If you know what to look for, it's
astounding what you'll find.
I'm still getting comments from people
about the “Docks of Iron Bay” tour that I gave last month. One
of the things that seemed to make an impression upon the people who
attended was the concept of playing “urban archaeologist”, of
finding clues to the past hidden in plain sight. One of the best
examples I gave during the tour was that of the Jackson Dock, a dock
that still plays a huge part in downtown Marquette.
What, you say? You've never heard of
the Jackson Dock and the railway leading up to it? Well, you see it
every day, if you know where to look.
The Jackson Dock was one of the first
in Marquette, built in the mid 1850s and used up until it was burned
in the Great Fire of 1868. It was rebuilt and used again, and the
pilings for it found new life yet again when, in the 1920s, all the
land from the dock to the shore was filled in to built the Spear Coal
Yard, which was then used until the 1970s, after which it was cleaned
up and became Lower Harbor Park. In fact, when you walk or bike on
this path in the park--
You're walking on the remains of the
old Jackson Dock. Yup; that part of the park sits on the remains of
that old dock. And, of course, whenever you had a dock you had to
have a rail line leading up to it, and the Jackson Dock had just
that. Have you ever wondered why the Savings Bank Building is so
oddly shaped, and has a gap between it and the next building?
Well, if you stand at that gap, and you
look at what you can see from it--
You'll notice the gap lines up exactly
with the outer bike path at Lower Harbor Park. Or, as you may also
call it, the old Jackson Dock. That's because the rail cars heading
out to the dock had to pass right by the Savings Bank Building.
That's why it's so oddly shaped, and that's why there's a gap between
it and the building next door.
One other lasting legacy of the Jackson
Dock? Well, you know this alley behind Donckers?
Ever wonder why it's called the Jackson
Cut Alley? Could it be because for many years it wasn't an alley,
but was actually the rail line that led to the Jackson Dock (via the
hole next to the Savings Bank Building)? Well, wonder no more,
because that's how the alley got its name. It's amazing; even though
there hasn't been a “Jackson Dock” for over a century in downtown
Marquette, it has a legacy that may be bigger than anything other
than the Great Fire of 1868.
And you can see it all around, at least
if you know where to look.
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