Newport in Monroe County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Prohibition in Berlin Township / "A Bootleggers Paradise"
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, March 26, 2021
1. Prohibition in Berlin Township 1918~1933 Marker
Inscription.
Prohibition in Berlin Township, also, "A Bootleggers Paradise". .
Prohibition in Berlin Township 1918-1933. Berlin Township was a major rum-running crossroad during the Prohibition years, when alcohol was prohibited from production and consumption, in an effort to battle its social effects. Just as Michigan's early ”dry years" commenced in Monroe County, the new Dixie Highway was completed, making it the only paved roadway linking fast travel between Toledo and Detroit. With access to marsh concealment and protective waterways including Lake Erie, bootleggers quickly unloaded the smuggled Canadian liquor into automobiles and trucks waiting at the county shoreline and then sped away to distribute their illegal cargo.
“A Bootleggers Paradise". Residents and out-of-town professionals alike were caught moving booze through Berlin Township. Violence and death became commonplace during the Prohibition years. Bootleggers bodies were found bullet-ridden, washed up on the shore or left in abandoned shacks. Others drowned, falling through the winter ice. Trying to halt the flow of this profitable smuggling, the Michigan State Police opened a post on North Dixie Highway at the village of South Rockwood in the township. After national Prohibition ended in 1933, the colorful stories of this era continue to be passed down to subsequent local generations.
Prohibition in Berlin Township
1918-1933
Berlin Township was a major rum-running
crossroad during the Prohibition years, when
alcohol was prohibited from production and
consumption, in an effort to battle its social
effects. Just as Michigan's early ”dry years"
commenced in Monroe County, the new Dixie
Highway was completed, making it the only paved roadway linking fast travel between Toledo and Detroit. With access to marsh concealment and protective waterways including Lake Erie, bootleggers quickly unloaded the smuggled Canadian liquor into automobiles and trucks waiting at the county shoreline and then sped away to distribute their illegal cargo.
“A Bootleggers Paradise"
Residents and out-of-town professionals alike were caught moving booze through Berlin Township. Violence and death became commonplace during the Prohibition years. Bootleggers bodies were found bullet-ridden, washed up on the shore or left in abandoned shacks. Others drowned, falling through the winter ice. Trying to halt the flow of this profitable smuggling, the Michigan State Police opened a post on North Dixie Highway at the village of South Rockwood in the township. After national Prohibition ended in 1933, the colorful stories of this era continue to be passed down to subsequent
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local generations.
Erected 2020 by Berlin Charter Township and the Berlin Charter Township Historical Society, Monroe County Museum System.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Law Enforcement.
Location. 41° 59.702′ N, 83° 17.136′ W. Marker is in Newport, Michigan, in Monroe County. Marker is at the intersection of North Dixie Highway and Allore Road, on the right when traveling north on North Dixie Highway. Located near the parking lot at Newport Branch Library. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8120 N Dixie Hwy, Newport MI 48166, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. This was the first newly placed marker since Monroe County started using the blue and silver design in 2019.
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, March 26, 2021
2. "A Bootleggers Paradise" Marker
Also see . . . Historical marker unveiled in Berlin Township. Article in The Monroe News about the unveiling of the marker. (Submitted on March 31, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, March 26, 2021
3. Prohibition in Berlin Township 1918~1933 Marker
Marker with St. Charles Catholic Church and Swan Creek in the background.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 1, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 286 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 26, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
