Marathon Petroleum RefineryCurrently located on 250 acres of land and employing 540 people, the Marathon refinery in Detroit was built in 1930 by the Aurora Oil Company, and purchased by Marathon, then known as Ohio Oil Company from the late financier Max Fisher in 1959. Upgrades were completed in 2012 to satisfy the requirements of the Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade project. Current capacity is 139,000 barrels per day.
Of the three refineries once operational Downriver, Marathon is now the only facility in the state. |
Ford Motor Company River Rouge complexThe Ford Rouge complex broke ground on construction began in 1917, and upon its completion in 1928 was the largest integrated factory complex in the world. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, named in 1978, and also a State Historical site.
It is 1.5 miles wide by 1 mile long, comprising 93 buildings with a total of 16 million square feet of workable space. Some of the buildings on-site were designed by the renowned architect Albert Kahn. Even during the Great Depression, the Ford Rouge facility employed up to 100,000 people at that time. |
The factory was one of the first examples of vertical integration, where everything is created, produced, assembled and transported on the same site. In the Rouge Plant's case, this would mean everything from raw material to the finished automotive product. The idea was Henry Ford's, as he sought to avoid possible damage to his vehicles through transporting them from the plant.
The complex, which once built the Ford Mustang from 1964 to 2004, and also the Mercury Capri and Cougar, was an inspiration for renowned artist Diego Rivera, who study the plant in its surroundings and used these to help produced his Detroit industry murals, which has been on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts since 1933. The complex was also the birthplace of the modern labor movement, capped off by the infamous Battle of the Overpass in May, 1936.
The complex, which once built the Ford Mustang from 1964 to 2004, and also the Mercury Capri and Cougar, was an inspiration for renowned artist Diego Rivera, who study the plant in its surroundings and used these to help produced his Detroit industry murals, which has been on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts since 1933. The complex was also the birthplace of the modern labor movement, capped off by the infamous Battle of the Overpass in May, 1936.
Zug Island's industrial & steel production
Zug Island was originally part of the mainland of the Delray section of Southwest Detroit, although it has not held that status since 1906.
The 334 acre parcel was purchased by furniture mogul Samuel Zug in 1859 in the hopes of putting a mansion in place. The ground proved too swampy, so construction of structures never took place. By 1888, Zug directed the River Rouge Improvement Company to dig a canal, forming the present-day perimeter of the island. |
Zug sold off his interests to the land in 1891 to George Brady and Charles Noble, whose initial intent was to use the land as an industrial waste dump. The first of the blast furnaces prevalent today were constructed on site in 1902, and various steelmaking Industries have grown and thrived in the vicinity since that time.
Zug Island has been considered part of the city of River Rouge since that city's formation in 1922.
Zug Island has been considered part of the city of River Rouge since that city's formation in 1922.
Michigan Alkali / Wyandotte Chemicals / BASF Works
The precursor of today's BASF North Works was formed in 1893 as the Michigan Alkali Company under the tutelage of Captain John Baptiste (J.B.) Ford. He located in the Wyandotte area from Creighton, Pennsylvania where he had begun the New York City Plate Glass Company, later named the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company.
Mr. Ford was drawn to the area presumably by the large amounts of salt in the mines underneath Detroit and the surrounding vicinity. He would use this abundance of salt in the production of caustic soda ash, which would aid in the mass production of glass products.
Later renamed Wyandotte Chemicals Company, the campus would grow to dominate the Wyandotte riverfront for generations and its production of soaps, baking soda, cleansers and lyes. Wyandotte Chemical was divested into the BASF group of holdings in 1969, and has also been known as Diversey Wyandotte during the 1980s.
The environmental movement of the 1970s pushed BASF to rethink its riverfront industrial capabilities in an effort to promote cleaner soil and air. The South Works facility was shut down in stages beginning in 1979, and now has been restored as Wyandotte Shores Golf Course. The majority of the heavy pollutants from the North Works facility were eliminated, but production still continues of various chemicals at that location today.
Mr. Ford was drawn to the area presumably by the large amounts of salt in the mines underneath Detroit and the surrounding vicinity. He would use this abundance of salt in the production of caustic soda ash, which would aid in the mass production of glass products.
Later renamed Wyandotte Chemicals Company, the campus would grow to dominate the Wyandotte riverfront for generations and its production of soaps, baking soda, cleansers and lyes. Wyandotte Chemical was divested into the BASF group of holdings in 1969, and has also been known as Diversey Wyandotte during the 1980s.
The environmental movement of the 1970s pushed BASF to rethink its riverfront industrial capabilities in an effort to promote cleaner soil and air. The South Works facility was shut down in stages beginning in 1979, and now has been restored as Wyandotte Shores Golf Course. The majority of the heavy pollutants from the North Works facility were eliminated, but production still continues of various chemicals at that location today.
Information coming soon: |
Great Lakes Steel
McLouth Steel
Elf Atochem, Riverview
Solutia, Trenton
Eureka Iron Works
Sibley Quarry
Socony Refinery
ASC