Description:
Not far from Rye Beach was the Huron, Ohio, port where Hulett ore unloaders serviced ore-hauling freighters like the John W. Gates. Invented by George H. Hulett in 1899, the unloading machine with a self-filling bucket revolutionized the unloading of ore on the Great Lakes. The Hulett unloaders were first installed at the Carnegie Steel Company docks at Conneaut, Ohio. Eventually, the unloaders were installed at every port on Lake Erie, including Ashtabula, Huron, and Toledo. Seventy-five Huletts were built, all of them by the Wellman-Seaver-Morgan Company of Cleveland. There were more than a dozen machines located at Cleveland alone. Prior to 1899, ore was unloaded by wheelbarrow at an average cost of 50 cents per ton. The Huletts reduced the cost to 5 cents per ton.