By James Heinz

In the early days of American settlement of the Great Lakes, budding entrepreneurs built piers out into Lake Michigan so that the settlers could export their crops and receive supplies. The piers were an important part of what one scholar called “The Schooner Frontier”.

Unfortunately, Lake Michigan was not concerned about the economic needs of the settlers, and most of these piers were destroyed within a season or two by winter storms. However, the remains of these piers still protrude from the bottom of the Lake.

While flying my Cessna 172 this summer, I observed the remains of several of these piers along the shoreline, north of Rawley Point and between the two nuclear power plants.  Here are photos of one of them.

Photos by James Heinz

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Note from Tamara Thomsen

This is the Two Creeks Pier. Wisconsin Historical Society completed an underwater and terrestrial archaeological survey of the site in 2024. Two Creeks was founded in 1860 as a company tannery town for the Pfister and Vogel Leather Company (whose main complex was in Milwaukee). It was the largest pier community north of Two Rivers and included the pile pier, pier store, tannery, sawmill, planing mill, blacksmith shop, wagon maker, tailor, shoemaker, butcher shop, cobbler, tavern, hotel, and school. There is a portion of a small unidentified vessel that was discovered sandwiched amongst the pilings. The report should publish yet this fall.

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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.