This site was last updated March 15, 2018
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"Wyandotte Toys Are Good and Safe"
Thank you for taking the time to visit! We are a historical-based website focused on the evolution and story of this: the southern Detroit area best known by the moniker "Downriver."
From its humble beginnings as an off-shoot of emerging French settlements along the river south of the new Fort Pontchartrain in the early 1700s, we visit its pioneering steel and chemical industries, and how each of our eighteen cities and townships have uniquely evolved since initially plotted in the 1827 Michigan Territorial Survey. If Detroit was once called "The Arsenal of Democracy," Downriver definitely gave its share toward making that arsenal possible.
The challenge factor in creating a central site is definitely there. Memories do blur, times & locations may shift, but we found our contributors' enthusiasm unmistakable and their resolve unshakable. We believe our mission statement sums it up nicely.
Our membership is now driven by the new Facebook group, Downriver History & Facts. The group, although small, help keep the memories alive, while also creating new, often forgotten recollections. With hopes of becoming a universal area resource, we welcome all visitor input and contributions to aid in telling our story.
No matter where your interest lies, be it person, place or thing contained within our chronology or 2,600+ photos, we aim to have your answer.
From all of us - we hope you find the journey brings fun and historical enrichment!
- KEVIN HARRISON, webmaster
COMING SOON: Historical weather narratives as they happened
One piece of information brought to our attention which completely slipped our minds is one of the most basic things seen Downriver on a daily basis: the weather. We are fortunate to live in a moderately temperate climate to where extreme weather are rare, but notable incidents have occurred. Did you know that our worst snowstorm in local recorded history occurred in April (of all months) of 1886? Or that the big winter storm people remember from January, 1978 doesn't even crack the Top 25 biggest snowstorms on record? In just this decade, do you know we already have had two rainstorms noted as "100 year rainfalls" just since 2000? Keep your eyes primed on our main history section in the coming weeks as we fill the weather gaps!
May 5, 2002 brought the end of an era for Downriver and Southgate in particular. Ten months after Heinz Prechter's untimely death, American Sunroof (ASC) Holdings was sold off to Southfield-based Questor Management Company. ASC, then a Tier 1 automotive supplier, was the last in the Heritage Network holdings list to change hands. Prechter's immense interests included ASC, the Heritage Newspapers (News-Herald) chain, a cattle ranch in Texas, two hotels, a home building company in Florida, and a stake in two southeast Michigan auto companies. Questor's initial plan was to spin off ASC independently by 2007. This was within the parameters Mr. Prechter had set earlier, looking to forge partnerships to encourage the company's growth. His widow, Wally Prechter, said "We cannot predict the future with certainty."
The Riverview Highlands Ski Hill was an unheard of repurposing of the former landfill which had begun in the early 1970s. Barely fifteen years after its triumphant opening, however, city officials were deciding the fate of the hill, which some said should be left to the voters. At immediate issue, according to Councilman Walter Koch, was a looming $13.2 million bill earmarked towards sewer maintenance, which was sorely needed, also questioning how the city could support a money-losing effort for over a decade. The remainder of council, meanwhile, debated over whether to keep the operation to the winter months, study the actual attraction more for future benefits (possibly a water slide for the summer months), or possibly offer year-round activities in order to generate more funds. Mayor Peter Rotteveel commented that Riverview never in fact expected much of a profit from the initial attraction until the landfill had actually closed.
Problems with flooding in some southern Flat Rock neighborhoods had been ongoing for nearly twenty years, and to many residents, this was enough. According to resident Lester Scott, promises had been made to rectify the problems surrounding the Red Cedar neighborhood. Pumps had in fact been purchased for the area's use, but they had not been turned on in time to alleviate sewage backups from a recent rainstorm. Mayor Ted Anders said they were doing their best to give Wayne County adequate (financial?) relief, "and catching hell for it in turn." Wayne County Road Commissioner Duane Egeland could offer no solutions at the council meeting other than promise the Super Sewer (unrelated to Downriver's "Big Barrell" project) would soon be operational. By the numbers, 1,000 gallons of sewage discharge from the Flat Rock facility was considered normal, while 4,500 gallons was the peak amount. However, it had been discharging as much as 7,000.
Wyandotte's YMCA, on Fort Street just north of Eureka Road, began a final push to add a permanent swimming pool to the facility. The goal was for 400 Downriver residents to be able to put an additional $160,000 into the fund to build the pool, which already had $355,000 saved up. This would be the first major addition to the YMCA facility since its opening eight years earlier. A total of 5,200 men, women and children were now members of the Wyandotte branch, and atttendance at "Y" activities had topped 175,000 in 1966.