Racine Lore
Port Gilbert
Patrolling the Great Lakes aboard a U.S. revenue cutter in 1828, Captain Gilbert Knapp noted with interest a river flowing into southern Lake Michigan from the west. It was known to the French as Riviere des Racines, or River of Roots. He thought the mouth of this river would make a fine site for a future harbor, but at the time the area was controlled by Potawatomi Indians.
Six years later, after agents had wrested control of the land from the Potawatomi, Knapp returned to the site, purchased land at the mouth of the river, and named his planned settlement there “Port Gilbert." When a city was established in 1841, settlers renamed the place Racine. |
Sand
In the early years of settlement at Racine, the mouth of the Root River usually was choked with sandbars, deposited there by lake currents and waves. When settlers tried to open a channel through the sand, with shovels, scrapers and ox-teams, the wind and waves soon filled it in again.
"Whenever a heavy blow came in from the northwest," recalled A.P. Dutton, "the mouth of the river would bar up. At times I could cross from bank to bank without wetting my feet. The water inside the bar would then rise up until it broke out, and a rush of current would create a new channel six or eight feet deep - but the next blow would fill it in again. "Steamboats in the early days had to anchor off shore, and passengers had to come ashore in small scows. At times the river was too shallow even for scows to enter, and then the passengers had to wade ashore." |
Public Spirit
Racine residents repeatedly asked Congress to fund improvements for a harbor, but tight-fisted congressmen repeatedly denied any such funding. “Congress was deaf in her Northwest ear,” wrote one observer.
So in 1843, Racine residents took it upon themselves to improve the harbor. They agreed that every resident should contribute two days’ pay or the equivalent in labor, and the territorial legislature passed a 15% tax on the residents of Racine, Rock and Walworth counties, to help pay for the improvements. The next spring two piers were built out into the lake. Piles were driven with a hand machine, and sand between the piers was removed to a depth of 15 feet. "This was the beginning," wrote A.P. Dutton. "When Congress awakened to the fact that Racine intended to have her wants supplied, the munificent sum of $12,500 was appropriated." Milwaukee Mayor Byron Kilbourn cited the residents of Racine for their enterprise. “While an entire apathy on this subject has pervaded our councils, our sister town of Racine has been setting us a praiseworthy example of public spirit and appreciation of her true interest. Without a fourth part of our means and resources, the people there have bravely entered upon the undertaking of making a harbor for themselves; and nobly did they accomplish it.” |
First into Port
When work on a new harbor was finished, the citizens of Racine eagerly awaited the entrance of the first steamboat into the harbor. In July, 1844, Captain Kelsey, master of the steamboat Chesapeake, wrote ahead that if the weather was fair when he arrived, he would bring his boat into the harbor.
"Everyone at Racine was on the lookout for the Chesapeake," recalled A.P. Dutton, "but the boat did not heave in sight until Sunday morning, the 14th of July, when all the people were in church. The first notice given was the booming of a cannon on the lakefront at Sixth Street. "Ten minutes later no one was left in the church but the preacher. Everyone ran down to see the Chesapeake, and for the whole day everyone forgot that it was the Sabbath. Some even forgot how to find their way home. The steward of the boat understood what kind of people were building up Racine, so he closed the regular bar on the boat, and opened a bar in a washtub on shore. This he filled with something that made a fellow’s head crack. Some of the boys did not get over the celebration for days." |
Golden Cargo
In the fall of 1842, Captain William Burton found his ship idled at Racine, where the price of wheat was so low that farmers refused to harvest any of it. Exasperated, the captain ordered his ship's crew inland, and had them thresh wheat in return for every tenth bushel.
