Rouge River History

Rouge River History. Pre-settlement to Today. , The Rouge River has impacted the lives of this region's people for centuries. First know inhabitants were the Mound Builders, who built large mounded landforms to bury their dead. The Potawatomi followed, making use of rich soils and abundant fur-bearing animals., in the 1780's French settlers claimed a few hundred feet of river frontage and extended their farms deep into the forest. Remnants of these "ribbon farms" still exist today. Native prairies, oak openings and hardwood forests were cleared to make room for agriculture and industry., Channelization of the Rouge River , The Short-cut Canal was dug in 1888 across marsh land owned by Samuel Zug, forming today's Zug Island. The canal bypassed the Rouge River oxbow, providing a shorter shipping channel for existing businesses and helped entice new industry to locate on the Rouge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Rouge periodically starting in the 1880s., Historic Fort Street , In the late 1910s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began dredging, widening and straightening the Rouge River for freighter access to the new Ford River Rouge Complex. Ford built the turning basis for his use but was required to keep it open and free to all ships. The river widening required the swing bridges at W. Fort St. and W. JeffersonAve. to be replaced. The new bridges were designed as Chicago Type, Double Leaf, Trunnion, Bascule Bridges. The bridge at Jefferson Ave. opened in 1922. The bridge at Fort St. opened in 1923 and was replaced in 2016., Rapid industrial growth characterized the late nineteenth century. A defining moment of the river's history transpired with the construction of the Ford Rouge Plant during World War I, motivated by Ford's desire to supply submarine chasers to the U.S. military. The plant grew into a massive self-contained industrial complex that employed over ninety thousand men in the early 20th century - the largest manufacturing site in the world., Forty-eight Metro Detroit communities in three counties have made great strides to eliminate combined sewer overflows, non-point source pollution, and other sources if impairment. Powerful stakeholders, realizing the renewed potential of this neglected river, have partnered with governmental agencies to implement restoration strategies. Significant progress is evident, but more work is needed., Further channelization, industrial pollution and combined sewer overflows degraded the river in the 20th Century. The Clean Water Act of 1972 was a first step toward stopping pollution. The Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project followed with $300 million in federal funding and even more in local match to conduct a watershed-wide approach to restore and protect this urban river system.