Four Major Aspects of Detroit Rivers History
Although there are more aspects of Detroit Rivers history that could be named, these are a few that stand out more than others. Many of these are more prominent due to the large impact it has left on the river but also the city of Detroit. These include the J.W. Westcott II, wars, being apart of the underground railroad, and prohibition on the river.
J.W. Westcott II
While Detroit became a fast growing city, so did its main waterway. The river became a huge reason for the cities success. Trading, fishing, and many other jobs and factors caused the river to become extremely bus, and while the river was very promising and helpful for many different reasons, often when boats went out no one really had an idea of where they were or when they would come back. On top of this, “conditions could change on a moment’s notice. Ports might be congested, unloading equipment could break down or a company’s ore supply might become low.”. The cities success was far too important for these kind of problems to be rising.
John Ward Westcott, a young captain, saw these issues growing and decided to create the J.W Westcott company in 1874. This company wanted to “transmit destination and dock information to passing vessels”, ultimately reporting where a company's boats whereabouts were. After years of success, Westcott’s company had expanded so largely that it was declared an official U.S postal service boat in 1948, and became the first to do so. For the past fifty plus years, the J.W Westcott II has served the city of Detroit, its river, and the surrounding Great Lakes. While its main purpose had originally been to track boats, technology through radio and computers has taken over that job. Now as noted from their motto on their website “Mail in the Pail!” has become their new purpose. Through their main dispatch office located in Detroit, the J.W Westcott has three main purposes. The New York times states in an article about the historic postal boats new legacy “one-third of the Westcott’s business comes from its contract with the Postal Service, which calls the boat it's only floating ZIP code. The contract was just renewed to 2021 and pays for the Westcott to deliver United States mail to any vessel free of charge. Another third comes from transporting passengers, pilots, crew and contractors. The remaining third is from delivering non-Postal Service packages and other goods.”. While technology has changed much of the company's original purpose they still use a simple pail and rope to deliver to other boats. Although the J.W Westcott II purpose has changed, it is still used widely to serve companies based off of the Detroit River. It is one of the most interesting parts of history of the Detroit River that has gracefully stayed to benefit the city. |
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Watch this video to learn more about the J.W. Westcott II and hear from the owner.
The Underground Railroad
Detroit city was one of the last stops on the underground railroad; a network that helped runaway slaves. While Detroit was north enough to be in a free state, it still could capture slaves and send them back to their owners. The thing about Detroit was that the only thing stopping slaves from being completely free was the Detroit River, making it one of the last "stops". Many slaves strove to get to the city of Detroit, that was nicknamed "Midnight" by the underground railroad.
Once their journey brought them to the city, the very last step to freedom was crossing the one mile river. Although the Detroit River is known for its strong undercurrents, weather conditions could also affect how smoothly the crossing of the river. Regardless of how difficult and dangerous the last leg of the journey may have been, it did not matter for the slaves. John L. Dorman a travel writer for the New York times states, “Thousands upon thousands of escapees risked their lives on this river, for freedom”.
Even though the situation is one that is very sad, the Detroit River played a huge role in bettering and saving the lives of thousands of slaves. It is often recognized for being a part of the journey, and there are multiple monuments along the Detroit River that honor those that used Detroit and its river to gain freedom.
Once their journey brought them to the city, the very last step to freedom was crossing the one mile river. Although the Detroit River is known for its strong undercurrents, weather conditions could also affect how smoothly the crossing of the river. Regardless of how difficult and dangerous the last leg of the journey may have been, it did not matter for the slaves. John L. Dorman a travel writer for the New York times states, “Thousands upon thousands of escapees risked their lives on this river, for freedom”.
Even though the situation is one that is very sad, the Detroit River played a huge role in bettering and saving the lives of thousands of slaves. It is often recognized for being a part of the journey, and there are multiple monuments along the Detroit River that honor those that used Detroit and its river to gain freedom.
This sculpture stands on the United States side of the Detroit River. It shows a young girl looking back at her home once more before she finally leaves.
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This sculpture stands on the opposite side of the Detroit river in Windsor, Canada. It is said to show a man giving thanks, and show new life through the baby.
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Wars
The Detroit River helped bring a large amount of success to the city, because of this it would be hard to imagine such a major waterway not being a part of any conflict. Many wars throughout history have impacted the Detroit River. Whether this was because they were fighting over the river, or traveling on it, the river has not been shy of the conflict surrounding it.
There have been five major wars that have included the Detroit River. These include the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, and World War II.
French and Indian War: The Detroit River was taken by Great Britain from the French
Revolutionary War: It was claimed by the newly formed United States War of 1812: The Detroit River served as the major barrier America and British “upper Canada”
Civil War: Because Canada remained neutral during this war, it lead for the Union to fear of a northern attack from Confederate states. (ended up not happening but it was heavily patrolled)
WWII: The wartime effort in Detroit grew greatly (much like many other parts of the country). Due to Detroit being such a large industrialized city, many weapons were built there. The river served as a way to ship the parts and weapons overseas to help with the war effort.
While there were also many battles fought along the Detroit River, the wars impacted the city in the largest way. The Detroit River was not shy of conflict, much like any other waterway. Each and every war was connected by the fact that without the river much of the war would have been changed without it. Although this is not the greatest thing to be remembered for, it. allowed the river to gain a rich history and really was the begining of many hardships the Detroit River would face.
Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide ban on the consumption transportation, importation, and the sale of alcohol. The entire ban lasted entirely through the 1920s and lasted until 1933. Obviously no law is going to be completely followed, and prohibition was no different. Actually prohibition was largely not followed nationwide. But if all of the country had problems, what made Detroit stand out against other parts of the country? The answer to that question is the Detroit River.
The city of Detroit is bordered by Canada. That is one of the largest reasons for the cities success. When prohibition hit the United States, alcohol was still legal in Canada, as well as popular. This opened a whole new door of opportunities for the city, and the Detroit River turned into the major route for smuggling alcohol into the country from Canada. Illegal alcohol sales became the second largest industry for Detroit during the 1920s.
This new industry for Detroit became known as rum running. Almost the entirety of rum running was done over the Detroit River. Getting the alcohol from Canada became relatively easy. Selling to smugglers on the river became so huge that even though sale of liquor was illegal in Canada, their federal government approved it just for export. Once the trip across the Detroit River to Canada was completed, the return back was what left many rum runners in trouble. Detroit Police spent much of their time trying to capture those trying to make it across the river.
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While boats were the primary use of transportation across the river, when winter came the river was the only way the industry could continue bringing in alcohol was crossing it over by sled or by car. When police caught those using the River for smuggling purposes the boat used was often auctioned. As well as the alcohol being dumped into the river. Even though the Detroit River was on constant watch, the alcohol industry was barely hindered.
Through the thirteen year prohibition, the Detroit River brought in $215 million per year through smuggling. As well as being such a success for the city, the Detroit River carried 75% of liquor into the United States. The Detroit River often is called a “smuggler's dream” for obvious reasons.