Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal
Encyclopedia
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
connecting Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay is an arm of Green Bay extending southeastward approximately 10 miles into the Door Peninsula at the city of Sturgeon Bay, located approximately halfway up the Door Peninsula. The bay is connected to Lake Michigan by the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. Three bridges cross the bay, including...
on Green Bay with Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, across the Door Peninsula
Door Peninsula
The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula begins in northern Brown and Kewaunee counties and proceeds northeast to include all of Door County. It is the western portion of the Niagara Escarpment. Well...
, at the city of Sturgeon Bay
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,437 at the 2000 census. It is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay, although the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula.-Geography:Sturgeon Bay is...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
The canal is approximately seven miles in length, and consists of two parts: a dredged portion of Sturgeon Bay, and a 1.3-mile canal dug through the eastern side of the Door Peninsula. This shorter portion was dug by a private group headed by then-president of Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
, William B. Ogden, between July 8, 1872 and the late fall of 1881. Although smaller craft began using the canal in 1880, it was not open for large-scale watercraft until 1890.
The cost of making the 1.3 mile cut up to 1881 was $291,461.69.
In 1893, the Ogden private investors group sold all interest in the canal to the United States government. Since that time, the canal has been maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The original canal was 7,400 feet long (2.3 km), 100 feet wide (32.2 m), and 6 feet deep (1.9 m). As of June 1997 the canal was 7 miles long (11.3 km), 125 feet wide (38m), and 16½ to 21½ feet deep (5 to 6½ m). A jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
extends into Lake Michigan 1,350 feet (410 m) and 800 feet wide (242 m) at the mouth.
Several famous lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s mark the course of the canal, including the Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse
Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse
The Sturgeon Bay Canal lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the Coast Guard station near Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.Situated on the east side of the south entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, as the Sherwood Point...
at the eastern entrance on the northern side of the canal (approximately 230 feet from Lake Michigan) next to the Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay
Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay
Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay is a United States Coast Guard station located on Lake Michigan and the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal in the Town of Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin, just outside the city of Sturgeon Bay. The Sturgeon Bay Canal Light is located within the limits of the station...
); the Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light
Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light
The Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light is a lighthouse located near Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.Painted red, the light is situated on the north pier of the southern entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal....
on the Lake Michigan coastline; and the Sherwood Point Lighthouse
Sherwood Point Lighthouse
The Sherwood Point lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Idlewild in Door County, Wisconsin.Situated on the west side of the north entrance to Sturgeon Bay, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, as the Sherwood Point Light Station, reference #84003663.-Specialized...
in Idlewild
Idlewild, Wisconsin
Idlewild is an unincorporated community located in the town of Nasewaupee, Door County, Wisconsin, United States....
, on the far western end, on the southern shore of the outer edge of Sturgeon Bay.