Northern Pacific Ore Dock No. 1 (Superior, Wisconsin)

USA / Wisconsin / Superior / Superior, Wisconsin
 dock (maritime)  Add category
Built by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1913 of concrete and steel on the West bank of the Nemadji River, this dock was the sole iron ore dock owned and operated by Northern Pacific in Superior and was built to handle high-grade Cuyuna ore which was being mined to the West. Built to face Superior Entry the dock sits acute angle to the Great Northern ore docks immediately east of it.

Never rebuilt during its period of operation, the dock was expanded in 1917 and 1925, which gave the pier and dock its final length of 1,860ft. Highly successful for over 50 years, the dock was severely affected when the Cuyuna mines which fed it reached the end of the ore seam. Granted a brief reprieve by Soo Line shipments from St. Louis Bay, the dock along with all of Northern Pacific’s Cuyuna operations were abandoned or idled by 1970. With the neighboring Great Northern/BNSF facility still in full operation and being modernized, the NP dock grew increasingly superfluous and was never put back into operation

With the demolition of its rail connection during the 1980’s, the dock has remained in a derelict state and is presently slated for limited demolition of its outbuildings and remaining timber rail ramps.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   46°42'8"N   92°1'52"W

Comments

  • Northern Pacific Railway built its first and only iron ore dock in Superior during 1913 of concrete and steel on the west bank of the Nemadji River, and at the westernmost end of Allouez Bay. This dock, in order to face Superior Entry, was built facing northeast and at an acute angle to the Great Northern ore docks immediately east of it. 1917 saw its first extension and 1925 its second and final extension, adding to it an additional 648 ft. and giving it an ultimate length of 1860 ft. The dock was never rebuilt.
  • This dock had 310 pockets w/a 350 ton capacity each, for a dock total capacity of 108,500 tons. It had a height of 80 ft. above the water line at Allouez Bay and was 1860 ft. in length. I'm unsure of the width... A very modern structure in its time.
  • Allouez, thanks for starting up this item. I have some more info on this dock, including first a possible correction: * I haven't seen an absolute dividing line, but I think the old Northern Pacific dock would be considered to be at the southeastern end of Superior Bay. It's not on Allouez Bay, as are the old Great Northern ore docks and the current BNSF taconite silo dock. You could draw a line from the mouth of the Nemadji River out to Superior Entry; Superior Bay lies to the NW, Allouez Bay to the SE. Wisconsin Point, the harbor-guarding peninsula to the SE of Superior Entry, "encloses" Allouez Bay, whereas Minnesota Point, to the NW, encloses Superior Bay; the NP dock is across from the end of Minnesota Point. * This dock was often called the Cuyuna Dock because the Northern Pacific ore trains came from the Cuyuna Iron Range, straight west of the Twin Ports and just north of Brainerd and Mille Lacs. Unfortunately, once the natural high-grade Cuyuna ore got played out, the Cuyuna Range didn't have taconite for pelletizing (a milling process that boosts the iron content to 2/3), so the mines all shut down by 1977. The Soo Line shipped Cuyuna ore from St. Louis Bay until then, but the NP had abandoned its Cuyuna ops--and the dock--long before the 1970 merger into the Burlington Northern, it seems, though I can't find a year. The Mesabi Range, NW of the Twin Ports and north of a line (literally, the Great Northern line) from Grand Rapids to Virginia, was where the GN got its iron and taconite. There's lots of accessible taconite there, which has been keeping the BNSF Allouez facilities humming. * If the East End's SW-NE avenues were to go all the way out to the bay, the Cuyuna Dock would be at the end of 30th Ave. E, called Nelson Avenue in the old days. On old maps you see the Northern Pacific had another dock (not for ore) on Ogdensburg Pier, betw 23 (Thompson) and 24 (Stinson) Aves. (if they had been extended). Furthermore, there was an NP Sand Dock straight out from 23 (Thompson); I suppose this meant it was a transhipment point with a great sandbox (sand yard?), like the taconite piled up in the Allouez Yard and the coal piled up at the Midwest Energy Terminal (up by Connors Point). * The Northern Pacific ran up to the NE from South Superior, ran alongside the old 25th (Newton) Ave E, past Washington Park, and out past E 2nd St. It then fanned out to the NW and SE, running parallel to the bayshore. To stay straight, much of the time the line seems (on maps) to have run right out in the water. I guess this would be on low trestles, which were later replaced by causeways and eventually filled in. On the 1993 USGS topographic map, the line still seems to be on a causeway across from Barkers Island. Now it seems all this has been filled in. The Cuyuna Dock was not serviced by these bayshore tracks, though--at least not at the end of its life. Rather, halfway between South Superior and the East End, back by the Murphy Oil Refinery, an NP line came off that one that was heading NE. This branch went almost straight E until reaching 31 Ave E across from the cemeteries. Then it turned NE to approach the Cuyuna Dock, possibly on a bridge over US 2 (E 2nd St) but directly crossing the bayshore tracks.
  • Great info! Fascinating stuff about NP's other docks.... And you're right....the NP dock shouldn't be considered an 'Allouez' ore dock. Thanks for that correction. And if I'm not mistaken, the NP line which crosses water can be seen today, running parallel to HWY 2 near Fairlawn Mansion and Barkers Island as you mentioned. I seem to remember reading that this was done by NP as part of an agreement with a land development body of the City of Superior as an incentive to bring the line in. NP saw it as a means to secure the remaining prime water-frontage for itself and to keep it from the likes of James Hill, who ran his lines to North End where he built his great elevators. Also, for further info. on the Soo Line dock which once existed in Superior, I've posted what I've gathered over the years at it's location at the foot of todays Bong Bridge, so please take a look at that. Any corrections there would be greatly appreciated! What a great forum this is...
  • I saw a crane next to the dock today on my home from Superior. It looked like it was removing plating from the edge. I hope they aren't tearing this landmark down. I love that dock!
  • It sadly looks like they are dismantling it, there is now a gap between the remaining wooden structure & the rest of the dock.
  • The last trains I remember on the NP dock ran in 1968. You can still find the start of the approach to the dock directly up 30th Ave E just beyond Tenth Street, directly across from St. Francis Cemetery (although I hear Enbridge has now fenced off that area). I was always in trouble for climbing the ore dock when I was a kid!
  • CeeJay313: Thank you for that info... I didn't know that about the approach still being there. I'll definitely check that out.
  • Updated the article based on comments here.
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This article was last modified 8 years ago