Former GN/BN Allouez Ore Docks (Superior, Wisconsin)

USA / Wisconsin / Superior / Superior, Wisconsin
 abandoned / shut down, dock (maritime)
Built by the Great Northern Railroad, these ore docks were modified to load taconite pellets later in their service lives and were the main boat loading facilities for the BN railroad. Today, all three remaining docks are idle.

Dock No. 1 was constructed in 1892 entirely of timber, most of which came from the West Coast of the U.S. and was the first iron ore dock in the Twin Ports area. Built by the North Star Construction Company under contract with the Duluth & Winnipeg Railroad in conjunction with the Superior Consolidated Land Company beltway, the dock and rail system would connect with the newly organized Duluth, Mesabi and Northern Railroad Company for the purpose of moving Mesabi Range iron ore. By April 26th, 1897, James J. Hill acquired all operations serving the Allouez dock, and from that point became the Great Northern Allouez Ore Dock Facility. Rebuilt with timber 1906-07 and again rebuilt with concrete and steel from 1925-1928, the dock was also electrified to speed loading operations which to that point were all done by hand.

Dock No. 2 was constructed in 1899 of timber in a similar form to Dock No. 1, and was under conversion to a concrete and steel structure in 1922 when the structure caught fire and was totally destroyed. The pier was quickly rebuilt in its planned concrete and steel form and by 1925 it was the most modern dock of its kind on the Great Lakes.

Dock No. 3 was constructed in 1902 of Washington fir timber and unlike the other two docks retained its wooden construction through the First and Second World Wars despite its heavy use. Rebuilt in 1917, 1921 and 1941, with some modern fittings like concrete loading chutes and electricity, the dock remained in use until the end of the 1950’s when the aging structure was deemed “outmoded” and was phased out as a working dock. Though its internal spaces were used briefly for temporary ore storage during the steel strike of the 1960’s and its piers were used for ship layups during the Winter, by 1962 the pier was offered for demolition and was sold for $1 to the lowest bidder; United General Constructors Inc. of Duluth. The pier was subsequently razed in the fall of 1963.

Dock No. 4 was constructed in 1911 of concrete and steel by the Pittsburgh Construction Co. and was Great Northern’s first permanent ore dock on Allouez Bay. It is of the ‘Toltz’ design, with barrel-shaped steel pocket fronts, crib foundation, reinforced concrete sub-structure and steel super-structure. Its construction was extensively documented, as it utilized the very latest in concrete slab (crib) techniques, and was among the first in U.S. to do so on such a massive scale. Of GN’s Allouez ore dock complex, No. 4 is the smallest, the only one to have never undergone reconstruction or extensions and is the oldest one standing.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   46°41'50"N   92°1'23"W

