DROUILLARD-MN-L Archives

From: Nancy Petersen <>
Subject: Hugh McCullough
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 14:31:14 -0700

Hi folks,
Here's a nice online picture of historical fishing on Lake Superior,
and a mention of "Hugh McCullough" who must be
the "H.H. McCuller" or a relative mentioned in "Capt. Johns' story".
http://www.sivertson.com/hsartcoast.htm
"...There is scientific evidence that Indians, for several thousand years,
caught Lake Superior fish to feed tribal members. Fur traders of the Northwest
Company and Hudson's Bay Company harvested the lake fish to feed hungry
voyageurs and
trading post employees.
It wasn't until 1835 when Ramsay Crook's American Fur Company started fishing,
to supply Midwest markets with lake
trout, whitefish, and sturgeon, that commercial fishing began on Lake Superior.
He established fisheries around the lake
perimeter and on Isle Royale. Company schooners John Jacob Astor, William
Brewster, and Madeline delivered supplies to
the scattered fishing outposts and carried their fish to Sault Ste. Marie for
shipment to Detroit. The company floundered in
1842 and it's ships either sank or were taken to lower lakes.
Some of the defunct companies employees continued fishing independently
supplying their catch to feed an influx of miners
on the south shore and Isle Royale. Hugh McCullough established a fishing
station at Grand Portage in 1849. He'd already
been fishing for several years at his stations around Isle Royale. I haven't
found any records, yet, that stated how many
barrels of fish his company caught or how they were delivered to market. Several
schooners and propellers were hauling
supplies to the early mining communities that may have served McCullough at his
fisheries on an unscheduled basis.
Commercial fishing picked up dramatically after the Civil War as Scandinavian
immigrants settled on Isle Royale and the
north shore, requiring regularly scheduled freight service. A. Booth and company
answered the demand with their first
steam powered tug, the T.H. Camp. From it's home base in Bayfield, Wisconsin the
Camp hauled fish and freight along the
north shore, south shore, and Isle Royale from 1876 to 1900.
The painting shows how she may have looked picking up fish at Little Indian
Cove near the mouth of the Pigeon River.
Because photos of the camp are poor and almost non-existent, the portrait of
the 64' tug is my interpretation. After she sank
among the Apostle Islands in 1900 the company's larger ship Hiram Dixon assumed
her duties."
--
Nancy Elder Petersen, Library Internet volunteer
Vancouver, Washington, USA
http://www.teleport.com/~nancyp/elder.ht

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• Hugh McCullough by Nancy Petersen <>