Saginaw River-Maps: Zilwaukie Bar

Written by Anna Mae Maday, Manager, Eddy Historical & Genealogy Collection of Hoyt Public Library in Saginaw, Michigan
September 2000

click for larger view

If you read the picture essay about Lake Linton and Rust Park, you probably wondered what happened to Osakina and Ottawa Islands. According to newspaper articles in the late 1940's, these islands were still located in the Saginaw River north of present-day Ojibway Island. At that time materials from dredging were still being deposited on the north end of Ojibway Island. Eventually the space between Ojibway Island and one of the other islands was filled in and became just the one island of Ojibway. At the third island, dredged soil kept piling up between the island and the riverbank until it was filled in becoming the approach for the Bristol Street Bridge replacement.

Officials of the communities along the Saginaw River have long been interested in keeping river channels deep enough to facilitate navigation. A constant war against river sediments was waged by the Army Corps of Engineers. Throughout the history of Saginaw River navigation the sand bars at Zilwaukee and Carrollton have challenged engineers. Fifteen thousand dollars of private money was used in 1859 to improve the Saginaw River. In 1863 Saginaw County appropriated $100,000 to improve the river, but the money ran out by 1870, and shipping again became difficult near the Carrollton bar. East Saginaw and adjacent townships raised $81,000 and Saginaw City donated $20,000 to keep the river channel open. The State of Michigan appointed a dredging commission to oversee the project. It was not uncommon to have a couple of vessels grounded on the Carrollton bar, and the situation kept getting worse. According to a 1908 report of the Army Corps of Engineers, the original federal project for improving the Saginaw River began in 1866 and was to include a straight navigational channel 195 feet wide and 12 feet deep across the sand bar at the mouth of the river near the Saginaw Bay. This project was completed in 1869. In 1874 improvements down stream at Saginaw included a ten-foot channel across the bars at East Saginaw and Carrollton. Other improvements were done at the Zilwaukee bar, the New York Works bar, and at Willow Island, which was located in the river north of Crow Island in Section 28 Zilwaukee Township. The cost was $219,000. In 1874 an appeal was made to Congress by the Saginaw River Improvement Association. Two members of this group were William L. Webber and Ezra Rust. In 1882 the decision was made to have a channel 200 feet wide and 14 feet deep from the Saginaw Bay to Bay City and then 12 feet deep to Saginaw. During 1907 dredging was done on the bars between the Carrollton channel and Bay City. Expansion of the project through 1908 cost over $622,000. Engineers believed that by 1910 they would have to dredge again.

The Saginaw River flows in a northerly direction for a distance of 22 miles and discharges into Saginaw Bay. The River and Harbor Act of March 3, 1909 provided for a preliminary examination of the Saginaw River to determine if it was feasible to dredge to a depth of 20 feet from Saginaw Bay to the Tittabawassee River. In order to do that and make the river channel 200 feet wide, it was estimated that a total of 6,500,000 cubic yards of soil would have to be dredged at a cost of $1,100, 000. At that time improved machinery such as hydraulic dredges would make it cheaper. Dredged materials had been towed to the bay in scows costing 20 cents per yard above the dredging costs. In 1909 the Saginaw Board of Trade identified areas they believed could be improved and made recommendations to the Army Corps of Engineers. One suggestion concerned the Carrollton sandbar. They reported that

the river bank on the west side is bold and rises to a height of 8 feet while the east bank is low and swampy for a mile. During spring freshets several channels were scoured through the bar.... Mill and log boom owners disputed much of the territory and it was with much difficulty a channel was selected to improve. The channel improved can best be described as crescent shaped with the bow towards the low land to the east. The natural channel along the straight west bank was encumbered by the mills and booms, taken by quick-witted men as the current had veered to the east and cut the present improved channel. Thus we see why this crooked course exists....

At the head of Crow Island is a wing dam 900 feet long with a plank beam extension of 800 feet along the east side of the main channel and opposite the village of Zilwaukee. This dam was designed to deflect the current from the Oneida channel east of Crow Island, but has not fully answered the purpose as the Zilwaukee bar forms periodically at its upper end and has had to be redredged several times.

From the early 1900's until the late 1920's, dredging cleared the channel and contributed to Rust Park improvements. Dredged soil also provided an embankment for the Saginaw-Bay City River Road. In 1925 the troublesome Carrollton bar was once again dredged. However the federal government was reluctant to spend money on a river not used much for shipping. But by 1929 Consumers Power Company and General Motors Chevrolet Foundry were building docks for deliveries of iron and coal. In July 1929 the vessel Frank J. Peterson, a 262-foot lake vessel, delivered 1630 tons of pig iron to the General Motors foundry, and the shipping company said it expected to make two trips weekly to the location. In August 1929, when they heard the river would be dredged, Consumers Power built a concrete dock, turning basin, and storage for 250,000 tons of coal at their Zilwaukee plant. Throughout the 1930's Saginawians tried to convince the Army Corps of Engineers that their river still needed dredging. In April 1930 Saginaw Congressman Bird J. Vincent informed Saginaw business leaders that money was available for such projects, but Saginaw needed to convince the Army Corps of Engineers of their need. That year Washington passed a bill that included $830,000 for a Saginaw River project. It was estimated that it would cost $80,000 per year to maintain the channel. Adam E. Cornelius of the firm Boland & Cornelius which operated Great Lakes steamships, testified before the House Rivers and Harbors Committee that it was important for the Saginaw River channel to be maintained. In addition to federal funds, local businessmen, shippers and the City of Saginaw pledged money for the project. A total of 2, 965,000 cubic yards of earth was expected to be removed from the river during the 1931-1932 season. The contract went to Duluth-Superior Dredging Company. At this time the Carrollton bar was dredged to a depth of 21 feet. By 1934 the city wanted to make sure river dredging continued and offered army engineers a place to dump the dredging waste. Again, as in the early 1900's, Ojibway Island was suggested. The engineer estimated that about 350,000 cubic yards of river bottom would need to be excavated. In 1934 Howard C. Carland had been hired to dredge the river between the Court Street and Sixth Street Bridges. When he died in 1935 his widow continued the business.

