| Turtle Flambeau Flowage |
Turtle Flambeau Flowage * Echo Lake * Mercer Lake * Fisher Lake * North - South Turtle Lakes * Trude Lake * Cedar Lake * Spider Lake * Grand Portage (Tank Lake) |
| The Turtle-Flambeau Flowage was created in 1926 by the Chippewa and Flambeau Improvement Company (CFIC) as a water retention reservoir to provide flood control and a dependable supply of water for down-stream hydroelectric generating stations. The creation of the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage and improved transportation significantly altered tourism in Iron County. The flowage flooded 16 named lakes and many acres of upland. Many early resorts were located in the area that is now flooded and were forced to move, some to higher ground, others out of the area. As compensation for property lost during the land acquisition stage, property owners were offered money or land. Since most chose to take the cash settlement, the land along the flowage today is very sparsely developed. The flowage, in turn, also attracted tourists. What had been good fishing before became even better, and more people came to test the waters. In the 1930’s, a large Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camp was established in the Mercer-Manitowish area (Camp 79S, Company 660). The CCC, along with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), cleared the land, improved and paved roads, and began to manage the remaining forest lands and replant areas that had been logged. This made the area more accessible and popular to tourists, and many new resorts opened to service them. Over the years, these resorts have had many visitors, some of them notorious, adding some interesting fodder to the area’s history. John Dillinger frequented the area. Al Capone, the Chicago gangster, fished in the flowage area many times, especially in the years after he was released from prison. Charlie Comiskey, founder of the White Sox baseball team, used Jerome’s Hunting and Fishing Club on Trude Lake as a place for rest and relaxation for himself and his team. |
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