Summary
Iron Ore Bay is a named bay at the southern end of Beaver Island. The 2023 Beaver Island Master Plan describes rocky gravel there and lists the bay among the island’s central birding sites. Local reporting also documents repeated recreational use: youth camp-outs were held there in 1968, and a family described hiking from Iron Ore Bay to St. James along the west side of the island in 1966.
The bay is also a maritime reference point. A 1968 Beaver Beacon account places the Milwaukee Belle wreck off Iron Ore Bay and describes attempts to salvage it; the wording does not establish that the wreck lies within the bay. A 1969 winter excursion traveled around the bay toward Cheyenne Point, noting deer and shoreline conditions. A 1973 poem adds a literary depiction of the bay’s sunset, pines, waves, and an offshore boat. These sources support a combined natural, recreational, literary, and shipwreck context while leaving the exact wreck coordinates and any historical origin of the name unresolved.
The salvage account is represented separately as Repeated salvage attempts on the Milwaukee Belle (c. 1965–1968), with the named wreck as Milwaukee Belle.
Open questions
- What is the historical origin of the name “Iron Ore Bay”?
- Can chart-based sources identify the Milwaukee Belle casualty position and vessel history beyond the source-bounded salvage record?
- Which current or historical trails provide the west-side hiking route described in 1966?
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System, Domestic Names (Michigan), retrieved 2026-07-28.GNIS feature 629081; feature class 'Bay'.federal · gnis · gnis_names
- Beaver Island Master Plan, 2023 update.Describes rocky gravel at Iron Ore Bay and lists Iron Ore Bay among the island’s central birding sites.
- Beaver Beacon, May 1968, “Camp-outs.”Reports two youth camp-outs at Iron Ore Bay.
- Beaver Beacon, August 1966, “Hikers.”Describes a family hiking from Iron Ore Bay to St. James along the island’s west side.
- Beaver Beacon, September 1968, “Shipwreck Salvage.”Places the wreck of the Milwaukee Belle off Iron Ore Bay and describes repeated salvage attempts; it does not claim the wreck lies in the bay itself.
- Beaver Beacon, September 1968, “Shipwreck Salvage.”Source text for the separate salvage-attempt event and Milwaukee Belle vessel record; “off Iron Ore Bay” is preserved without assigning the wreck to the bay itself.
- Beaver Beacon, February 1969, “Sno-Fun.”Describes a winter excursion around Iron Ore Bay to Cheyenne Point, including deer observations and shoreline travel.
- Beaver Beacon, November 1973, “Sunset Iron Ore Bay.”Publishes a poem describing sunset, pines, waves, an offshore boat, and the shoreline at Iron Ore Bay; it is a literary depiction, not a survey or weather observation.