Train – Boats - Planes

By Sharon Manthei

 Since Ashland’s beginnings, there has always been some form of public transportation. The first was steamer and excursion boats which ran between Ashland, Bayfield, Washburn and Madeline Island and well as Duluth and Superior. The first steamer to arrive in Ashland was the Steamer Sam Ward which came from LaPointe in September of 1854 with a load of visitors checking out the new settlement. Several other steamers soon operated on Chequamegon Bay. The Steamer Emerald, which held 500 passengers was one of the largest passenger boats on the bay.  Other popular boats on the bay were the Plowboy, Skater, Ellen D, Lucille, Chequamegon and Mary Scott to name a few. Some of the boats which carried passengers outside the bay to Duluth, Houghton, Chicago and Port Arthur were the Moore, S.B. Barker, Manitou, City of Duluth, City of Traverse, Peerless and Jay Gould.

            The year of 1877 brought the completion of the railroad to Ashland. It connected Ashland to Milwaukee, Chicago and points beyond. Besides being a major shipping port, Ashland became a resort area also. The Wisconsin Central Railroad built the Hotel Chequamegon as a Resort for its passengers.

            The Ashland Street Railway company began carrying passengers throughout Ashland in 1887. The first cars were horse drawn and followed tracks laid from Lake Park on the far East Side to the Cemeteries near the top of the Sanborn Avenue hill. Five years later the company merged with the Ashland Lighting Company, retired the horses and changed to electric cars. Power for these street cars was supplied by a power house located on the corner of Prentice Avenue and St. Clair Street. By 1901 the company had three open and seven closed street cars. Families often rode an open car in the summer on a Sunday afternoon out to the Cemetery for a picnic lunch and to clean up around their family graves. The Great Depression and the popularity of autos forced cutbacks and the last street car ran in September of 1933. 

            Bus service began after the closing of the street cars. The buses followed the street car route at first, but eventually routed into the residential part of town. City Bus service continued until 1977 before closing. Four years later the Bay Area Rural Transit (BART) was organized. The BART buses passengers to Washburn, Bayfield, Red Cliff and to Odanah.

            The first motor car arrived in Ashland in 1903. Doctor J.A. Marchessault caused quite a stir as he sputtered down 2^nd Street in his Oldsmobile. To accompany the honor of buying the first car in Ashland, Dr Marchessault also had the first recorded tow and the first traffic law offense. Doctors were usually the first in their communities to own cars, since they made house calls and quick transportation was a necessity. The next cars were purchased by Doctors Harrison, Rinehart and Dodd along with Joe Woodhead. The advent of the auto marked the end of Ashland’s livery services, but for most of Ashland’s population, foot power was much more in use than horse power.