Ecorse Along the Detroit River
The word "ecorces" is the French word for bark and the French translation of La Riviere aux Ecorces is
"the river of bark." The name is derived from the fact that Huron Indians buried their chiefs near
the sandbanks of this stream after wrapping the bodies in the bark of the birch trees.
Detroit is the French word for strait, and the Detroit River is the strait connecting Lake Huron to Lake Erie.
  • Ecorse Along the Detroit River
  • New Prohibition Book
  • Ecorse Way Back When
  • Ecorse Rowing Club Note
  • Ecorse Mayor Manning Memories
  • Ecorse Eyes - Photo Flashes of Ecorse History-Chapter 2
  • Ecorse History At A Glance
  • Ecorse, in Community America
  • Mr. Cosbey's History of Ecorse
  • Ecorse Echoes, the Oldest Downriver Community
  • Ecorse Rowing Club
  • Downriver Back in the Days!
  • Monroe Memories and More
  • Think Before You Take A Photo from this Site!
  • We Need An Ecorse Historical Society
  • Ecorse Memorial Day Memories
  • Ecorse-Chapter Three
  • Ecorse Eyes - Photo Flashes of Ecorse History
  • Ecorse Policeman Richard Oldfield
  • E Books and Print Books for Sale
  • Celebrating the New St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, August 1953
  • Can You Help Identify the Mystery Tapestry?
  • John Duguay's Ecorse - 1950s-1960s
  • Virgil Ciungan Passes Away
  • Ecorse Celebrates the Fourth of July - In Days Gone By!
  • Ecorse and Downriver Slide Show
  • Ecorse Senior Center Memories - 2005
  • Ecorse Senior Center -2005-2006
  • Slavery in Detroit and Downriver
  • I Remember Ecorse
    • Growing Up in Ecorse in the 1950s and 1960s
    • Dorothy Cummings Dunlop Remembers Ecorse
    • Grandma Robson's Christmas Tree
    • More Ecorse Memories
    • I Remember Affholters-Marvin Graves
    • Former Students Remember Miss Helen Garlington
    • Memories of Ecorse Ice Skating Rink-Diane St. Aubin (McQueen)
    • Miss Arlyne Burr, A Ecorse School One Music Teacher Memory
    • I Remember Ecorse-Rob Zawoysky
    • I Remember Ecorse-Tom Trevino, Ken Corns
    • Memories of School Three
  • Ecorse Advertisements in the Ecorse Advertiser!
  • A Pitt Street in Ecorse Christmas
  • The Villages of Grandport, Glenwood, Bacon, and Ecorse
  • Al DuHadway Recorded Ecorse History for the Mellus Newspapers
  • Ecorse Advertiser Statistics, Opinions, and Predictions, 1948
  • Morris "Sandy" Blakeman Took Historic Photos of Ecorse
  • Ecorse Slide Shows
  • Jefferson Avenue
    • The French-Indian Trail, the Monroe Pike, the River Road, and Jefferson Avenue
  • The Downriver Underground Railroad
  • The French Goodell Pear Tree
  • Ecorse Churches
    • Ecorse Presbyterian Church History
    • Ecorse Presbyterian Church Cookbook
    • Ground Broken for New St. Francis Xavier Church, 1951
    • The Presbyterians Meet in Raupp Hall
    • St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
    • Ecorse Presbyterian Church
    • Father-Son Banquet, Ecorse Presbyterian Church, 1955
    • St. Anne Rosary Altar Society
  • Ecorse Soldiers
    • Elijah Goodell, Revolutionary War Veteran
    • Ecorse Soldiers in the War of 1812
    • Ecorse Soldiers Fight in the Civil War
    • Backwater River and British Bluster
    • Three Ecorse Farm Boys Join the Michigan Cavalry
    • Adventures of Ecorse 24th Michigan Volunteers
    • Ecorse World War I Veterans
    • Dr. Hileman and Duke Underill Served in World War I
    • World War I Veterans Don Dodge and John Bauer
    • Sandy Blakeman's World War II
    • Honoring More Ecorse World War II Veterans
    • Ecorse Soldiers and Patriots
    • Ecorse World War II Veterans
