MLO Knitting

From time to time I will be reviewing books on The Great Lakes and Michigan as part of a series celebrating the grandeur of North America’s freshwater seas. If anyone wants to join in, I will be happy to start a read-a-long.

Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670-1918 by Don Bamford is a delightful history from the beginnings of sailing on the Great Lakes. I am not someone familiar with sailing terminology or boating, for that matter, but this book was very accessible to even me.

Mr. Bamford takes the reader on a journey from the early discovery by the French of Lake Ontario – and their expansion into the other freshwater seas and rivers that intersect the center of the North American continent. He has us follow LaSalle’s efforts to control the waterways despite issues with his fellows and sponsors in France.

The end of French control of the Lakes allowed the British (and, eventually, the Americans) to gain a strong foothold in the Great Lakes basin. Mr. Bamford shows the importance of the technology of sailing ships that was imported from Europe for dominance on the lakes. The same shipbuilding skills that gave the USA the USS Constitution (oldest commissioned Naval vessel anywhere) allowed the United States to dominate the Great Lakes. Of course, Don Bamford also clearly illustrates that the majority of the time both the British and the Americans were in a game of avoiding each other’s ships – or trading them through capture.

One of the unique characters of Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670-1918 was the attention given to how the challenges of building ships in the wilderness settings surrounding the Great Lakes – even where there were older settlements such as Detroit. The skill these early shipbuilders displayed cannot be underestimated. The tools used were hand tools without the electrical power we take for granted today. You can almost see the skilled tradesmen as they carved and assembled the ship’s parts into one of the majestic sailboats that dominated the lakes through the 19th century.

The last portion of Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670-1918 is devoted to the various trades that sailing boats supported on the lakes. Starting with the fur trade that was dominated by John Astor, Bamford shows how Astor’s monopoly came to dominate. His sections on the fishing and lumber industries that decimated the fish population in the lakes and its surrounding forests brings understanding to how that happened despite its brevity. Lastly, he includes a section on the seemingly forgotten mining industry that Michigan dominated through its Upper Peninsula copper and iron mines.

Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670-1918 is a pleasant journey through the majesty of the historical sailing vessels that dominated the freshwater seas known as the Great Lakes. It is well worth the time of any history buff or serious maritime history student. Don Bamford’s 32 years of research were well-served in this publication.

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