Wisconsin Stories: Ports of Call

War Chant of London, a Liberty SHip. SHSW 626.

"War Chant of London," was a Liberty Ship built in Superior, Wisconsin by the American Shipbuilding Company. 1942-45. SHSW 626.

Ore and grain both ship from the port of , which is also a container cargo depot for the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad. Superior began shipbuilding in the 1850s with lake schooners and produced whalebacks in 1900. During World War II, the shipyard produced Liberty Ships.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Ashland ore docks.

Brownstone, timber, and iron ore once flowed from the and ports. Today, these ports are recreational boating centers.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Military Sealift Command tug. SHSW CF 626.

An ocean-going tug under construction at Marinette Marine Corp in Marinette. Tug for use as Military Sealift Command. Photo: George P. Koshellek, Milwaukee Journal 10/17/1980. SHSW CF 626.

is logging and fishing port that added a shipbuilding industry in 1942 with Marinette Marine, which built U.S. Navy patrol boats, tugs, workboats, and barges.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin ice workers put ice on a conveyer belt.

Ice shipped from chilled Chicago's meatpacking trade until the 1920s. Lumber and newsprint were the port's early shipping staples. The modern port of Green Bay handles bulk paper and finshed consumer goods from Fox Valley paper manufacturers.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

The Sturgeon Bay Boat Works, 1926.

began as a limestone and lumber shipping port, but fast became a shipbuilding center. Its historic shipbuilders included Peterson Builders Shipbuilding Co. and Leathem D. Smith. Today Bay Shipbuilding builds and repairs ships as large as the 1,000 foot lake freighters. Palmer Johnson builds luxury yachts.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Detroit Edison launches at Manitowoc. SHSW CF 626. WHi (x3) 15437.

Manitowoc Shipbuilding Launching of "Detroit Edison", Hull Number 418, 1955. SHSW CF 626 Photo E WHi (X3) 15437.

Shipbuilding began in with lake schooners and fishing boats in the 1850s. Its shipyards produced hundreds of schooners, tugs, and steamers by 1900. After World War I, it produced freighters, car ferries, oil tankers, and self-unloading bulk carriers. During World War II, it built submarines. Manitowoc shipped lumber and fish in its early days; today the port ships grain and malt.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, 1900.

The port of began as a major port-of-entry for European immigrants in the 1840s. It reigned in the 1860s as the world's leading wheat market and flour mill. Brewing ice, leather, and manufacturing took over by 1900. The port of Milwaukee remains a center for bulk freight and European products.

Not to be reproduced without written permission from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

Click on each port to learn how Wisconsin ports contributed to our region's growth. From shipbuilding and exporting goods to being ports-of-entry for immigration, Wisconsin ports played a vital role in American maritime history.