Schooner Ella Ellenwood

The 157 ton lumber schooner Ella Ellenwood was built in Saginaw Michigan and was operated out of White Lake by Captain Thomas Flagstad.

On the night of October 1, 1901 while bound for Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a load of maple edgings and shingles, the Ella Ellenwood ran aground of Fox Point about 8 miles from the Milwaukee harbor.  Within hours the northerly winds and waves began to break the proud vessel apart.  The captain and crew were compelled to abandon ship.  By the next day the ship's fate was sealed and she was soon gone.

The following spring a portion of the wooden nameplate "ELLENWOOD" was found inside White Lake channel.  Somehow, the nameplate had drifted across Lake Michigan and found its way into the narrow channel leading to White Lake.  The Ella Ellenwood had found her way home.

 

Montague Michigan Weathervane

The figure of the White Lake lumber schooner "Ella Ellenwood" which sits at the top of the World's Largest Weathervane was chosen because it best typifies the colorful but rugged history of this region.

World's Largest Weathervane

The Ellenwood's original dock was situated only a few hundred feet from where the the weathervane is located on the north shore of White Lake.

Before roads and railroads were built in West Michigan, nearly all commerce and travel was by water.  The lumber industry in Michigan provided the materials for the construction of the Great Lakes cities through ports such as Milwaukee and Chicago.

 

This text taken from the brochure at Montague City Hall and you can view the nameplate there.

Montague Terrific Town Link