View of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and the Ahnapee & Western crossing of the water.
This 1907 view of Sturgeon Bay is looking east from the town of Sawyer across the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. The Ahnapee & Western track from Maplewood curves out on a trestle over the water. The roadway which connects with the trestle on the left side of the photo is the highway structure. The main span of the bridge was shared by both railroad and highway traffic.
The famous swing bridge is at the far end of the crossing, barely visible in this view.
1907 was a time of great change for the A&W. The Green Bay & Western acquired a majority of the A&W's stocks and bonds, and added the railroad to the Green Bay Route. For a while, Sturgeon Bay served as the eastern end of the route, with Kewaunee acting as a branch. The railroad actively competed against steamship lines, coordinating their scheduled passenger service with Chicago & North Western railroad connections from Chicago. The importance of the car ferries to the livelihood of the line, along with a decline of business in Sturgeon Bay and the impact of the automobile on tourism ultimately made Kewaunee the main line termination and the A&W was a 57-mile branch line.
Related material:
- Sturgeon Bay Bridge (1908)
A turn-of-the century view of the trestle approach and swing bridge over the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. - Sturgeon Bay Map (1925)
This map was issued May 27, 1925 by the U.S. War Department. - Sturgeon Bay Aerial (1929)
Postcard view shows the city of Sturgeon Bay and the Ahnapee & Western's crossing of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.
Postcard, dated November 28 1907.
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