Sugar Island

[marshamusic]

I stumbled upon this blog, and this post is about Sugar Island, a small isle off of Grosse Ille.
http://findingeliza.com/archives/11817

Do any of our Detroit Historians know about this place?

This is a nice Detroit-based blog, with some lovely, old photos, and Detroit places. It is a nostagic portrait of a Detroit family, the Cleages. It is a really nice slice of African-American early and mid/century life in Deroit.

[Though some may find it ironic, because of the family's light skin, I note that the author's father, Rev. Albert Cleage [[whose photo as a young boy is in the blog), eventually became founder of the Shrine of the Black Madonna [[also known as Black Christian Nationalists); he changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman during the '60's]

[DetroitPlanner]

I know that there was an amusement park on the island, but those are the first pics I have ever seen of it.

I can recall as a young planner probably 20 years back I got a call from some lawyer who wanted to know how to get a bridge funded and approved to the island from Grosse Isle. If I wasn't on the phone I would have laughed in his face. He wanted the govt to build him a bridge to a private housing development over which the public would be forbidden to go as he would have the gate on Grosse Ille. I told him we don't use public funds for private benefit and good luck getting a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers because they won't allow it. It is mentioned in the wiki line.

[guito13]

http://binged.it/123thsp

I dont every recall any sort of amusement park there, even any structures as it is very small.

I used to take the boat there and dock up. The northwest beach was quite a popular party spot for boaters over the summer. It was privately owned and the owner didn't complain about people "using" it for recreation/parites/etc. The county has recently purchased the island and made it illegal to access/use initially. Recently they are backing off on that after public uproar and letting people access it with several restrictions.

Sad as it really is a fun place!

[marshamusic]

I know that there was an amusement park on the island, but those are the first pics I have ever seen of it.

I can recall as a young planner probably 20 years back I got a call from some lawyer who wanted to know how to get a bridge funded and approved to the island from Grosse Isle. If I wasn't on the phone I would have laughed in his face. He wanted the govt to build him a bridge to a private housing development over which the public would be forbidden to go as he would have the gate on Grosse Ille. I told him we don't use public funds for private benefit and good luck getting a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers because they won't allow it. It is mentioned in the wiki line.

You're referring to Sugar Island and not Boblo Island, right? Thanks for the memory, Detroit Planner.

Talking about this Sugar Island with a friend, I learned that Grosse Ille was once a haven for slaves escaping to Canada, as was Boblo. Perhaps there were more blacks in the downriver Island area than today.

Apparently Sugar Island is "uninhabitable" now, but obviously in those blog photos it was parklike, at the very least. Maybe one of those places that Blacks were relegated, in the manner of Idlewild. Just speculating.

[WaCoTS]

http://www.freep.com/article/2012043...rs?odyssey=tab

http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com...id=1913&Type=2

[gnome]

You're referring to Sugar Island and not Boblo Island, right? Thanks for the memory, Detroit Planner.

Talking about this Sugar Island with a friend, I learned that Grosse Ille was once a haven for slaves escaping to Canada, as was Boblo. Perhaps there were more blacks in the downriver Island area than today.

Apparently Sugar Island is "uninhabitable" now, but obviously in those blog photos it was parklike, at the very least. Maybe one of those places that Blacks were relegated, in the manner of Idlewild. Just speculating.

Looks like your hunch was correct.
http://books.google.com/books?id=xRE...ed=0CC4QuwUwAA

[Johnnny5]

I've done quite a bit of research into the island and have collected many Sugar Island related items over the past few years. It was used for commercial fishing on lake Erie and later was a popular picnic area in the late 1800's through the 1930's. There was also a roller coaster on the East side of the island, but it was only there for a few years before the park closed in 1937.


I actually just listed a few of my Sugar Island post cards on Ebay last week, If anyone may be interested in looking at more you can find them under my seller name there [[Knotfishingtoday).

[WaCoTS]

huh
http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/sdc/shipwreck-at-sugar/

[marshamusic]

http://www.freep.com/article/2012043...rs?odyssey=tab

http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com...id=1913&Type=2

Wow! Thanks WacoTS; These were good articles and photos.

[marshamusic]

I've done quite a bit of research into the island and have collected many Sugar Island related items over the past few years. It was used for commercial fishing on lake Erie and later was a popular picnic area in the late 1800's through the 1930's. There was also a roller coaster on the East side of the island, but it was only there for a few years before the park closed in 1937.


I actually just listed a few of my Sugar Island post cards on Ebay last week, If anyone may be interested in looking at more you can find them under my seller name there [[Knotfishingtoday).

Wow Johnny5! Great photos, thanks for posting them. I'll send a link of this thread to the blog author. In your study of this island, have you run across information about African-Americans there?

[marshamusic]

Looks like your hunch was correct.
http://books.google.com/books?id=xRE...ed=0CC4QuwUwAA

Bingo!
THANKS gnome!! this is an awesome find. Reminding me very much of Idlewild. I'm now gonna ask elders if they know of this place.

