Little Bay de Noc
The Noquet (or Noc) Indians, who once lived along these shores, gave this bay its name. Here at Sand Point, in 1844, Douglass Houghton came with his party of government surveyors to chart the land to the north. In 1864 the first ore dock was built on the shore of this deep harbor, from which the ores of all three of Michigan’s rich iron ranges have been shipped. Escanaba, which was incorporated in 1866, was one of the earliest lumbering centers in the Upper Peninsula. Sawmills were built here as early as 1836. Up the west shore of the bay, Gladstone was founded in 1887 by Senator W. D. Washburn to serve as a rail-lake terminal. Here, as at other points such as Ford River, Masonville, Rapid River, and Garth, the major source of income was timber products.
Plaque via Michigan History Center