Portage Lake Channel

General data

Name: Portage Lake Channel
Water system: St. Lawrence River
Water type: Canal
Source: Portage Lake (Michigan)
Progression: Lake Michigan -> Lake Huron -> St. Clair River -> Lake St. Clair (North America) -> Detroit River -> Lake Erie -> Niagara River -> Lake Ontario -> St. Lawrence River -> Gulf of St. Lawrence -> Atlantic Ocean -> Planet Earth
Climates: Temperate
Continents: North America
Countries: United States of America

Portage Lake Channel is a new man-made channel which lowered the level of Portage Lake to that of Lake Michigan and dried out Portage Creek. As a result of this, the small community at Portage relocated to the previously submerged far northeastern corner of Portage Lake under its official new post office name, Onekama, in 1871. The man who had managed the Portage Mill, Augustine W. Farr became the key figure in establishing the town in its new location and in beginning to lobby for the designation of Portage Lake as a harbor of refuge.

On the day following the opening of the channel in May 1871, the first vessel to enter Portage Lake from Lake Michigan was the tugboat Williams. In honor of this, the area on the south side at the Portage Lake was named Williamsport, Michigan, but due to the development of Onekama at the far end of the Portage Lake, Williamsport, Michigan never developed as had been originally hoped.

Portage Lake Channel

General data

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