Off Highway V at Lakeside Park in Lake Michigan

Summary

Jacksonport Wharf Archaeological District
Lakeside Park, Lake Michigan, Town of Jacksonport, Door County
Dates of Construction: 1848-1880

During the heyday of Wisconsin's lumber industry, Jacksonport's business and community life centered around three large piers: Hibbard's Pier, LaMere's Pier, and Reynolds' Pier. Wooden schooners were frequently moored to the piers while loading cordwood, shingles, and posts bound for the ports of Milwaukee and Chicago. Other waiting schooners would anchor a short distance offshore, awaiting their turn to load. Today, the remains of the three piers that defined the Jacksonport community are extant on the lakebed along with the remains of three lumber schooners. One unidentified schooner, tentatively identified as the Annie Dall, lies north of Hibbard's Pier. Two others, the Cecelia and the Perry Hannah, lie along the remnants of Reynolds' Pier, the southernmost pier of the complex.

The schooner Perry Hannah was the first vessel to be lost when she was driven into Reynolds' Pier during the Great Alpena Blow of 16 October 1880. She lodged in the center of the pier, severely damaging herself and the pier. The schooner was later hauled alongside the pier and abandoned. On 9 September 1885, the schooner Cecelia was lost while riding out a storm at anchor a short distance from shore. Her anchors dragged, however, and she came ashore, lodging her bow beneath Reynolds' Pier and sustaining significant damage. The Cecelia's masts were salvaged and her hull was abandoned. The Annie Dall also came ashore while riding out an east-southeast gale at anchor on 18 October 1898. The Annie Dall sustained significant damage in the grounding, and although she was pulled from the beach and an attempt was made to tow her to Sturgeon Bay for repairs, the vessel was leaking too badly and a salvage pump placed aboard her was unable keep up with the rising water in her hold. The Annie Dall was ultimately abandoned on 22 October 1898 following a salvage operation that lasted four days.

By 1920, the Jacksonport lumber trade was logged out and the three piers were mostly abandoned, with only occasional use by local commercial fisherman until 1938 when an ice shove damaged the piers beyond repair. Today, during periods of calm water, the Reynolds' Pier pilings can be seen protruding from the water's surface.

State and federal laws protect these shipwreck. Divers may not remove artifacts or structure when visiting this site. Removing, defacing, displacing or destroying artifacts or sites is a crime. More information on Wisconsin's historic shipwrecks may be found by visiting Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks website.

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