Ecorse Endnotes
Ecorse 1960s
The City of Ecorse
By Gerald Beauchamp
Allen Park, Michigan
Today, situated on a land mass of 2.97 square miles, located eight miles S.S.W. of Detroit on the Detroit River lives a population slightly over 17,000. These 17,000 people have been incorporated into and represented by the City of Ecorse.
This small city in southeastern Wayne County has a rich tradition and colorful background. One must, of necessity, examine, evaluate, and understand the history and past of this city in order to appreciate the present condition of Ecorse and hopefully obtain some insight which will aid in the survey of the present social, economic, and political life of Ecorse.
I have found that there are three main themes by which the history of Ecorse may be reconstructed. The French influence on the early settlement of Ecorse, the dominance of geography on the economic development of Ecorse, and Ecorse viewed as the city that steel built.
The history of Ecorse dates back as far as 1763, when it was the rendezvous haven and retreat of Pontiac and allied Wyandotte Indians. In 1776, the leading Indian chieftains of the Potowatome tribe deeded a huge tract of land, which now includes the cities of Allen Park, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, and part of Wyandotte to Pierre St. Cosme “for love and affection.” (1- The Ecorse Tribune, October 21, 1937) The sons of Pierre St. Cosme sold the land in small strips to settlers in Detroit and Sandwich, Ontario.
During the 1700s, a French settlement developed as an outgrowth of the Detroit and Sandwich settlements. In 1795 the first white settler, a Frenchman, Pierre Michael Campau settled in Ecorse in was soon followed by several French families. The original name of Ecorse, “Riviere Aux Echorches,” is derived from these early French setlers, who dubbed it “The River of the Barks.” (2-The Detroit Free Press, October 14, 1956, p. 12-A.) The French continued migrating to Ecorse, mainly from Canada, during the early 1800s.
On April 12, 1827 the Michigan Territorial Legislature created the Township of Ecorse. (3-Thomas J. Anderson – City Historian, City of Southgate, Michigan; A History of Southgate and the Detroit Downriver Area, October 1963, p. 10.) This Township of Ecorse consisted of 5.4 square miles and extended from the Detroit River to the present Pelham Road. It included what is now known as Allen Park, Ecorse, Melvindale, River Rouge, Taylor Township, Wyandotte and part of Detroit, south of the Rouge River.
By the year 1834, there were 800 people, 152 homes, and four business places and the plot of the unincorporated village of Grandport was created. (4-Ibid.) Grandport was to become the hub of the neighboring sprawling farmlands. It was the site of a shipyard and an important sawmill, Raupp’s Lumber Mill. (5-Ibid.) This village was also the religious center of the growing French and Catholic population. The Jesuit priests founded Saint Francis Xavier parish and in 1847 the church was completed. At this time, Saint Francis Xavier included Fort Wayne, River Rouge, Wyandotte, Oakwood and Delray.
The unincorporated village of Grandport became a general law village in 1903, (6-The Michigan Manual 1960, p. 346), and its name was changed to Ecorse. The village of Ecorse’s first president was A.M. Salliotte. At this, time Ecorse was a resort town and one of the early commuter suburbs.
Geography was the important asset which made Ecorse a popular resort area. Reported in the Detroit Free Press, 1905, was an article entitled “Little Venice of the West End.” This article gives a good description of Ecorse:
All along the river shores from Fort Wayne to the Village of Ecorse, some hardier folks of Detroit who like to keep cool cheaply have boat houses in which they live during the summer. “The Little Venice of the West End” they call it, and it is truly a colony of resorters distinct in itself. The rich may go to Grosse Pointe, to the mountains, or to the seashore, those of limited means such as skilled mechanics, clerks and other small salaried men with families may easily afford to rent a cottage built out upon the piers of Ecorse’s Little Venice. There they may have the air and the cool of the river, in fact, all of the real luxuries of a more exclusive colony and at much less cost.
Thus Ecorse had a pleasant, friendly resort image at the turn of the century; this however, was not to last and Ecorse was about to experience a change. The passage of the Volstead Act of 1919 brought about an era of false prosperity that, for a few years, turned Ecorse into a boom town. Ecorse became a Prohibition rum-running center due to its geographic location on the Detroit River across from Canada. (7-The Detroit Free Press, October 14, 1956, p. 12-A) This village with a population under 5,000 became a notorious “rum-row”; illegal liquor and alien trade made this once peaceful village the scene of minor gang wars. The Volstead Act was repealed in 1933 and thus ended an infamous era in Ecorse history.
Geography was to play another and far more important role in Ecorse’s life. A salesman of Pittsburgh-made steel, George R. Fink had vision and ambition. In 1922, he saw Ecorse as a logical location for a steel plant. Iron-ore and limestone were already being shipped down the Detroit River from the North and coal could easily be shipped up to Ecorse from the southeast. By 1923, the first steel was rolled off the steel mill of the Michigan Steel Corporation, organized by George Fink. This was just the beginning. By 1929, twenty million dollars was raised by Fink and the Great Lakes Steel Corporation was organized.
From this period on the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and Ecorse grew and prospered together. In 1930, 800 workers were employed in the steel mill and Great Lakes paid 50% of Ecorse’s tax revenue. During the Depression, the Great Lakes Steel Corporation advanced some of its future tax money to keep the village of Ecorse going.(8-The Ecorse Tribune, October 21, 1937.) By 1940, Great Lakes Steel Corporation had expanded its facilities and employed 7,500 men. (9-The Detroit News, August 24, 1940) Today, Great Lakes Steel Corporation is the largest of 26 manufacturing plants in Ecorse and employs 10,000 people. (10-Down River, Down River Chamber of Commerce, 1959, p. 14.)