[Lowell]

Wow. Once again, a big kudos tip of the hat to the DetroitYES history sleuths! Just when I think I have heard it all you strike gold again.

[Johnnny5]

Wow Johnny5! Great photos, thanks for posting them. I'll send a link of this thread to the blog author. In your study of this island, have you run across information about African-Americans there?

I really have not seen anything directly related to African Americans or the Underground Railroad, but it would not surprise me as the location would have been ideal given the close proximity to the Canadian border and Lake Erie. Prior to the Civil War the only buildings were rather small and were located on the far NorthWest corner of the island. That section of the island has mostly washed away, but there is still a small 15x15' stone foundation there.

Here's a few more photos.

[Brock7]

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/detroit_ri...ar_island.html
"History of the Island
In the 1880s, Sugar Island and nearby Hickory Island were popular destinations where small pleasure boats put in for picnics and camping. On Sugar Island, there were a dance pavilion and a baseball diamond.

Beginning in 1898, the amenities on the island were greatly expanded. The dock was enlarged and a restaurant was built. The improved dance pavilion was a covered, open-air space with a hardwood floor. A number of large excursion boats, including the Riverside, the Wyandotte, the Greyhound and the Tashmoo, made regular runs to the island.

By the 1920s, a large roller coaster, a merry-go-round, a bathing beach and rowboat rentals established Sugar Island as a major weekend destination. The years that followed were the golden era of the park.

By the 1940s, the park on Sugar Island fell into disrepair and was overshadowed by nearby Boblo Amusement Park. Various plans to revitalize the island came and went. A group of African-Americans eyed it as a possible resort, as did developers in Toledo. Still another plan proposed extensive landfill and homebuilding. None of these came to fruition.

In 1954, the dance pavilion burned to the ground and a visible connection to an illustrious past was lost. Until recently, as they did 130 years ago, small watercraft would beach or drop anchor to picnic and explore. The private, wooded island was also used for hunting..."


A search on just "Sugar Island" in the Google book link found by gnome brings up a couple of additional articles which I ran through OCR for an easier read:

The Billboard Vol.57 No.10 March,10 1945
page 3
Ellington, Calloway and Basie Set for Detroit Park Spot
DETROIT, March 3 —A new name spot for Negro bands this summer has been set with the opening of Sugar Island Amusement Park by a group of local colored business men, headed by A. J. De Santos, scheduled for Decoration Day. Ballroom at the spot, holding 4,000 dancers, will use big names and has already booked Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Count Basie, according to the operators.

Spot will make Detroit for the first time, a year-round opening for the big colored name bands. They have been booked for about 25 weeks a year at the Paradise Theater, operated by Lou Cohen, for the last five years, but the house has closed down for several months In the summer. Policy tied In well with the available supply of colored talent, with practically no repeats except one or two top names during a season.

With the park opening just about the time the theater closes and running until the Paradise is about ready to reopen in the fall, the local territory will offer Just about double the previous number of dates for the colored names, with both operating on one-week stand policies. Negro bands have been relatively rare in bookings at Eastwood Gardens, present major outdoor spot.

Fu!l details In Park Section of The Billboard.

pages 44-45
Detroit Negro Spot Reopening
Sugar Island In New Hands
Race dance intros project —name bands set—three boats chartered
DETROIT, March 3 —Plans for re-opening of Sugar Island Park, incorporation of which was mentioned in last week's lssue, as one of the largest amusement park operations in the country catering to a colored population, have been announced here by Manny Brown and Joe Burns. Brown who was a concessionaire with the World of Pleasure shows the past three years, was also a partner in the Motor City Park, West Side miniature funspot, but sold out his interest to his partner, Victor Horowitz. Burns is from the South, where he is also proprietor of the City Beach Park, Norfolk.

Sugar Island, closed for the past five years except for occasional private picnics, has an area of around 300 acres and is located at the mouth of the Detroit River, 20 miles from the city. The property has been purchased by the Sugar Island Amusement Corporation, headed by A. J. DeSantos, well known among Detroit's colored business men, and is backed financially by local colored capital.

It is believed that the development of an exclusively colored park for the first time in this part of the country will provide an essential recreational outlet for Detroit's 300,000 colored population, and at the same time reduce racial friction. Access will be by boat from the Joseph Campau Avenue dock in Detroit, conveniently located to major center of colored population. Three ships have been chartered for the season.

Policy will Include big name bands, with a ballroom that holds 4,000 people.Typical of the plans are the bookings already set, including Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

The park houses three pavilions, two restaurants and other structures. A bingo parlor and other concession and amusement structures are to be erected. Post-war plans calls for early construction of modern Roller Coaster.

The play spot is being introduced to the colored population in an unusual debut tonight [[3) at a dance at the Mirror Ballroom at $1.25 per head. Event, with Duke Patrick's orchestra, is being held by the park operators primarily to put across the idea of the scope of the proposition to the race groups. Motion pictures of the park and plans will be an important feature of the presentation.

Opening of the park is set for Decoration Day.

