DID YOU KNOW?
Wyandotte Police Department in the 1920s
Wyandotte Theatre: 102 Elm Street and 1st Street (1936-2007)
You will find that December 12, 1854, marks the date of the founding of the Village of Wyandotte, which coincides with the founding of Wyandotte’s first industry, the Eureka Iron Works. On May 26th, 1865, the Eureka Iron Works was the first mill in the United States to produce steel using the Bessemer Process. This method was the foundation of the industrial revolution and the key to making high-quality steel in large quantities. Unfortunately, the Eureka Iron Works suffered a boiler explosion and fire in 1888, from which it never recovered.
Now, the Village of Wyandotte officially became the City of Wyandotte on April 8th, 1867. A few years after that event, in 1871, the Wyandotte shipyards
Anyway, during that same time, a community named New Jerusalem consisting of immigrants from multiple nations was founded in the 1890s in what is now Wyandotte. It was incorporated as a village with the name of Glenwood in 1900. In 1901, a post
started operation. The shipyards produced many hulls including the famous and speedy passenger boat, the Tashmoo, and the Columbia, (one of the Bob-Lo boats.) The Shipyard remained in operation until 1922.
Now, in the early 1890s, a man named Captain J.B. Ford traveled to Wyandotte to investigate the reports of salt deposits found there . Captain Ford (Northline Road used to be called Ford Road named after him) was interested in the salt to produce soda ash, a chemical necessary in the manufacture of plate glass. Having found salt in sufficient quality and quantity, Ford created the Michigan Alkali Company to process the chemicals he needed.
Then in the early 1900s, John B. Ford started the J.B. Ford Company to further process the soda ash into various soaps and cleansers sold commercially. These and other chemical plants have formed a lasting industry in Wyandotte that continues to this day. In 1969 the chemical giant B.A.S.F. purchased the Michigan Alkali Company and the J.B. Ford Company (which were merged in the 1930’s) when they went public with their stock.
The first permanent non-native settler in the area was Major John Biddle in 1835. He was an officer in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, and a Mayor of the City of Detroit. His farmland was near Biddle Avenue and Vinewood Avenue. He named his farm “The Wyandotte.” When other settlers came to the area, they started to refer to the area as Wyandotte. It is from Biddle’s farm, a 2,200-acre farm that the City of Wyandotte derives its name.