Zug Island
Encyclopedia
Zug Island is a heavily industrialized island in the city of River Rouge
near the southern city limits of Detroit
in the U.S. state
of Michigan
. It is located where the mouth of the River Rouge
spills into the Detroit River
. Zug Island is not a natural island in the river; it was formed when a shipping canal was dug along the southwestern side of the island, allowing
ships to bypass several hundred yards of twisting waterway near the mouth of the natural course of the lowest portions of the River Rouge
.
Originally a marsh
-filled peninsula
at the mouth of the River Rouge
, it served as an uninhabited Native American
burial ground for centuries . Upon European arrival, the land was incorporated into Ecorse Township
, making up the very northeast corner of the township. The beginning of interest in developing the land came when Samuel Zug came to Detroit from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
in 1836 to make his fortune in the furniture industry with the money he earned as a bookkeeper. Shortly after, Marcus Stevenson, a Detroit financier, went into business with him.
The Stevenson & Zug Furniture Company flourished until 1859 when Zug, now a rich man, dissolved the partnership. He decided to invest in real estate to provide security for his wife, Ann. Envisioning a luxurious estate on the Detroit River, Zug bought 325 acres (1.3 km²) of marshy land below Fort Wayne
from the town of Delray
in 1876. But the dampness was too much for the Zugs and after 10 years they abandoned their home.
In 1888, Zug let the River Rouge Improvement Company cut a small canal through the south section of his property to connect the Rouge River and the Detroit River (this Short Cut Canal, as it came to be known, was enlarged in the early 1920s by Henry Ford
to allow large ships to more easily navigate to and from his famous Ford River Rouge Complex). Three years later Zug pulled off the largest real estate transaction of the decade: he sold his island for $300,000 to industries that wanted it as a dumping ground.
Zug became interested in politics and served as Wayne County
Auditor under Gov. John J. Bagley
. He died in 1896 at the age of 80.
The Detroit Iron Works brought ironmaking to Zug Island in 1901 with the commissioning of a blast furnace
built in 1902. In 1904 the works was purchased by the M.A. Hanna Company of Cleveland, Ohio which built a second blast furnace in 1909. At this time the island's two furnaces were reportedly the largest of their kind in the world, producing pig iron
for foundry companies. The plant expanded and became part of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation in late 1931, becoming a key component of a fully integrated steel mill and a division of the larger National Steel Corporation
. A third blast furnace was added in early 1938 while the existing furnaces were rebuilt and enlarged.
When National Steel became insolvent in 2003 most of the island's facilities were purchased, along with the rest of what's now called the Great Lakes Works, by United States Steel, which currently operates the mill. The island is home to the mill's ironmaking facilities (the rest of the mill's facilities, primarily steelmaking and processing, are located at the main plant a couple miles south in the city of Ecorse) which includes 3 blast furnaces ("A", "B" and "D") and raw materials storage areas. Ships supply large ore docks along the north ("1 Dock") and east ("3 Dock") shores of the island and large coal/coke/ore storage fields along the south and west ("B Area") shores. Number 5 Coke
Battery located there, once an integral part of the mill, is now independently owned and operated by EES Coke LLC, a DTE Energy
company, which gained it during the National Steel bankruptcy. Delray Connecting Railroad, a U.S. Steel company, also operates some rail facilities on the island while a now-defunct small Honeywell
chemical plant sits in shambles at the mainland end of the main or "2-way" vehicle/rail bridge to the island. Secondary vehicle and rail bridges (the "Shortcut") at the southwestern corner of the island also allow mainland access.
Iron produced at Zug Island is transported in hot metal cars via rail to steelmaking at the main plant while DTE's coke is shipped via rail to supply consumers, chiefly ISG
/Mittal
, in the merchant metallurgical market. During the industry's peak, thousands of workers were employed on the island with a large percentage of the downriver community supported by the local steel producer. Today a few hundred people work on the island with the hourly workers at U.S. Steel represented by United Steelworkers
Local 1299. In fall of 2008 U.S. Steel halted its production due to the economic downturn, but restarted its production in fall of 2009.
at the ore docks, thrive on the island and offshore at the bottom of the Detroit River is a man-made bed of coal cinders which serves as a rare spawning site for Lake Sturgeon
, a threatened species. Less desirable are the sometimes troublesome sizable populations of gulls, feral cats and rats.
