“Marquette’s shoreline was dirty, noisy and busy, completely different from what it is today,” said Koski, who guided the tour.

About 130 eager participants met at the center and took a journey to the past. Koski guided the group from the history center, over to the boardwalk at the east end of Baraga Avenue and back.

“This is the second time I’ve done it. Over the year that I’ve been working on it, I’ve discovered a lot of great stories of over a dozen docks that are either sitting in, or no longer exist in the lower harbor. It seems to be a real fascinating piece of history for people,” Koski said. “The reason Marquette exists — as a city — is because of the Lower Harbor. Every other place in the county was built around a mine, but they needed a place to ship the ore that they were mining out and that’s why Marquette is a city today.”

On the tour, participants became urban archaeologists as Koski uncovered clues to the past and spoke about the history behind the harbor’s structures. The city’s most recognizable landmark, the ore dock, was at one time surrounded by many similar “pocket docks.” The first pocket dock was invented and built in Marquette to meet the mining industry’s shipping needs.

The ship Henry Ford II being loaded in 1921 at dock number six in 1921. At one time, dock number 6 was one of many that lined Marquette’s Lower Harbor. It is the only dock that remains standing to this day. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

“It no longer took a crew of 20 to 30 men three to six days to shovel 300 tons of ore into a ship; it took less than a day. That transformed shipping all around the Lake Superior iron range,” Koski shared.

As time went on, Marquette’s “Iron Bay” transformed from a working harbor to a recreational area. The infrastructure built for the mines was gradually dismantled, cleaned up and repurposed. Many of the wooden pocket docks succumbed to the elements or met their end by fire.

“I don’t think everyone realizes that the docks, and the railroads that feed them, shaped downtown Marquette into the way it is today,” Koski said. “If you know where to look, you can find signs of it everywhere.”

Corey Kelly can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243. Her email address is ckelly@miningjournal.net.