PROTECTING, PROMOTING & ADVOCATING FOR LAKE CHARLEVOIX
The Lake Guardian
Spring 2015
PANTONE 2738U PANTONE Process Cyan U
Pine River Bridge #2 /Sketches courtesy of Charlevoix Historical Society
Pine River’s Earliest Bridges by Joel VanRoekel
CHARLEVOIX’S MEMORIAL BRIDGE TAKES ABOUT THREE SECONDS TO CROSS AT the posted speed limit. Waiting for the bridge to go down when you are in a hurry can take considerably longer. The Pine River crossing has been an issue since settlers made their way here in the 1850’s. Back then, the river was narrower, curvier, and in spots, faster flowing than it is today. Trees lined the stream, hung over its surface, and fell into the water among rocks and other obstacles. It was impossible to float from Lake Michigan to Round Lake without hoisting your boat over or around these natural blockades. Using shovels and horse drawn scrapers, the townsfolk gradually cleared the channel enough to permit travel all the way in from Lake Michigan or out from Round Lake. Somewhere around 1859 there is mention of the first bridge to span the river. Being about four feet wide and two feet above the water, it was for pedestrians only. Hand-driven pilings supported wooden planks on stringers except at the very center of the channel. At that point, planks were just laid across the middle of the river and left there until a boat needed to pass through. Sailors would reach up from the deck of their vessel, slide the planks off to one side, pull themselves through, and then reset the planks for the pedestrian traffic. Anything big or heavy was floated across by ferry rafts, scows, or pulled with horse-drawn wagons. The trip was fairly easy as the river was only about two feet deep and around 60 feet wide. Five years later, the log bridge was replaced by a “jackknife” affair built on pilings. It was wide enough for a single cart and stood a towering 16 feet above the water. A log tripod securing a 30-foot pole stood on the south side. A rope led from a winch, up the pole and down to the north end of the draw. When lifted, the opening would allow a sailboat to pass
Spring 2015
Inside...
2 - From the President 3 - Neighborhoods on Guard 3 - Boater Safety
through. While this seemed to be a more elegant solution than sliding planks away from the opening, the draw or trap was so heavy that David Nettleton, town pioneer, said, “It took nearly the entire available population of the town to manipulate the draw.” The bridge was later rebuilt with two traps requiring men on each side of the channel to be available if both traps needed to be raised.
Pencil sketch of first bridge in 1859
3 - Recovering a Natural Shoreline 4-6 - Members List 7 - Membership Figures/Memorials
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8 - Lake Levels 8 - Septic Study 10 - LCA Ambassadors/News Bites