In 2011, the Zug Island area was identified by Canadian scientists as the source of mysterious rumblings and vibrations that have plagued hundreds of area residents with cyclical vibrations reportedly being felt in the ground up to fifty miles (eighty kilometres) away.
were filmed there (due to its mention in the movie as the location). Neither is true- the island does not serve as the location of any law enforcement or corrections facility and the steel mill shots in the movie were filmed at the old Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel
Corp.'s Monessen Works in Pennsylvania.
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald
of Great Lakes shipwreck fame was laden with taconite
destined for Zug Island on her fateful voyage in 1975.
River Rouge, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,917 people, 3,640 households, and 2,504 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,713.9 per square mile . There were 4,080 housing units at an average density of 1,528.0 per square mile...
near the southern city limits of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is located where the mouth of the River Rouge
River Rouge (Michigan)
The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....
spills into the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
. Zug Island is not a natural island in the river; it was formed when a shipping canal was dug along the southwestern side of the island, allowing
ships to bypass several hundred yards of twisting waterway near the mouth of the natural course of the lowest portions of the River Rouge
River Rouge (Michigan)
The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....
.
History and Steel Industry
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
-filled peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
at the mouth of the River Rouge
River Rouge (Michigan)
The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....
, it served as an uninhabited Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
burial ground for centuries . Upon European arrival, the land was incorporated into Ecorse Township
Ecorse Township, Michigan
Ecorse Township is a defunct civil township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan.-Description:The township consisted of 54 mi² , which included two small islands in the Detroit River. It was bordered to the north by Springwells Township with the boundary being the River Rouge...
, making up the very northeast corner of the township. The beginning of interest in developing the land came when Samuel Zug came to Detroit from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 235,406.-History:...
in 1836 to make his fortune in the furniture industry with the money he earned as a bookkeeper. Shortly after, Marcus Stevenson, a Detroit financier, went into business with him.
The Stevenson & Zug Furniture Company flourished until 1859 when Zug, now a rich man, dissolved the partnership. He decided to invest in real estate to provide security for his wife, Ann. Envisioning a luxurious estate on the Detroit River, Zug bought 325 acres (1.3 km²) of marshy land below Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne (Detroit)
Fort Wayne is located in the city of Detroit, Michigan, at the foot of Livernois Avenue in the Delray neighborhood. The fort is situated on the Detroit River at a point where it is about a mile to the Canadian shore. The original 1848 limestone barracks still stands, as does the 1845 star...
from the town of Delray
Delray, Detroit
Delray is a neighborhood and former incorporated village, located on the south side of Detroit, Michigan. It is isolated from other areas of Detroit by industrial warehouses and Interstate 75...
in 1876. But the dampness was too much for the Zugs and after 10 years they abandoned their home.
In 1888, Zug let the River Rouge Improvement Company cut a small canal through the south section of his property to connect the Rouge River and the Detroit River (this Short Cut Canal, as it came to be known, was enlarged in the early 1920s by Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
to allow large ships to more easily navigate to and from his famous Ford River Rouge Complex). Three years later Zug pulled off the largest real estate transaction of the decade: he sold his island for $300,000 to industries that wanted it as a dumping ground.
Zug became interested in politics and served as Wayne County
Wayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...
Auditor under Gov. John J. Bagley
John J. Bagley
John Judson Bagley was a politician from the US state of Michigan, as well as its 16th Governor.-Early life in New York and Michigan:...
. He died in 1896 at the age of 80.
The Detroit Iron Works brought ironmaking to Zug Island in 1901 with the commissioning of a blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
built in 1902. In 1904 the works was purchased by the M.A. Hanna Company of Cleveland, Ohio which built a second blast furnace in 1909. At this time the island's two furnaces were reportedly the largest of their kind in the world, producing pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
for foundry companies. The plant expanded and became part of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation in late 1931, becoming a key component of a fully integrated steel mill and a division of the larger National Steel Corporation
National Steel Corporation
The National Steel Corporation was a major American steel producer. It was founded in 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with some properties of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and M.A. Hanna Company. Despite a difficult market in Depression-setting 1930, the company reported USD...
. A third blast furnace was added in early 1938 while the existing furnaces were rebuilt and enlarged.
