When we look at early industry on Lake Superior, that is exactly what we see. Iron ore was mined from the Marquette Ridge, taken by rail to the harbor in Marquette and loaded onto freighters, wooden and otherwise. The iron ore was sailed about 40 miles East to Munising. There it was converted to pig iron using charcoal from local trees and limestone from the cliffs behind the blast furnace. This process could start up again, though some of the infrastructure would have to be rebuilt. They could then add a finery forge in Munising as well to make plates and then rivet and weld a hull together at a dry dock. If K.I. Sawyer AFB can be made into a farming community, you can probably support this.
Not saying this would be easy, but it is possible.
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