Merrimac Ferry
{{Short description|Ferry in Wisconsin, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image= | Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country= | Ship flag= | Ship name= Colsac I | Ship namesake= Columbia and Sauk counties | Ship owner= | Ship operator= | Ship registry= | Ship route= | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder= Dubuque, Iowa{{cite web |url=http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/water/merrimac/history.aspx |title=Merrimac Ferry History |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Transportation |accessdate=January 26, 2018}} | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship sponsor= | Ship christened= | Ship completed= | Ship acquired= | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship struck= | Ship homeport= | Ship identification= | Ship fate= | Ship notes= | Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship type= | Ship tonnage= | Ship displacement= | Ship length= | Ship beam= | Ship height= | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion= Two diesel engines | Ship speed= | Ship range= | Ship crew= | Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image= | Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header=title | Ship country= | Ship flag= | Ship name= Colsac II | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder= Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched= | Ship sponsor= | Ship christened=April 6, 1963 | Ship completed= | Ship acquired= | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship out of service=November 4, 2002 | Ship struck= | Ship homeport= | Ship identification= | Ship fate= | Ship notes= | Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship type= | Ship displacement= | Ship length= {{Convert|100|ft|abbr=on}} o/a | Ship beam= {{Convert|33|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship height= | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship hold depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion= 1 × diesel engine | Ship speed= | Ship range= | Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image=File:2014ColsacIII.jpg | Ship caption=Colsac III, September 2014 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header=title | Ship country= | Ship flag= | Ship name= Colsac III | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder= Basic Marine Inc., Escanaba, Michigan | Ship original cost=$2.2 million | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched= | Ship sponsor= | Ship christened= | Ship completed= | Ship acquired= | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship out of service= | Ship struck= | Ship homeport= | Ship identification=Official number: 1138723 | Ship fate= | Ship notes= | Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship type= | Ship displacement= | Ship length= {{Convert|105|ft|m|abbr=on}} o/a | Ship beam= | Ship height= | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship hold depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion= (2x)Cummins Diesel | Ship speed= | Ship range= | Ship capacity=*230 passengers | Ship crew= | Ship notes= }} {{Infobox NRHP |embed=yes | name = Merrimac Ferry | nrhp_type = | image = | caption = | location = Wisconsin Highway 113 at the Wisconsin River | nearest_city = Merrimac, Wisconsin | area = | built = | architect = | architecture = | added = December 31, 1974 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | refnum =74000330 | mpsub = | governing_body = }} |
The Merrimac Ferry is a cable ferry that crosses the Wisconsin River between Columbia and Sauk Counties in Wisconsin. Its western point is located near the village of Merrimac on State Highway 113 and United States Bicycle Route 30. The eastern point is located in Okee, Wisconsin.
The Merrimac Ferry is both a functional regional crossing and a tourist attraction. There are ice cream stands at queue areas on either side of the river. It is the state's only free ferry, as well as the only ferry left on the Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System.
The ferry is close to the head of Lake Wisconsin, as well as regional recreation areas, including Devil's Lake and Wisconsin Dells. Peak traffic coincides with the tourist season and weekend getaway schedules.
Operations
The ferryboat is named the Colsac III. "Colsac" is a portmanteau of Columbia and Sauk, the two counties connected by the ferry.
The ferry operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but only from April to November. The ferry will often operate into December depending on when the Lake Wisconsin ice becomes too thick to operate the ferry. The ferry winches itself across the river on three submerged cables. A round trip usually takes 14 minutes. Colsac III can hold up to fifteen normal-size cars or trucks, as well as bicycles and pedestrians, and is capable of transporting semi-trailers. The state operates warning signs several miles from the ferry to alert motorists when it is not operating in season, as detours are considerable, and a traffic information system provides drivers with the expected wait time, which can be up to 50 minutes in peak season. Traffic volume can exceed 1200 vehicles daily.
File:Merrimac Ferry loading.jpg|Cars drive onto the ferry from the landing in Merrimac in July 2015
File:MerrimacFerryDocksWinter.jpg|Western docks in winter
File:MerimacFerryConcessions.jpg|Concessions stand at western dock
History
In 1844, Chester Mattson obtained a charter to provide ferry service at the present-day location. The ferry was in operation long before there was a marked road leading to or away from it. According to conflicting sources, Mattson charged either 35 cents or $1 to ferry a team and wagon across the river. The ferry was human-powered until around the turn of the century, when the first gasoline engine was added. The State of Wisconsin took over the ferry as part of the state highway system in 1933, with operation and maintenance performed by the Columbia County Department of Transportation. The toll was eliminated. The wooden ferry then in service, the first Colsac, had a capacity of eight cars. It was replaced by the [http://nieting.org/grant/ferry/ferry.jpg Colsac II] in 1963, with a capacity of twelve cars.{{cite web |url=http://www.tn.merrimac.wi.gov/ferry.htm |title=The Merrimac Free Ferry |publisher=Town of Merrimac, Wisconsin |year=2012 |accessdate=October 8, 2012}}
The state has periodically considered a bridge to increase the capacity of the state highway and ease commuting for local residents. (The ferry is just west of a 19th-century Wisconsin and Southern Railroad bridge.) As the Colsac II aged, periodic maintenance both grew expensive and took the ferry out of commission for weeks at a time. The older boat's capacity was also frequently strained during the peak travel season, and weight limitations restricted truck traffic. The ferry remained popular with tourists and the tourist industry.{{cite news |last=Davenport |first=Don |date=June 27, 1982 |title=Free fun aboard the Merrimac Ferry |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/133535415 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |volume=136 |issue=178 |department=Travel section |page=213 |access-date=October 26, 2023}} Supporters of the ferry won out, the bridge proposal was shelved, and the ferry was upgraded.
The latest, modern-day ferry was launched on May 16, 2003. It cost $2.2 million to build and was dedicated to sitting Governor Jim Doyle. The new boat was unreliable in its first season{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}, though, spending several weeks out of commission. The state eventually sued the boat builder{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}.
The state was unsuccessful in its attempt to sell the retired ferry, the Colsac II, using an Internet auction,{{cite press release |author=Office of the Secretary |date=October 7, 2002 |url=http://www.doa.state.wi.us/press_releases_detail.asp?prid=110&divid=12 |title=State to Auction Colsac II Merrimac Ferry on the Internet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021117202332/http://www.doa.state.wi.us/press_releases_detail.asp?prid=110&divid=12 |archive-date=November 17, 2002 |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Administration}} so the boat was eventually sold for scrap.
See also
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Transport}}
{{Clear}}
References
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External links
{{Commons category|Merrimac Ferry}}
- [http://www.valuworld.com/usa/wi/supermall/County/Columbia/columbiatourism/seedo/colsac3/ferryindex.htm Colsac III - Merrimac Ferry] at Columbia County Tourism
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Category:Transportation in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Category:Transportation in Sauk County, Wisconsin
Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
Category:Tourist attractions in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Category:Tourist attractions in Sauk County, Wisconsin
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Columbia County, Wisconsin