The City of Ecorse
By Gerald Beauchamp
Allen Park, Michigan
Today, situated on a land mass of 2.97 square miles, located eight miles S.S.W. of Detroit on the Detroit River lives a population slightly over 17,000. These 17,000 people have been incorporated into and represented by the City of Ecorse.
This small city in southeastern Wayne County has a rich tradition and colorful background. One must, of necessity, examine, evaluate, and understand the history and past of this city in order to appreciate the present condition of Ecorse and hopefully obtain some insight which will aid in the survey of the present social, economic, and political life of Ecorse.
I have found that there are three main themes by which the history of Ecorse may be reconstructed. The French influence on the early settlement of Ecorse, the dominance of geography on the economic development of Ecorse, and Ecorse viewed as the city that steel built.
The history of Ecorse dates back as far as 1763, when it was the rendezvous haven and retreat of Pontiac and allied Wyandotte Indians. In 1776, the leading Indian chieftains of the Potowatome tribe deeded a huge tract of land, which now includes the cities of Allen Park, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, and part of Wyandotte to Pierre St. Cosme “for love and affection.” (1- The Ecorse Tribune, October 21, 1937) The sons of Pierre St. Cosme sold the land in small strips to settlers in Detroit and Sandwich, Ontario.
During the 1700s, a French settlement developed as an outgrowth of the Detroit and Sandwich settlements. In 1795 the first white settler, a Frenchman, Pierre Michael Campau settled in Ecorse in was soon followed by several French families. The original name of Ecorse, “Riviere Aux Echorches,” is derived from these early French setlers, who dubbed it “The River of the Barks.” (2-The Detroit Free Press, October 14, 1956, p. 12-A.) The French continued migrating to Ecorse, mainly from Canada, during the early 1800s.
On April 12, 1827 the Michigan Territorial Legislature created the Township of Ecorse. (3-Thomas J. Anderson – City Historian, City of Southgate, Michigan; A History of Southgate and the Detroit Downriver Area, October 1963, p. 10.) This Township of Ecorse consisted of 5.4 square miles and extended from the Detroit River to the present Pelham Road. It included what is now known as Allen Park, Ecorse, Melvindale, River Rouge, Taylor Township, Wyandotte and part of Detroit, south of the Rouge River.
By the year 1834, there were 800 people, 152 homes, and four business places and the plot of the unincorporated village of Grandport was created. (4-Ibid.) Grandport was to become the hub of the neighboring sprawling farmlands. It was the site of a shipyard and an important sawmill, Raupp’s Lumber Mill. (5-Ibid.) This village was also the religious center of the growing French and Catholic population. The Jesuit priests founded Saint Francis Xavier parish and in 1847 the church was completed. At this time, Saint Francis Xavier included Fort Wayne, River Rouge, Wyandotte, Oakwood and Delray.
The unincorporated village of Grandport became a general law village in 1903, (6-The Michigan Manual 1960, p. 346), and its name was changed to Ecorse. The village of Ecorse’s first president was A.M. Salliotte. At this, time Ecorse was a resort town and one of the early commuter suburbs.
Geography was the important asset which made Ecorse a popular resort area. Reported in the Detroit Free Press, 1905, was an article entitled “Little Venice of the West End.” This article gives a good description of Ecorse:
All along the river shores from Fort Wayne to the Village of Ecorse, some hardier folks of Detroit who like to keep cool cheaply have boat houses in which they live during the summer. “The Little Venice of the West End” they call it, and it is truly a colony of resorters distinct in itself. The rich may go to Grosse Pointe, to the mountains, or to the seashore, those of limited means such as skilled mechanics, clerks and other small salaried men with families may easily afford to rent a cottage built out upon the piers of Ecorse’s Little Venice. There they may have the air and the cool of the river, in fact, all of the real luxuries of a more exclusive colony and at much less cost.
Thus Ecorse had a pleasant, friendly resort image at the turn of the century; this however, was not to last and Ecorse was about to experience a change. The passage of the Volstead Act of 1919 brought about an era of false prosperity that, for a few years, turned Ecorse into a boom town. Ecorse became a Prohibition rum-running center due to its geographic location on the Detroit River across from Canada. (7-The Detroit Free Press, October 14, 1956, p. 12-A) This village with a population under 5,000 became a notorious “rum-row”; illegal liquor and alien trade made this once peaceful village the scene of minor gang wars. The Volstead Act was repealed in 1933 and thus ended an infamous era in Ecorse history.
Geography was to play another and far more important role in Ecorse’s life. A salesman of Pittsburgh-made steel, George R. Fink had vision and ambition. In 1922, he saw Ecorse as a logical location for a steel plant. Iron-ore and limestone were already being shipped down the Detroit River from the North and coal could easily be shipped up to Ecorse from the southeast. By 1923, the first steel was rolled off the steel mill of the Michigan Steel Corporation, organized by George Fink. This was just the beginning. By 1929, twenty million dollars was raised by Fink and the Great Lakes Steel Corporation was organized.
From this period on the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and Ecorse grew and prospered together. In 1930, 800 workers were employed in the steel mill and Great Lakes paid 50% of Ecorse’s tax revenue. During the Depression, the Great Lakes Steel Corporation advanced some of its future tax money to keep the village of Ecorse going.(8-The Ecorse Tribune, October 21, 1937.) By 1940, Great Lakes Steel Corporation had expanded its facilities and employed 7,500 men. (9-The Detroit News, August 24, 1940) Today, Great Lakes Steel Corporation is the largest of 26 manufacturing plants in Ecorse and employs 10,000 people. (10-Down River, Down River Chamber of Commerce, 1959, p. 14.)