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Event

Beaver Island submarine power-cable installation, 1971 report

Also 1971 submarine cable · Beaver Island utility cable installation

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeEvent
Date1971-06
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Event
Date
1971-06
Kind
Construction
Carried out by
Luedtke Engineering Company
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
communityeconomymaritimeheritage
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

The June 1971 Beaver Beacon reported that a submarine power cable was nearly installed to supply Beaver Island. Luedtke Engineering was laying the cable from the Cross Village shore, through a 26-mile route to the Beaver harbor entrance, past the St. James light, and to the island generator plant.

The account describes two 58-ton cable reels on a crane barge, a 36-inch-deep trench, a midway splice, and a maximum cable tension of 800 pounds.

Evidence and limits

This is a source-qualified construction report. The newspaper does not state the completion date, final route, as-built depth, service start, ownership, contract terms, or whether the diesel generator plant was actually retired as the normal power source.

See also

Sources

  1. Reports a nearly installed 26-mile submarine cable laid by Luedtke Engineering from the Cross Village shore to Beaver harbor entrance and onward past the St. James light to the generator plant; it gives the cable, trench, barge, splice, and tension details but does not report completion, a final route survey, or an installation date.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1971-06_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held nine-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1971-06_Beaver-Beacon
  3. A 2009 discussion identified a visiting steam dredge/barge and tug as sheltering at Gillespie's dock, reportedly en route from the Sault to Frankfort after heavy weather. Participants later recalled that the equipment had been used for the island's first power cable and was being taken home for dismantling. This is an unverified retrospective community recollection and does not alter the 1971 Beacon account or establish the vessel's identity.
    forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 01 · t001813

Added 1 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island submarine power-cable installation, 1971 report”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-submarine-power-cable-installation-1971/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, June 1971, “Island Based Fuel Supply.” (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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