Floating Freight on Liquid Highways

Floating Freight on Liquid Highways (HM1LKN)

Location: Milwaukee, WI 53204 Milwaukee County
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Country: United States of America
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N 43° 1.726', W 87° 55.094'

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Inscription
The Menomonee River Valley helped make Milwaukee a center for shipping and trade. From 1870 to 1890, the river was straightened and canals were dredged to aid commerce. Factories built right up to the banks make it easy to load and unload cargo directly from the water. Schooners carried Wisconsin lumber, iron ore, and other products to the world. In the 1860s Milwaukee was the world's largest shipper of wheat.

Schooners were the "semi trucks" of their day - the large-hulled sailing ships filled Milwaukee's waterways by the hundreds. Schooners were popular because they were inexpensive and easy to operate. However, they were often loaded ten feet high with cargo, which made them top-heavy and dangerous.

Many European immigrants got their first glimpse of Wisconsin on schooners and steamships. By the turn of the 20th century, steamships replaced schooners on the liquid highways.

"Three years ago, the valley of the Menomonee was one vast swamp, the home of the duck, rice-bird, and rail. Today it teems with busy people and is embellished with the spars of numerous vessels moving into and about the canals that have been formed for the accommodation of our commerce."
- Milwaukee Sentinel, May 24, 1872
Details
HM NumberHM1LKN
Tags
Placed ByWisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc., the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, July 6th, 2015 at 2:05pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 425191 N 4764418
Decimal Degrees43.02876667, -87.91823333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 1.726', W 87° 55.094'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 1' 43.56" N, 87° 55' 5.64" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)414
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling South
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Hank Aaron Trail, Milwaukee WI 53204, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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