Henry Ford starts brainstorming his latest transportation venture
Although chemical companies, shipbuilding and steel mills helped start the Downriver area, it was still the ever-popular automobile that made Detroit. Downriver was seen as a possible outlet by auto magnate Henry Ford who, in 1920, purchased a spur railroad track owned by Detroit, Toledo & Ironton (DT&I) that ran from Melvindale toward Flat Rock. To Ford, his purchase was purposeful as he sought to redefine how railroad companies would operate - not to mention improving freight handling for his River Rouge plant, and eliminating tariffs & lawyer-based loopholes associated with the operations.
Many people most likely still didn't believe, or didn't understand, what Prohibition was about, or how it would end up affecting people Downriver. A jingle was developed not long before Prohibition's start:
"Goodbye booze, Goodbye root, |
Wyandotte's Shipbuilding era ends; other cities pick up industry's slack
The fall of 1920 saw the end of one of the waterfront's first industries. Nearly 300 ships had been built in the old Wyandotte shipyards, including the Bois Blanc Island steamer Columbia in 1902 With the successful launches of the James Davidson and Merton E. Farr in October 1920, shipbuilding would become the domain of nearby cities, notably River Rouge and Trenton.
The lawlessness shows its ugly side as Prohibition goes into full swing
Toward the end of 1920, the Detroit-Toledo Funnel route for contraband liquor shipment was in full swing, but more spectacular business would be taking place at the Detroit-Windsor Funnel. These were the days before the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel were constructed, and customs officers on the Canadian side were more willing to let illegalities slide in the name of money.
Canada's modified liquor transport law did not allow them to export booze to Prohibition countries. This was solved by simply falsifying information on the paper tickets that accompanied each shipment. Canadians may have turned a watchful eye as to why so much liquor was being exported to Cuba, Central America or Puerto Rico, but they turned the blind eye back when they found out in was the United States. Customs agents hired to stop this funnel were either not aware of the lies on those tickets, or began to be paid off to say nothing.
Additionally, until Ohio's Prohibition law went into effect late in 1920, the funnel between Detroit & Toledo was also a major supply.
The result was a breakdown in society. Respect for the law went down. Trust of public officials and the police were gone. Inter-family strifes were common. The illegal trade affected steamship operations servicing Bois Blanc, Put-In-Bay, Stoney and Tashmoo islands along the river, resulting in that segment of business slumping. Community and ethnic gatherings, including festivals, drew less interest and grew rare.
Canada's modified liquor transport law did not allow them to export booze to Prohibition countries. This was solved by simply falsifying information on the paper tickets that accompanied each shipment. Canadians may have turned a watchful eye as to why so much liquor was being exported to Cuba, Central America or Puerto Rico, but they turned the blind eye back when they found out in was the United States. Customs agents hired to stop this funnel were either not aware of the lies on those tickets, or began to be paid off to say nothing.
Additionally, until Ohio's Prohibition law went into effect late in 1920, the funnel between Detroit & Toledo was also a major supply.
The result was a breakdown in society. Respect for the law went down. Trust of public officials and the police were gone. Inter-family strifes were common. The illegal trade affected steamship operations servicing Bois Blanc, Put-In-Bay, Stoney and Tashmoo islands along the river, resulting in that segment of business slumping. Community and ethnic gatherings, including festivals, drew less interest and grew rare.
River Rouge becomes a city in 1922 thanks to the burgeoning steel trade
River Rouge, home to many workers at the Great Lakes Steel facility on the river, plus at many factories on Zug Island, was officially made a city in 1921, though we have seen activity took place there much longer. As the Detroit settlement had begun to expand, it did so along the river, north and south, along the Detroit River and the Rouge River (which is the French translation for "Red River"). The descendants of Cadillac and those who first accompanied him became a large part of the population that made up the area that was to become River Rouge. The specific location of Detroit and the later developed River Rouge was advantageous with great accessibility to these raw materials. The manufacturing industry's development was surely inevitable, weaving its history into the new city's permanent fabric.
Wyandotte Heights changed its name to Riverview in 1922, and was awarded township status.
Wyandotte Heights changed its name to Riverview in 1922, and was awarded township status.
Fighting for the public safety factor turns deadly Downriver, makes news
Then would come the introduction of mass bootlegging, whose earning effectiveness was beginning to draw others from the woodwork: citizens as well as an embarassed law enforcement team.
In the mid-1920s, $800 was considered a decent average annual salary. But bootlegging could result in a person holding between $50,000 - $75,000 on them at any one time. Thinking perhaps of sustainability for family and self, the trade continued to grow.
Budgets for Police and other detail were being strained to the limit, and no money would be forthcoming from the Federal Government: it just wasn't there to dole out. The gangs would be busted on occasion if caught in the act, but most liquor traffic would enjoy unfettered access through the Wyandotte waterfront.