When National Steel became insolvent in 2003 most of the island's facilities were purchased, along with the rest of what's now called the Great Lakes Works, by United States Steel, which currently operates the mill. The island is home to the mill's ironmaking facilities (the rest of the mill's facilities, primarily steelmaking and processing, are located at the main plant a couple miles south in the city of Ecorse) which includes 3 blast furnaces ("A", "B" and "D") and raw materials storage areas. Ships supply large ore docks along the north ("1 Dock") and east ("3 Dock") shores of the island and large coal/coke/ore storage fields along the south and west ("B Area") shores. Number 5 Coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
Battery located there, once an integral part of the mill, is now independently owned and operated by EES Coke LLC, a DTE Energy
DTE Energy
DTE Energy Co. is a Detroit, Michigan-based utility incorporated in 1995 involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide....
company, which gained it during the National Steel bankruptcy. Delray Connecting Railroad, a U.S. Steel company, also operates some rail facilities on the island while a now-defunct small Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
chemical plant sits in shambles at the mainland end of the main or "2-way" vehicle/rail bridge to the island. Secondary vehicle and rail bridges (the "Shortcut") at the southwestern corner of the island also allow mainland access.
Iron produced at Zug Island is transported in hot metal cars via rail to steelmaking at the main plant while DTE's coke is shipped via rail to supply consumers, chiefly ISG
International Steel Group
International Steel Group was a steel company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004 it was ranked #426 on the Fortune 500. It was created after the turn around fund, WL Ross & Co. LLC, purchased LTV Steel in February 2002...
/Mittal
Mittal Steel Company
Mittal Steel Company N.V. was one of the world's largest steel producers by volume, and also one of the largests in turnover. The company is now part of ArcelorMittal....
, in the merchant metallurgical market. During the industry's peak, thousands of workers were employed on the island with a large percentage of the downriver community supported by the local steel producer. Today a few hundred people work on the island with the hourly workers at U.S. Steel represented by United Steelworkers
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
Local 1299. In fall of 2008 U.S. Steel halted its production due to the economic downturn, but restarted its production in fall of 2009.
Wildlife
Despite the island's extremely developed industrial landscape, areas along the south and west shores are left undeveloped to provide habitat for natural wildlife. Foxes and once-endangered Peregrine falcons, which frequent large outdoor structures such as the EOT gantry cranesGantry crane
Gantry cranes, bridge cranes, and overhead cranes, are all types of cranes which lift objects by a hoist which is fitted in a hoist trolley and can move horizontally on a rail or pair of rails fitted under a beam...
at the ore docks, thrive on the island and offshore at the bottom of the Detroit River is a man-made bed of coal cinders which serves as a rare spawning site for Lake Sturgeon
Lake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
, a threatened species. Less desirable are the sometimes troublesome sizable populations of gulls, feral cats and rats.
Environmental Impact
One of the most pressing problems in the neighborhoods surrounding Zug Island is poor air quality. Residents quoted in a March 2000 Detroit Free Press article spoke of the air-quality problems, complaining of the rancid odor that permeates their living spaces and causes nausea, headaches and dry heaves. The grass and trees in surrounding neighborhoods are dying and there is rust-colored dust on the streets, homes and cars.In 2011, the Zug Island area was identified by Canadian scientists as the source of mysterious rumblings and vibrations that have plagued hundreds of area residents with cyclical vibrations reportedly being felt in the ground up to fifty miles (eighty kilometres) away.
Miscellaneous
Due to its location and relative security- the island is off-limits to the public for the most part (cameras are prohibited on the premises so pictures of the area, except from the outside, are rare)- many urban legends exist regarding the island, the two most popular being that the island is home to a correctional facility or prison and that parts of the movie RoboCopRoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
were filmed there (due to its mention in the movie as the location). Neither is true- the island does not serve as the location of any law enforcement or corrections facility and the steel mill shots in the movie were filmed at the old Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel was a steel manufacturer based in Wheeling, West Virginia, which is located at the edge of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area...
Corp.'s Monessen Works in Pennsylvania.
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that made headlines after sinking in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When launched on June 8, 1958, she was the largest boat on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains...
of Great Lakes shipwreck fame was laden with taconite
Taconite
Taconite is a variety of iron formation, an iron-bearing sedimentary rock, in which the iron minerals are interlayered with quartz, chert, or carbonate...
destined for Zug Island on her fateful voyage in 1975.