    • Ecorse Soldiers Help Win D Day and World War II
    • Ecorse World War II Veterans Claude S. Monroe, Dr. Louis Lackey, and Lt. Louis Nagy >
      • Ecorse Korean War Veterans
      • Ecorse Korean War Soldiers
      • Korean War 1955
      • Ecorse Vietnam Veterans Remembered Despite the Blank Name Plates
      • Ecorse Women Serve
      • Ecorse Veteran's Organizations
      • Ecorse Veterans Were Active in American Legion Posts
      • Ecorse Veterans Organized >
        • Veterans of Foreign Wars Present Award to Harry Monks
  • Ecorse Events
    • Al DuHadway Writes that Grandport was Once Center of Ecorse
    • Downriver Dancing Under the Trees
    • Muskrat Love, Those Downriver Muskrat Dinners
    • Ecorse-1920s and 1930s
    • Ecorse Time Capsule, 1930s
    • Ecorse Time Capsules, 1940s
    • 1940s Fragments from Ecorse History
    • Ecorse Sawed Its Way Through Michigan's Lumber Boom
    • Ecorse Landmarks Make Way for Wider Jefferson Avenue - 1935
    • Brotherhood Week, February 1957
    • Some Old Ecorse Landmarks
    • Ecorse Dedicates New Playground
    • Ecorse Events and Editorials, May 1950
    • Ecorse Calendar, Fall 1950
    • Ecorse Activities, February 1957
    • Ecorse Events in June 1964
    • May 1975 is a Busy Month in Ecorse
  • Ecorse Rowing Club Vintage Photos
    • Ecorse Rowing Club Slide Show
    • Ecorse Rowing Club in the Beginning
    • The Ecorse Rowing Club Continues
    • Charles Tank and His Friends Reorganize the Ecorse Rowing Club
    • Jim Rice, A Larger Than Life Coach in the Small Town of Ecorse
    • The Ecorse Rowing Club Rows Strong and Sponsors the Oarsmen's Balls
    • Ecorse Rowing Club - Building Shells
    • Rafting the Waters and Pulling an Oar for Ecorse - the Story of the Ecorse Rowing Club
    • Ecorse Rowing Club Pictures
    • Janice Hoffman Chosen Seventeenth Rowing Queen on Seventeenth Birthday
  • Ecorse At School
    • Going to School in Ecorse
    • Didn't Everybody Have Spanish or Latin With Mr. Santoro?
    • Ecorse High School - 1935 and 1936
    • Ecorse 1942 Yearbook
    • Summer Activities at School One, School Two, and School Three, August 1950
    • Cornerstone Laid for New Bunche School
    • Old Time Ecorse High School Teachers
    • Kindergarten Children Mother Baby Chicks
    • Ecorse School One -1949
    • St, Francis High School Students Travel
    • St. Francis Xavier High School's Last Graduating Class, 1969
    • An Ecorse Bell
    • School Three Wins Eighth Safety Award
    • Grade Three Pupils at School Two and President Eisenhower
    • Some Ecorse Education Events of 1958
  • St. Francis High School History Papers - 1959
    • The Downriver Area Today
    • Detroit River Transportation
    • Religion in the Downriver Communities
    • Ecorse in the Past
    • Division of the Downriver Communities
  • Ecorse People
    • John Duguay's Ecorse
    • Mrs. Ada Saunders, Mrs. Ecorse Librarian, Retires in May 1957
    • Captain McCauley and his daughter Clementine
    • The Pioneering Clarks of Ecorse, Brownstown, and NorthvilleD
    • Bits of Ecorse Biographyl
    • More Bits of Ecorse Biography
    • Charles Embry, "Black Jesus"
    • High Street and Two Ecorse Fire Chiefs Connected by Fate and Friendship
    • Leo Navarre Wins A Car
    • Miss Goodell's Back Yard
    • Music Was A Family Matter for the Campbells
    • Ecorse Grandmother Patents Idea of Puppets with Feet
    • We Made Beautiful Music Together in Ecorse
    • Ann Starr Operates Dancing School and Participates in Community Activities
    • Twenty Years with the Sheriff's Department
    • Alex Campau and Florence Campau Drouillard