[Brock7]

huh
http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/sdc/shipwreck-at-sugar/

The African-American Amusement Park That Never Was
by Patrick Livingston
http://www.hsmichigan.org/wp-content...gar-Island.pdf

[WaCoTS]

The African-American Amusement Park That Never Was
by Patrick Livingston
http://www.hsmichigan.org/wp-content...gar-Island.pdf

yesss...that is the magazine article that first brought the island's history to my attention, prolly a little over a year ago. i was just about to mention that.

unfortunately i soon found out that that's exactly the same time that the DNR was banning public access to the island to make it another friggin bird sanctuary.

[Johnnny5]

unfortunately i soon found out that that's exactly the same time that the DNR was banning public access to the island to make it another friggin bird sanctuary.

It's not exactly going to be a sanctuary as the island is now open to hunting during all open Michigan hunting seasons. That's not much of a consolation as there really isn't anything to hunt on the island! In all my time there [[I've spent many days on the interior of the island) I have never seen a single game animal other than a couple deer. Of course the area around the island is home to many species of waterfowl that can be hunted, but the water was open to public hunting before the Feds purchased it. The ironic part is as a duck hunter funds that I contributed over the last 25 years were used to purchase the island and immediately close it to most public use. It sucks!

[gnome]

The African-American Amusement Park That Never Was
by Patrick Livingston
http://www.hsmichigan.org/wp-content...gar-Island.pdf

Interesting link. Thx Brock. At the end of the article it reported that a William Herschler, from Oak Park was the most recent owner and when his plans to build a mini mansion fell apart he sold/donated the island to the Feds.

hmm, a little curious. Oak Park is a nice little town, but certainly not a enclave known for harboring millionaires.

So, being a curious sort, I google up Mr. Herschler and discover he is a farmer getting public farm subsidies. In fact, I learn that Oak Park is full of farmers getting farm subsidies. And not just the wild prairie of Oak Park, but Birmingham, Livonia, ferndale and Detroit...

seems that whole farm bill the congress is fighting over has a bunch of non-farmers getting farm subsidies to farm or not farm.
http://farm.ewg.org/addrsearch.php?z=1&zip=48237&page=0

you can go to their home page, type in a zip code and up pops a list of anyone living there who gets a farm subsidy. Weird. Who knew?
http://farm.ewg.org/index.php

[Zacha341]

Yeah that farm.ewg.org puts everyone's business on blast to the public [[names, addresses, amounts)!

But hey when you receive moneys from the government it can be like that.

[gnome]

Nolan Finley is on the dole too: tobacco subsidy! Haha

http://farm.ewg.org/persondetail.php...mmlevel=detail

[DetroitPlanner]

Nolan Finley is on the dole too: tobacco subsidy! Haha

http://farm.ewg.org/persondetail.php...mmlevel=detail

How do we know that this is the same guy? It would not surprise me though. Nothing does anymore.

[WaCoTS]

It's not exactly going to be a sanctuary as the island is now open to hunting during all open Michigan hunting seasons. That's not much of a consolation as there really isn't anything to hunt on the island! In all my time there [[I've spent many days on the interior of the island) I have never seen a single game animal other than a couple deer. Of course the area around the island is home to many species of waterfowl that can be hunted, but the water was open to public hunting before the Feds purchased it. The ironic part is as a duck hunter funds that I contributed over the last 25 years were used to purchase the island and immediately close it to most public use. It sucks!

wow that's fuckin moronic, as usual. kind of like how the DNR decided that they didnt want anyone to be able to land private planes on the small uninhabited islands of the Beaver Archipelago in Lk Michigan, so they rendered all the old landing strips unusable, i suppose to prevent illegal access. genius idea, guys. now nobody can land there safely in an emergency, if they develop engine trouble--not even DNR planes! dumbasses. im sure after some DNR agents are lost in the lake, they will ask us taxpayers to build all new runways on all the islands.

oh well, i guess i can still go to Sugar Island, ill just have to buy a duck permit. yunno, so i can help the DNR buy/ruin more islands.

[marshamusic]

Wow! It's been some days since I check back on this thread - a lot has happened! Farm subsidies! What the heck!!!

You know, this is why you have to peruse a thread - you never know WHAT topics have popped up, no matter what the thread title.

Anyway, I want to thank Brock7 for posting the great articles above, and the link was EXCELLENT. I guess I could have Googled Sugar Island, but I just started out asking you guys here!

This is a window on my elders' lives that I never heard of, a slice of Detroit history that has slipped away into obscurity. Now I'll have to start asking the old folks have they heard of this place.

It is also yet another tale of the machinations to keep these mid-century African Americans from realizing business success, such as the endeavor they were trying to put together on Sugar Island.

I'm really disconcerted by the little known existence of this island. It makes me all the more determined to write about events involving Blacks [[and whites) in mid-last century Detroit - so that one day, when someone asks incredulously, "did you know that there used to be a street called Hastings, with lots of black businesses?" my tale/s will be a part of the record of what was once there.