harbor … it is laid out for a city.”
The Sheboygan River begins in Fond du Lac County in an area west of St. Cloud and south of Mt. Calvary, where a huge area of marshland marks its headwaters.
The river flows through four counties. It passes through St. Cloud, the Sheboygan County Marsh, Kiel, Rockville, Millhome, Franklin, Sheboygan Falls, Kohler and finally Sheboygan, where it flows into Lake Michigan.
The mouth of the river didn’t always appear like it does today. According to an 1836 map, the river entered Lake Michigan at an angle rather than straight on.
The first pier in Sheboygan was built by Col. John Maynard and Henry H. Conklin in 1841 at the foot of Center Avenue. It was just the second pier built on the entire western shore of Lake Michigan at the time.
Sheboygan’s harbor development was bolstered by its natural configuration, but it needed a little help. Early immigrants had to board a dinghy from the steamboat because the depth of the water was insufficient for the steamboats in that era. Improvements were needed to advance the area.
In 1845, James Farnsworth, with the backing of Henry Newberry of the Detroit Newberry shipping family, improved the pier by extending it to 800 feet, a length that allowed ships to dock and disembark passengers without a transfer to another boat.
The city’s harbor business activities got a big boost when improvements were made between 1852 and 1854 at the lakefront. Through a variety of well-placed purchases, Sheboygan pioneer David Taylor, esq., was able to become the owner of the north pier.
The improvements boosted business so much that one resident complained all the arrivals reminded him of a a mining camp with all its dirt and clamor.
The river channel was moved, and that land eventually became the location of the Sheboygan Armory (1941-2020), which is now a vacant lot.
The improved harbor delivered thousands of immigrants to the city and Wisconsin. By 1855, some 68,381 immigrants disembarked in Sheboygan. At that point, some predicted Sheboygan would become more important than Chicago.
The harbor, while not used for commercial ships today, remains a focal point for the city and its tourism activities.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan's harbor was once considered more important than Chicago's
