Station: River Rouge, MI

River Rouge was settled in the 1700's by French settlers who established ribbon farms in the area off the Detroit and Rouge rivers. The town was incorporated as a village in 1899 and a city in 1922. [MPN] River Rouge also includes the area known as Zug Island.

Photo info: Top, a view of the depot at River Rouge in a railroad valuation photo. [CMUL] 2nd photo, a postcard view of the Michigan Central depot at River Rouge early in the 20th century. [Alan Loftis collection]. 3rd image is a 1911 photo of the crossing tower, then called Dearborn Road (but later renamed Coolidge Road) in River Rouge. This was a valuation photo. (Note, this was before the undergrade crossing was established, probably in the 1930's. 4th image, the tower for the crossing watchman at Visger Road. This photo looks north, with Amtrak 353 northbound on the southbound track. [J.G. Tyson photo, Charles Geletzke Jr. collection]

Notes

Time Line

1898. March. Senator McMillan succeeded in having passed today the pending resolution directing the secretary of war to dredge the Rouge River between the Wabash bridge and Maple Grove to obtain a thirteen-foot channel. This resolution carries no appropriation but authorizes the expenditure of $5,000 from an appropriation already made. [DFP-1898-0315]