Zug Island

Zug Island was once a part of the mainland located near the mouth of the River Rouge at the southern limits of Detroit. It was owned by Samuel Zug, who purchase...
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Zug Island was once a part of the mainland located near the mouth of the River Rouge at the southern limits of Detroit. It was owned by Samuel Zug, who purchased the 325 acre lot from Lewis Cass in 1859. After realizing that the land was inhabitable, Zug allowed the River Rouge Improvement Company to dig a canal through the land, creating Zug Island. The island was originally part of the city of Delray, but was annexed by Detroit in 1901.

Zug Island was sold once again in 1891 to George Brady and Charles Noble, who may have originally intended for the island to be used as an industrial dumping ground. This idea did not reach its full potential, as the need for industrial land grew tremendously during the early twentieth century. Industrialists built blast furnaces for steel production on the island in 1902, 1909, and 1938. These steel mills changed hands several times, and were one time owned by the now defunct National Steel. They are currently called the Great Lakes Works and are owned by United States Steel. Today, Zug Island is one of only a handful of locations remaining in the United States that produce coke, an ingredient used in the creation of steel.

Written by Ben Robinson
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