    • The Duke Welcomes the Colonel
    • John Seavitt Heads Ecorse Civil Defense Program
    • Social Notes from the Ecorse Advertiser, 1950
    • Great Lakes Fur Trader Pierre LeBlanc Lived in Ecorse
    • Montie Memories
    • Some Outstanding Ecorse Young People, April 1955
  • Practicing Medicine in Ecorse
    • Dr. Robert McQuiston
    • Two Ecorse Nurses
    • Helen Caffo Named Longevity Champion
    • Polio in Ecorse, 1951
  • Ecorse Businesses
    • Ecorse Businesses, 1850-1930
    • Remember Baklarz Supermarket?
    • Baklarz Market Grand Opening
    • Ecorse Business, 1950
    • Great Lakes Steel Stories
    • Sandy Blakeman Sidelites
    • Sandy Blakeman Sidelites- Don Dodge
    • Ecorse Businesses - 1946-1949
  • Ecorse Organizations
    • Ecorse Kiwanis Club Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
    • Ecorse Kiwanis Club Dedicates Wading Pool, 1951
    • The Downriver Pennsylvania Club
    • Ecorse Rotary Club
    • Milton Montie Retires from Ecorse Fire Department
    • Toll of Ecorse Fire Now at Four Dead
    • Fire Chief Al Jaeger Recalls the Day He Fought Fires and Felons
    • Ecorse Police Department 1955
  • Ecorse Public Library
    • Ecorse Library - 1948
    • Ecorse Library to be Air Conditioned
  • Maritime Ecorse
    • Ecorse, the Maj Ragne, and the St. Lawrence Seaway
    • Ecorse, John Duguay, and the Edmund Fitzgerald
    • Little Ecorse (and River Rouge) Built Big Ships: The Story of the Great Lakes Engineering Works
    • Little Ecorse (And River Rouge) Built Big Ships - 2
    • Little Ecorse (and River Rouge) Build Big Ships: The Story of Great Lakes Engineering Works - Conclusion
    • The Bob-Lo Boats and Bob-Lo Island
    • The Hacketts of Bob-Lo Island
    • Memories of the Bob-Lo Boat Columbia
    • Water Wings, Ecorse 1950s
    • Ecorse and Mud Island
  • Ecorse Politics
    • Mayor Louis Parker
    • Mayor Voisine Asks for Mill Study Ordinances
    • Ecorse Mourns Mayor William Voisine, July 1959
    • Ecorse Celebrates and Anniversary and Holds a Council Meeting, July 1975
    • Ecorse Politics, 1949 Style
    • Mayors from the Past
    • Mayor Albert Buday
    • Ecorse Political People
  • Silent Story Tellers - St. Francis Xavier (Ecorse) Cemetery
  • Silent Story Tellers - St. Francis Xavier (Ecorse) Cemetery - Part II
  • Ecorse Prohibition Stories
    • Rum Running Between Amendments
    • Eli "Peck" LeBlanc
    • The Detroit River, the Poster Highway for Prohibition
  • Ecorse Sports and Entertainment
    • The Harbor Theater
    • Ecorse Hockey Pictures
  • Ecorse Obituaries
    • Ecorse Obituaries, 1950s
    • Ecorse Obituaries-2
  • Ecorse End Notes
    • Rowing Club Information
    • Ecorse, 1920s
    • Ecorse Departments, 1954
    • Ecorse End Notes - French Land Claims
    • Ecorse End Notes: Ecorse Railroads - 1930s
    • Richard Oldfield's Ecorse Dog Andy
    • Ecorse Recreation Department - 1948
    • Local Black Community - 1920s and 1930s
    • Great Lakes Engineering
    • Ecorse Screw Machine Products Company
    • Ecorse Businesses - 1921
  • Ecorse Kids
    • Francoise the Ecorse Seagull Finds His Family Tree
    • Ecorse River Ramblings
    • Smoky, the Ecorse Firehouse Dog
    • Samantha and Betsey Save the Day and the Sailor
    • Captain Goldsmith, Freddy, Francine, and the Fighting Island Sea Serpent
  • Ecorse Historical Museum - Virtually for Now!
  • Virtual Exhibit - Ecorse Along the Detroit River
    • Robert Short and Mayor Voisine
    • Brotherhood Pageant, 1963
    • Ecorse Cleaners Cleans Flag
    • Brotherhood Week Banquet
    • Ecorse Images
  • Ecorse Events, August 1962

