Before The
Sands... There Was The Iron Company Dock
|
|
|
|
| This picture was taken on July 4th, 1883 – that’s over 121 years ago! . Notice all the
ships are flying the American flag for the holiday. Railroad tracks were laid from the Iron Company plant out to and on the dock. Trains (steam engines) pulling gondola or flat cars would arrive on the dock, the ship’s cargo unloaded or loaded, and the train returned to the plant. Eventually storms and ice “took out” the majority of the dock. Today, many locals think those pilings remain today as a “tribute to those engineers” who constructed it to hold all the weight. Those old pilings remain “a blessing” to we Sands Condo co-owners. They keep the various water craft out beyond them - away from us! We have an excellent safe bathing beach. |
This picture was taken on September 22nd,
2004. Those pilings in the water are what remain of the old Iron Company dock. Pig Iron was smelted here. The charcoal blast
furnace turned out 24 tons of pig-iron per day until 1910. The Iron Company employees
numbered 365 then; and, there were seven churches and seven saloons in the village! By 1910 the hardwoods had been logged off and the
industry died out. The Iron Company closed and the plant was dismantled. When the Iron Company was a viable industry, ships brought iron ore, limestone and supplies to the facility. Iron ingots were shipped from Elk Rapids to customers all along the Great Lakes. Today, cormorants and seagulls find these pilings a great place to perch. |
 |
 |
| Wooden ships moored at the Iron Company Dock. | View of the railroad tracks on the Iron Company dock. |
 |
 |
| Long ago kids enjoyed the beach in front of the Sands | Ore boat unloading at the Iron Company dock. |
Before The
Sands... There Was Bay Beach Resort c. 1938 - 1986
|
|||||
|
|||||
Composite photo above made by merging the six photographs below. (not edited for contrast and tonal properties) |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Bay Beach Resort consisted of 9 cabins. (Photos c. 1963 - Elk Rapids Area Historical Society Archives) |
|||||
Sands In The
Beginning... Spring/Summer/Fall 1988
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
Entrance |
Building 1 |
Foundation (middle bldg.
2) |
Building 2 |
Building 2 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Building 2 (front facade) |
Building 2 (front facade) |
Building 2 (south facade) |
Building 2 (dry walling in progress) |
Building 1 & 2 (rear facade) Some landscaping, no ashphalt drive, no mailboxes no garages for bldg. 2 |
 |
 |
 |
||
| Charcoal Grills (next to decks) Grills were removed because of smoke blowing into units by the prevailing westerly winds. Note the size of the evergreens and the sparce vegitation on the dune in 1988! |
Northwest View (front of Bldg 2) |
North View (before the deck was built between bldgs 1 & 2) |
||
Sands Views...
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sands
Entrance December 27th, 2004 |
Sands
Driveway December 27th, 2004 |
Sands
Driveway December 27th, 2004 |
Trees
(between bldg. 1 & 2) December 27th, 2004 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| PTree (front
of bldg. 2) December 27th, 2004 |
Sands Aerial View | The pilings
covered in ice January 18th, 2005 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| Building 1,
North side, residing project December 22nd, 2005 |
Building 1,
North side, residing project December 22nd, 2005 |
Building 1,
North side, residing project December 22nd, 2005 |
|
Village of Elk
Rapids Views
|
|
|
|
December 27th, 2004: -9 degrees farenheit - 7:50 a.m. |
December 27th, 2004: -9 degrees farenheit - 7:50 a.m. |
 |
 |
| Original
Island House Bridge. It was wide enough for a carriage to cross. |
River Street
looking West. Picture taken from top of Odd Fellows Building. |
