Bay de Noquet Lumber Company Waste Burner
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Bay de Noquet Lumber Company Waste Burner | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
 Waste burner c. 1978 | |
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 Interactive map | |
| Location | South end of River St., Nahma Township, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°50′7″N 86°39′35″W / 45.83528°N 86.65972°W |
| Built | c. 1888 - 1893 |
| Demolished | 2019 |
| NRHP reference No. | 11000177[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 8, 2011 |
| Removed from NRHP | June 10, 2020[2] |
The Bay de Noquet Lumber Company Waste Burner was an industrial waste burner located at the south end of River Street in Nahma Township, Michigan. It was built to burn waste wood and bark from the nearby sawmill; until 2019 it was the only known example of this type of waste burner surviving in Michigan,[3] and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.[1] The burner collapsed in 2019,[4] and was removed from the National Register in 2020.[2]
In 1881, George Farnsworth and his partners in Wisconsin's Oconto Lumber Company[3] founded the Bay de Noquet (later Bay de Noc[5]) Lumber Company.[6] The company immediately built a sawmill in Nahma, along the northern coast of Lake Michigan, opening it in 1882.[3] Fires were problematic, and the Nahma sawmill was destroyed by fire in 1889 and again in 1899.[6] In response, the company built this wastewood burner, located on a small nearby island, to eliminate the sawmill waste.[6] Although the exact construction date is not known, it was some time between 1888 and 1893;[3] it is not unlikely that the burner was built after the 1889 fire.[6] s
The sawmill was destroyed yet again in 1923.[3] The company rebuilt, and continued to log the surrounding area[5] and use the waste burner.[3] However, available timber supplies were dwindling, and the mill shut down permanently in 1951.[3]
The burner collapsed in the overnight hours of April 18, 2019.[4]
