Detroit River - History

History

The Detroit River was first navigated by non-natives in the 17th century. The Iroquois Native Americans traded furs with the Dutch colonists at New Amsterdam by traveling through the Detroit River. The French later claimed the area for New France. The famed sailing ship Le Griffon reached the mouth of the Detroit River in mid-August 1679 on its maiden voyage through the Great Lakes. Later, when the French began settling in the area, they navigated the river using canoes made of birch or elm bark. Handcrafted vessels were a common mode of travel across the river, and the pirogue and bateaux were also used. As the North American fur trade intensified, European settlers began expanding their trade westward into the uncharted territories. French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac sailed up the Detroit River on July 23, 1701. The next day, he settled Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit (now known as Detroit). The river itself became known as the Rivière du Détroit, in which détroit is French for "strait". The river was known literally as the "River of the Strait".

The Detroit River — and the larger area surrounding it — was taken from the French by the British Empire during the French and Indian War and eventually claimed by the newly formed United States during the American Revolution. During the War of 1812, the Detroit River served as a major barrier between the American Michigan Territory and British Upper Canada, especially during the Battle of Fort Detroit in August 1812, when Detroit briefly fell to the British. Following the completion of the Erie Canal in 1817, which opened up easier travel to Lake Erie from the East Coast of the United States, the Detroit River became a heavily traversed route for settlers traveling to northern Michigan, and Detroit, as well, experienced a sudden increase in population. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Union feared that the seceded Confederate States of America (CSA) would plan a northerly attack from Canada, which was still owned by the British Empire and remained neutral in the war. The Union feared that the CSA would cross the Detroit River to launch this attack. For that reason, the Detroit River was heavily patrolled, even though it was far removed from any real combat. Such an attack by the CSA never happened. At the beginning of the 20th century, Detroit's industrialization took off on an unprecedented scale. The Detroit River became the busiest commercial river in the world and was dubbed "the Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth" by The Detroit News in 1908. In 1907, the Detroit River carried 67,292,504 tons (61 billion kg) of shipping commerce through Detroit to locations all over the world. For comparison, London shipped 18,727,230 tons (16 billion kg), and New York shipped 20,390,953 tons (18 billion kg).