Keep in mind the law did not provide prosecution for those who operated small stills in their homes for the personal consumption of booze. These people considered themselves law-abiders, and with the increasing indifference of a frustrated Police force, seemed to become the new status-quo.
In the mid-1920s, $800 was considered a decent average annual salary. But bootlegging could result in a person holding between $50,000 - $75,000 on them at any one time. Thinking perhaps of sustainability for family and self, the trade continued to grow.
Budgets for Police and other detail were being strained to the limit, and no money would be forthcoming from the Federal Government: it just wasn't there to dole out. The gangs would be busted on occasion if caught in the act, but most liquor traffic would enjoy unfettered access through the Wyandotte waterfront.
Keep in mind the law did not provide prosecution for those who operated small stills in their homes for the personal consumption of booze. These people considered themselves law-abiders, and with the increasing indifference of a frustrated Police force, seemed to become the new status-quo.
The shooting death of Ford Village Patrolman Ignatz Witkowski on July 4, 1922, sent some of the biggest shockwaves toward the local police forces. Hand-picked to direct the village's war on the bootleggers and smugglers (owing to his effectiveness in rounding up suspects), his death resulted in officers debating whether to continuing fighting for the Prohibition laws and risk their own deaths, or ignore the guidelines and be able to go home to their families each night. As the years would go on, many of these officers ended up accused of bribery - among other crimes - but felt they were better off away from the center of activity.
Seemingly half a world away, the more Henry Ford thought about it, the more he liked the unheard-of idea of electrifying his new railway spur running Downriver in an effort to avoid paying the increasing costs of petroleum and steam. His most notable decision was to not build power substations to keep the voltage constant; he would run the lines along the entire route on canternaries -- better known as the railroad arches seen today Downriver. To demonstrate how sturdy they still are today, it may be noted a total of 190 cubic yards of concrete were used on the base of each arch alone.
Scary, almost unspeakable incident mars the safety record of the Interurban car
Wyandotte would receive its (temporary) western-most boundaries as annexation took place in 1924. The boundary was now Fort Street, which was still a narrow road at the time. But even the widest road that could be made would not have been enough to avert a harrowing, chilling accident on that city's Interurban Railway tracks in December, 1924.
On December 4, a coroner's jury was due to start its investigation into the accident which resulted in five passengers being killed, and ten severely injured. A two-car train was attempting to cross the Ford Avenue / Electric Street intersection, when a "motor truck" collided with the second car. Inside that second car were numerous drums containing turpentine, a highly combustible product in pure form. The collision resulted in some of these drums exiting the storage car, catapulting into the passenger car, where all power was lost and conditions were dark.
The train traveled for another city block before the conductor, identified as "Motorman Collins" was able to stop. The account of what happened next becomes sketchy: it would depend on who was answering the questions. The popular belief is that a torn trolley wire sparked from above, met the fumes of the turpentine, and exploded. Another source claimed a rescuer armed with a lantern got too close to the fumes. Still others claimed a stunned passenger lit a match to see better, not knowing about the turpentine. It was a general consensus that the trolley wire theory was the likely cause, given that the trolley had exploded on impact, according to many eyewitnesses.
Regardless, the amount of destruction to human life by the resulting fire is almost too damaging to mention. An inquest into the incident was announced for December 17, 1924. Harry Culver, a driver from Toledo, was driving the motor truck which hit the interurban; he was in police custody.
On December 4, a coroner's jury was due to start its investigation into the accident which resulted in five passengers being killed, and ten severely injured. A two-car train was attempting to cross the Ford Avenue / Electric Street intersection, when a "motor truck" collided with the second car. Inside that second car were numerous drums containing turpentine, a highly combustible product in pure form. The collision resulted in some of these drums exiting the storage car, catapulting into the passenger car, where all power was lost and conditions were dark.
The train traveled for another city block before the conductor, identified as "Motorman Collins" was able to stop. The account of what happened next becomes sketchy: it would depend on who was answering the questions. The popular belief is that a torn trolley wire sparked from above, met the fumes of the turpentine, and exploded. Another source claimed a rescuer armed with a lantern got too close to the fumes. Still others claimed a stunned passenger lit a match to see better, not knowing about the turpentine. It was a general consensus that the trolley wire theory was the likely cause, given that the trolley had exploded on impact, according to many eyewitnesses.
Regardless, the amount of destruction to human life by the resulting fire is almost too damaging to mention. An inquest into the incident was announced for December 17, 1924. Harry Culver, a driver from Toledo, was driving the motor truck which hit the interurban; he was in police custody.
Lincoln Park takes the fast track toward city-hood, as Wyandotte reorganizes streets
Lincoln Park was awarded its city charter as the motion passed by village voters, 854-87 on January 16, 1925. It, like Ecorse and River Rouge before, made its initial stride in housing workers at the new Rouge factory facility as well as the steel mills along the river.