Comments

  • The four historic old Great Northern ore docks are no longer used, and one of them has been dismantled. They were made obsolete by the huge Burlington Northern Santa Fe Dock No. 5, built in the 1970s on that spit of land just to their SE (between the WikiMapia rectangles). Please see my long discussion--with many links to pics and more--at the comments page for "BNSF Allouez Taconite Facility" (the WikiMapia "place" of Superior, WI, that is SW of these ore docks).
  • <a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/4889/oredockscoaldockslx5.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a><br/>
  • Great Northern Ore Dock Numbering All of Great Northern Railway’s Allouez facilities stood to the east of the Nemadji River in Superior’s Allouez annex, and were numbered according to there relative locations to one another. So, ore dock No. 1, being the first dock constructed there, and being the nearest the Nemadji established it as the western most dock, and its identifacation remained Dock No. 1 regardless of how many times it was rebuilt. Dock No. 2 Stands approximately 200 ft. east of No. 1, and so on, until we reach Dock No. 4, GN’s eastern most or dock. (Dock No. 5 is part of the BNSF taconite facillity) This differs from the Agate Bay facilities in Two Harbors, MN in the that they are numbered according to the date at which they were built relative to one another, meaning that no two different docks, even if one stands where the other originally had, can share the same name. I believe that this is also the case with Duluth’s docks, called Dock 5 and Dock 6, even though they are the only 2 remaining.
  • Brief Dock Histories Dock No. 1 First constructed in 1892 entirely of timber, most of which came from the West Coast of the U.S. 60 pockets were ready by autumn of that year. This was the first iron ore dock in the Twin Ports, built by the North Star Construction Company under contract with the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad, in conjunction with the Superior Consolidated Land Company beltway to West Duluth, where it would connect with the Merrit Bros. newly orgainized Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad Company for the purpose of moving Missabe Range ore. By April 26th, 1897, James J. Hill acquired all operations serving Allouez, and from that point became the Great Northern Allouez Ore Dock Facility. Rebuilt with timber 1906-07. Rebuilt with concrete and steel inner one-third, 1925-26. Middle on-third, 1927-27. Outer one-third, 1927-28. Gantry crane and floodlights installed 1952-53. Electrical operations came in the mid twenties; it had been entirely manual to that point. Dock No. 2 First constructed in 1899 of timber, it probably resembled the early design qualities of Dock No. 1 of that time. During its final 1922 reconstruction process and consequent conversion to concrete and steel, the dock caught fire during the dismantling process, destroying what remained. By 1923, the new dock was standing and as of 1925, it remained the most modern dock of its kind on the Great Lakes, and the second in size of those owned by GN. It did however, have the greatest capacity per pocket, giving it the greatest total dock capacity of GN’s Allouez Ore Dock complex: 122,500 tons. Original construction in timber, 250 pockets 1899 and 1900. Original construction in timber. 100 pockets 1901-02. 250 pockets rebuilt in timber 1909-1910. 100 pockets rebuilt in timber 1911-1912. Entire dock rebuilt with concrete and steel 1922-23. Floodlights installed 1952-53. Gantry crane installed 1952-53. Dock No. 3 First constructed in 1902 of Washington fir timber, it had 160 pockets. A 1905 timber extension added another 166 pockets*, bringing it to 326 pockets total. 1917 saw the first half of the dock rebuilt and in 1921 the second half, all during which the outer pockets and eventually the maple-timber inner pockets (linings) were replaced by pre-cast concrete slabs. In 1941, the dock was rebuilt on final time of timber, presumably for the heavy war tonnage then being shipped from Allouez Bay. It remained GN’s only timber dock at that sight. Around 1960, the dock was deemed “outmoded” and was phased out as a working dock, being used only for temporary storage during the steel strike of the time, and for ship berthing. Its construction cost approximately $2.25 million (unclear as to which construction, phase, partial or total, ect. to which this number refers), and was sold for $1 to the lowest bidder, that being the United General Constructors, Inc. of Duluth, MIN. Dismantling followed in the fall of 1963. * (NOTE: Not clear as to whether the 1905 extension added 166 pockets, which seems most likely, or only 6 pockets, as Superior’s Daily Telegram wrote on April 2ond, 1963. In a dock removal update by the same paper, it was reported that the dock had been rebuilt in 1915, which is not the case. ) Original construction in timber, 160 pockets 1902-03. Original construction in timber, 166 pockets 1905-06. Inner 160 pockets rebuilt in-kind 1917-18. Outer 166 pockets rebuilt in-kind 1920-21. 60 inner pockets rebuilt in spring 1942. Next 86 pockets rebuilt spring of 1944. 80 pockets rebuilt 1952-53. Dock No. 4 Constructed in 1911 of concrete and steel by the Pittsburgh Construction Co., it was GN’s first permanent ore dock on Allouez Bay. It is of the ‘Toltz’ design, with barrel-shaped steel pocket fronts, crib foundation, reinforced concrete sub-structure and steel super-structure. Its construction was extensively documented, as it utilized the very latest in concrete slab (crib) techniques, and was among the first in U.S. to do so on such a massive scale. Of GN’s Allouez ore dock complex, No. 4 is the smallest, and is the only one to have never undergone reconstruction or extensions; it is the oldest one standing.
  • Great photo and info, Allouez! I especially love seeing all those dates, filling in details not available in the Great Northern and BNSF histories--print and web--I have read or skimmed through the past few months. I might have to change my little screenname to Happy Ore Dock.
  • Would anyone on here be interested in writing up a amateur historian style article about the background of these docks, for an urban exploration website? I would credit/link to you of course .... email me actionsquad@yahoo.com
  • Made a short video of our adventures here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjz49xJ_ASE
  • Updated the article based on comments here.
  • Show all comments
This article was last modified 8 years ago