Name/Title
Saugatuck's Historic Chain Ferry cardEntry/Object ID
2023.54.12Scope and Content
Rack card that tells the story of the Chain Ferry on the front and promotes the SDHS museum, walking tours and heritage tour on the back. Likely produced in 2009.Context
The cards were produced by the SDHC, in cooperation with the City of Saugatuck and underwritten by Marilyn Starring of the Star of Saugatuck. The cards were available at the Chain Ferry east landing so visitors could learn more about the Ferry. Bill Hess led the project. The cards were offered for many years (at least 2009-2017) with the first design by Ken Carls and later versions by Sally Winthers. As of 2022, a historic marker gives much of the same information to people waiting at the ferry's east landing.Collection
SDHS Publications, Nautical, 1850 Chain ferries and landings/storesCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
2023.54Source or Donor
Found in the SDHS/SDHC collectionAcquisition Method
Donation, unconditionalDimensions
Height
8-1/2 inWidth
3-1/2 inLocation
* Untyped Location
205 Chain FerryRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
SDHS, Starring, Marilyn, Hess, William "Bill" Weaver 1946-2024, Carls, Ken, Winthers, Sally, Diane (boat) Chain Ferry 1965-present, Old Chain Ferry Scows c1836-1947General Notes
Note
In the early days, Saugatuck people relied on boats as their means of crossing the Kalamazoo River from the village on the east side to the west shore pathways that led north to the lighthouse, the fishing settlements of Fishtown and Shriver's Bend, and southward toward Douglas and Chicago.
In 1856 the drawbridge (1845) at Mary Street crashed into the river, falling victim to relentless battering by logs being pushed downriver and by the brisk traffic of passing schooners and steamships. The following year the Village of Saugatuck established a chain ferry.
The original chain ferry was a flat, barge-type boat called a "scow"-large enough to transport a wagon and team of horses, passengers, and eventually automobiles. An underwater chain connected the ferry to its east and west bank landings. The chain, when passed through the ferry's hand-cranked winch mechanism, drew the ferry from shore to shore. Although the ferryman presided over the operation, it was usually a boy called the "cranker" who supplied the muscle required to power the ferry to the other side.
The ferry was (and remains) one of the most photographed scenes in the Village. By 1900 one of Saugatuck's most popular outings was a ferry ride across to the west shore, often for a short walk to the foot of Mt. Baldhead for a picnic or a hike to the top of West Michigan's best-loved sand dune. While the ferry site remains where it always was, the current vessel, with its white"
"gingerbread" ornamentation, was introduced by R.J. Peterson in 1965.Create Date
November 30, 2023Update Date
March 25, 2025