The first established section of the village was Quandt's Corner, and it grew at such a pace that city incorporation would only take four years, the shortest of the Downriver cities.
Following the changeover of Ford City territory to Wyandotte, a massive reorganization of street names and addresses was implemented. (The changes are radical enough to not be included in this documentation; a separate page on this website spells out details of the name changes.)
The first established section of the village was Quandt's Corner, and it grew at such a pace that city incorporation would only take four years, the shortest of the Downriver cities.
Following the changeover of Ford City territory to Wyandotte, a massive reorganization of street names and addresses was implemented. (The changes are radical enough to not be included in this documentation; a separate page on this website spells out details of the name changes.)
Detroit sees a good thing Downriver and tries to grab it for themselves
Downriver came within a couple months of losing nearly 40% of its area to the city of Detroit through annexation. The city wanted to absorb Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge and Wyandotte, in addition to the city of Dearborn and Dearborn (later Fordson) Township. In September of 1926, assistant Prosecutor Frank B. Ferguson stated a lawsuit had been dropped; it would have pit those in favor of annexation against the Michigan Supreme Court. In addition, the State Ways & Means Committee said Detroit was not in good-enough financial shape to absorb and maintain the newly-acquired lands.
Through research, the County found that out of 12,000 petition signatures, 2,000 were determined to be fraudulent. Three unnamed people would be served with arrest warrants for the fraud, but the police did not catch up to any of them. Even with this particular proposal dying, Lincoln Park would not be out of the woods yet, as residents there and in Melvindale would face another 12,000 signature petition drive of their own.
The present-day system of numbering US & State Highways was enacted on November 11, 1926. M-10, which had been the former Division 1 road from 1913-1919 and had been signed M-10 since, was renamed US-24 and US-25, depending on a person's exact location. This more than likely covered the present Telegraph Road location.
Through research, the County found that out of 12,000 petition signatures, 2,000 were determined to be fraudulent. Three unnamed people would be served with arrest warrants for the fraud, but the police did not catch up to any of them. Even with this particular proposal dying, Lincoln Park would not be out of the woods yet, as residents there and in Melvindale would face another 12,000 signature petition drive of their own.
The present-day system of numbering US & State Highways was enacted on November 11, 1926. M-10, which had been the former Division 1 road from 1913-1919 and had been signed M-10 since, was renamed US-24 and US-25, depending on a person's exact location. This more than likely covered the present Telegraph Road location.
Human trafficking on the Detroit River becomes a side activity during Prohibition
Tragedies were now occurring on an almost daily basis on the river itself, again in the name of money. With the tremendous increase in boat traffic, some of the syndicates turned to smuggling illegal Chinese immigrants into the country whenever they would have extra space inside their vessels. Some syndicates were able to obtain up to $1000 per person. Since the punishments for violation of the Alien Immigration Act promised longer prison terms than liquor smuggling did, many of these immigrants were haphazardly tossed from the boat into the river, heavily weighted down, and drowned.
A short time would prove Henry Ford's electric railway to be "more or less bunk"
By that spring, Henry Ford's electric railroad experiment was ready for use. A high voltage line was strung along the canternaries -- the railroad arches -- which would serve a transformer above the momentous direct-current engines that would run the line.
The arches themselves, from the Rouge complex southward to the village of Carleton, were complete by this time. The overall goal was to electrify his entire route to Newport News, Virginia.
Mr. Ford calculated the potential cost savings to be significant enough to pursue his dream of electrification, no matter the initial overhead cost.
The arches themselves, from the Rouge complex southward to the village of Carleton, were complete by this time. The overall goal was to electrify his entire route to Newport News, Virginia.
Mr. Ford calculated the potential cost savings to be significant enough to pursue his dream of electrification, no matter the initial overhead cost.
After only three years of operation, Henry Ford's electrified railway was classified as a complete failure. Problems arose almost immediately upon the line's activation in 1927. Mr. Ford's interest in railroads would drop off the chart literally overnight; by 1929 he had sold his interests to the Pennroad Corporation.
Not only did Mr. Ford find his operation wasn't saving money; a survey by Pennroad found that expenses could be cut by reconverting the line back to its original steam power.
The arches, however, remain and have become Downriver landmarks; a true testament to Mr. Ford's insistence on the highest quality of construction. The occasional attempt to dismantle these have proven to be not worth the effort due to the 2-3 days spent to take down each individual canternary completely.
Not only did Mr. Ford find his operation wasn't saving money; a survey by Pennroad found that expenses could be cut by reconverting the line back to its original steam power.
The arches, however, remain and have become Downriver landmarks; a true testament to Mr. Ford's insistence on the highest quality of construction. The occasional attempt to dismantle these have proven to be not worth the effort due to the 2-3 days spent to take down each individual canternary completely.