Captain Burton took the desperate measure of harvesting his own cargo. The early transfer of wheat to vessels was painstaking work. Hoppers on shore were filled with grain. Boys then hooked bags over spouts on the hoppers, and as the bags were filled, they were stacked onto scows, and transferred to the vessels. "A smart boy could hold spout for at least eight men off-bearing the grain," recalled A.P. Dutton. "For the men, however, it was back-breaking work." Soon piers simplified the process, and after a big grain elevator was built, Racine became the third largest grain exporter on Lake Michigan, surpassed only by Chicago and Milwaukee. |
Winter Session
"Many vessels laid up at Racine for the winter," recalled A.P. Dutton, "and many captains boarded at the Racine Exchange, where maritime law was the chief topic of debate. A 'winter session' there lasted from the close of navigation in the late fall until the Straits at Mackinaw opened in the spring.
"The captains ruled that once a man was appointed master of a craft, the owner should have nothing to do or say about the vessel until she laid up at the end of the season. The master should be sole director of the vessel, in and out of port, should have the right to insure and hold all funds, and should not be required to give trip sheets or send statements until settling up in the fall. "The captains sat regularly each winter from about 1845 to 1855, and as Racine had no place for amusement, the bar room at the Racine Exchange was as full as the courts are now, when a star case comes up." |
Ill Wind
"Along toward the spring of 1849 or 1850," wrote A.P. Dutton, "the crowd at the Racine Exchange began discussing when the Straits would open, what the prices for freight would be, and which Racine vessel would be the first to arrive at Buffalo.
"I had an interest in the schooner Tempest, and I thought she had about as fast a master as was on the lakes, so I bet $200 on the Tempest out-sailing the rest of the fleet to Buffalo. "The Tempest, the Outward Bound, the Cherokee, and two or three other vessels were loaded. All the sails were ready to hoist. The mates were told to keep the crews in sight, night and day, while the masters looked out for news of the Straits being open. "At last the news came – the Straits were clear of ice. At once all the sails went up, and with a fair wind they soon were out of sight. "Within twenty-four hours of sailing, however, a heavy storm came on, fearful in character. Snow squalls were frequent all the day, and fears for the safety of the fleet were felt by the owners of the vessels. "After the storm abated, news of the losses came in, and it was a fearful report. The Outward Bound had gone to the bottom with all hands on board. The Tempest was ashore on the Sleeping Bear. What had become of the other vessels I have now forgotten, but I remember distinctly that the Tempest was not the first vessel into Buffalo, and that her crew had to throw overboard all the wheat but 2,400 bushels, in order to her get off and afloat. It cost the owners nearly $4,000." |
Captain Cooper
"All the steamboats on Lake Michigan called at Racine," recalled A.P. Dutton. "On one occasion, when the steamer Pacific was loaded to the guards, and had on board an immense crowd of passengers, Captain Cooper encountered a terribly heavy sea. The rudder chains parted, and the steamer fell into the trough of the sea. It seemed that she was doomed. The captain called his crew together and asked who would volunteer to be lowered over the stern, to try to mend the chain. No one said a word.
"Captain Cooper calmly adjusted a rope around his body, took several turns around the deck-rail, and gave the mate orders on how to lower him into the boiling sea. "When the captain was again hoisted on deck, the chain was mended. He mounted the pilot house, unconcerned, brought the bow of the boat to the sea, and went on to his port of destination. "Captain Cooper was lionized from one end of the lake to the other for this brave and fearless chance." |
Suspects
Racine Daily Journal - May 14, 1895 Captain John Crangle of Racine, commander of the schooner Oak Leaf, is undoubtedly elated over the discomfiture of Chicago custom officials, who searched his vessel for smuggled whisky when she arrived at that port from Canada.
For days there had been a fluttering among custom officers, and a sharp watch was kept all along the lake for the Oak Leaf, for fear that she would slide into some little port and discharge the illicit goods; but nothing was heard of her until she came in sight of Chicago. There the officers went aboard and searched the vessel from truck to keelson, for the fifty barrels of liquor they hoped to find – but there was not even the smell of whisky about the craft - not even on the breaths of the crew. Cedar posts and bilge water were all the officers could find. |
The schooner J.B. Newland was the last of more than three hundred vessels to sail out of Racine. She was sold to Canadian buyers in 1916.
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