Ecorse Time Capsules, 1940s

 In 1942, St. Francis Xavier High School valedictorian was Lorraine Plourde,, stentorian was Robert Allen and Lucille Novack was class president. They were all from Ecorse.

 Ecorse and River Rouge were hit by a sudden, violent storm on May 30 and 31, 1942, which lasted about two hours and damaged electrical service, trees and buildings. At the Ecorse Council meeting, Fire Chief Albert Jaeger reported tat the fire alarm system was put ou of commission due to the storm, with a large part needing replacement. About 150 feet of copper wire, which had been trailing after the storm, was stolen. Complaints from citizens were also made to Council about the flooding of cellars.

 Due to World War II, merchants were accepting house wives on a part time basis for employment in shops and stores and many women were employed in manufacturing plants.

 Retired Ecorse Police Lieutenant William Montie died in august 1944, and he was buried in Flat Rock Cemetery. He joined the police force when it was combined with the Ecorse Fire Department and headed by one chief with seven men in 1921.

 A field meet and sports carnival was held on August 4, 1944, in Ecorse at Sixteenth and Hyacinthe Streets, West Side Community Center.

 An Ecorse real estate company advertised a house with seven rooms and bath, four bedrooms, hardwood floors and full basement at $4,500 with $1,000 down. It also advertised an eight room house for $6,000 and $200 down.

 In 1946, 564 children visited the Ecorse branch of the Wayne County Library during November.

 Evans Motors Sales, Ecorse, furnished a car for the prize during the Knights of Columbus Council #2819 Christmas Drawing on December 22, 1946.

 In May 1948, Ecorse was bustling with post-war activity. The newest of the new automobiles could been seen at Stu Evans Motor Sales, Incl. at 4688 West Jefferson, Ecorse. Displayed were Lincoln and Mercury cars. Used cars were being sold in Ecorse for $95 to $400 on “all makes and models.”

 In 1948, a theater naming contest began in Ecorse with the judges including Mayor W.W. Voisine, the Reverend Leonard Duckett, Arthur Erickson, Ecorse School Superintendent; and Alexander Petri, president of the Ecorse Junior Chamber of Commerce. The theater was located on West Jefferson near Outer Drive. (This was the Harbor Theater).

 In 1948, a five room home in Ecorse sold for $6,500 with terms. One ton of coal to heat the new home cost $11.25.

 The family market basket held smoked picnic hams at 43 cents per pound in 1948. It also held legs of veal for 45 cents per pound; eggs at 59 cents a dozen, Kleenex, two packages at 200 each at 35 cents. The shopper could buy 12 ounces of rice for 14 cents and red salmon for 57 cents for a 16 ounce can.  Coffee cost the 1948 consumer 47 cents a pound and stewing chickens came in at 39 cents a pound.


 

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