Northwoods Wilderness Outfitters

Menominee Watershed Overview

The Menominee River originates at the confluence of the Brule and Michigamme Rivers and drains an area of approximately 4,070 square miles. The major tributaries of the Menominee are the Michigamme, Brule, Pike, Paint and Sturgeon Rivers. The Menominee forms the border between Michigan and Wisconsin for 115 miles as it flows from its origin to its mouth in Lake Michigan.

The rivers of the Menominee watershed played a significant role for native peoples. The first evidence of humans in the area is from Dickinson County and has been estimated to be from a period occurring between 5000 and 1500 BC This is known from artifacts indicating Old Copper Culture Native Americans passed through the area, likely following the major waterways. More recent natives from the Algonquian language group occupied the area described in these maps from 1600 through 1850. These people were largely from the Chippewa (Ojibwa) and Menominee tribes. The latter tribe derives its name from the abundance of wild rice that grew in the river that these natives harvested and depended on for sustenance. The people and the river are known by the Chippewa name "Menominee", which means "wild rice". The Ojibwa tribes used the northern portion of this watershed for summer hunting and gathering grounds. They used the rivers for fishing, trapping, and travel. They also had designated gathering points at various waterfalls along the watershed. Communities of Potawatomi and Ojibwa people remain in the area.

The first Europeans came in the form of explorers, missionaries, and traders of French and British descent. The first documented settler was French fur trader Louis Chappe, who established a trading post along the Menominee River in 1820 and lived near what is now the city of Marinette, Wisconsin. The fur era had begun to decline by 1840 and was followed by the pinewood-logging era. The logging industry was instrumental in the industrial development of this region and the westward expansion of American civilization. The first sawmill was built on the Menominee River in 1832. The river was used to generate power from water wheels and for the numerous steam-operated sawmills along both sides of the river. The logging era continued throughout the 1800s.

Between 1844 and 1848, three iron ranges were discovered in the region. With the arrival of a railroad system in the 1870s, mining explorations began in earnest. It is generally agreed that the vast deposits of copper and iron ore, and subsequent mining in the upper Great Lakes, was one of the most important contributors to the industrial development of this nation. One of the four Great Lakes iron ranges, called the Menominee, lies wholly within the Menominee River watershed. This range extends from Iron River eastward through Norway.