Flood control also became an issue for the Saginaw River, and in 1935 Congressman Fred L. Crawford proposed an attachment to the river and harbors bill which provided for a turning basin near Battery Park. This amendment also included a study for alleviating flooding from the river. In 1936 Saginaw wanted a turning basin in the river between the Court Street and Bristol Street Bridges and made a proposal to Congress in 1937. In order to have a turning basin at that location it would be necessary to cut about 200 feet into the side of Ojibway Island. In 1944 a committee was established representing the interests of Saginaw Valley agriculture. The committee called for establishment of a single agency to act for counties concerned about flood control, land reclamation and soil improvements for the 6,048 square miles of the Saginaw River basin. At that time it was said that "The people of the Saginaw Valley should get their heads together on how the river can be handled to best serve all of them." They also believed that dredging of the river was the responsibility of the federal government. In 1948 it was the belief of civic leaders that the Saginaw riverfront should be "developed with parkways and recreational facilities. Among Saginaw leaders during the 1930's and 1940's was architect Robert B. Frantz who had sketched a parkway extending from the Genesee Street to the Bristol Street Bridges. He felt that if the city could not develop the riverfront, it should still purchase the property so it would not fall into the hands of industry.

The forces of nature often played a trick on navigators in the Saginaw River. It didn't matter how deep the river channels were, there would be times that gale force winds from the south or southwest would drain water from the river and leave vessels high and dry. When the British barkentine Success came to the Saginaw River in 1937, the vessel was marooned at Battery Park. During those times when the water levels were lowered in the river, the residents of houseboats fell from their beds as furniture slid across the floor and dishes fell out of cupboards. In one day the river had dropped 4 1/2 feet. In November 1919 a similar event had taken place, and sandbars had been left exposed when high winds emptied the river.

In 1948 Mrs. Margaret Carland Pentecost was awarded the contract for dredging work in the river at the point between the Court Street and Bristol Street Bridges. For two years Mrs. Pentecost's dredge became a familiar sight in the river near Ojibway Island. In the 1950's hopes for a Saginaw River port were once again revived with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. F. Roland Sargent, owner of Saginaw Rock Products Company, had spent his own money for a dock and dredging project near his business. In 1954 he said, "I believe if we live long enough we'll see the area along the river between Saginaw and Bay City become one mass of industry." A 1958 plan called for a turning basin at Carrollton. In 1960 the City of Saginaw extended until 1963 the application proposal of 1956, which would provide an alternate turning basin. But when the Holland-Bristol Street bridge job was completed it closed the river to shipping upstream from Bristol Street and prevented ship access to the Ojibway Island turning basin. A new basin had to be constructed north of the bridge. In 1971 the Army Corps of Engineers began a study that they said would reveal more about the Saginaw River Basin "than has ever been known" and asked Congress for $1.2 million dollars to pay for the study which would focus on navigation, wildlife, pollution, irrigation, recreation, and flood control. In 1976 Congressman Robert Traxler announced that a Chicago firm had submitted a low bid of $11.5 million to build a 300-acre island to hold the polluted silt dredged from the Saginaw river bottom. It was believed that the project would take two years. Again in 1980 the Detroit District Corps of Engineers proposed to dredge the Saginaw river and dispose of the river-bottom material at the Crow Island State Game Area. Before any such project could be undertaken it was necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement. From September 11-18, 1994, The Saginaw News published a series of articles on pollution in the Saginaw River. At that time the State of Michigan had designated the Saginaw River and its Bay as the most contaminated body of water in the state. Since 1978 the river had been cited as an "area of concern." But local communities have worked on tackling river pollution problems for over 20 years. In November 2000, William W. Wright, chairman of the Partnership for the Saginaw Bay Watershed, told officials he believed it was time to stop giving the Saginaw River a bad reputation.

• A list of books, government reports, and newspaper articles is included with the essay accompanying the image of the map of the Saginaw River and the sandbar named Carrollton Bar.

Click to View These Related Items:

• Saginaw River - Maps (essay)
  
• Saginaw River -- Maps Carrollton Bar (essay)
  
• Map of Zilwaukie Bar, Saginaw River, Michigan (image)
  

Keywords: Ojibway Island  ; Saginaw River  ; Tittabawassee River  ; Bridges  ; Lumber trade  ; United States. Army. Corps of Engineers  ; Dredging--Saginaw River  ; Maps  ; Rust, Ezra  ; Webber, William L.  ; Saginaw Board of Trade  ; Zilwaukee  ; Carrollton  ; 
Clicking on a term will search for all items that have that keyword

URL: http://www.saginawimages.org/essay.asp?ItemID=HEES0093