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July 7, 2017
CONTACT: Doug Donnelly, 517-284-6109
Fort Street Bridge Park project along Iron Belle Trail more than halfway to fundraising goal of $600,000
Park location, site of Ford Hunger March of 1932, a significant part of state’s automotive and labor history
Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail – with its 1,273-mile hiking route and 791-mile bicycle route from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula – not only connects communities from across the state, it also spotlights the state’s unique heritage and many historical milestones. One of those spots is in southwest Detroit, where the Fort Street Bridge crosses the River Rouge.
 This location is one of international importance, because it’s the site of the Ford Hunger March of 1932. The Ford Hunger March occurred during the Great Depression. Auto production had dropped from 5.3 million vehicles in 1929 to 1.3 million in 1932, and many automobile workers had lost their jobs. The march helped shape the future of unions in America and contributed to the formation of the United Auto Workers in 1935.
“Around midday, March 7, 1932, approximately 3,000 workers mustered near the intersection of South Fort Street and Oakwood Boulevard to prepare for the planned march to the Ford Administration Building,” said Lloyd Baldwin, a historian for the Michigan Department of Transportation. “The marchers crossed the Fort Street Bridge on the way to Miller Road, the route to the Ford plant.”
In the bitter cold, the unemployed workers and their family members crossed the bridge on a mission to deliver a list of demands to Henry Ford for jobs, food, fuel for heat and help with rent and mortgages. When the throng of people crossed into Dearborn, police fired tear gas into the crowd. Later, fire hoses were turned on the marchers, who responded by throwing clods of frozen dirt and rocks. Gunfire erupted from the police line. Four marchers were killed and a fifth died weeks later.
Sixty years after the march, a Michigan Historical Marker was installed on the Operators’ House of the Fort Street Bridge in 1992 to commemorate the event. A dedication ceremony was held March 14, 1992, followed by a march to the union hall where additional ceremonies were held. The marker was decommissioned in 2013 when work began to replace the Fort Street Bascule Bridge, which is its focus. This year the Michigan Historical Commission granted permission to the UAW to reinstall the marker as a historic artifact at UAW Local 600 Hall in Dearborn. With the new bridge now in place, MDOT plans on installing a new interpretive panel at the bridge to mark the Ford Hunger March. That panel will be installed later this summer.
 At the foot of the bridge, on the south side, is the site of a new pocket park being planned by the Fort Rouge Gateway Project, a partnership of 16 entities covering private enterprise, nonprofits, local government and education. Partners include the MotorCities National Heritage Area, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the city of Detroit, the city of Dearborn, Marathon Petroleum Co. LP, the Michigan Department of Transportation, United Auto Workers Local 600, the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation and additional groups and organizations.
The Iron Belle Trail’s hiking route follows Fort Street, from downtown Detroit south, across the historic River Rouge via the Fort Street Bridge, passing the site of the new park. The design elements of the interpretive park, tucked into the northeast corner of Fort and Denmark streets adjacent to the Rouge River, include bike loops, an entry wall, environmentally friendly landscaping, seating and a rain garden.
Park project more than halfway to fundraising goal
Earlier this month, Brian Yopp from the MotorCities National Heritage Area, announced that more than $300,000 has been raised – including $100,000 from Ford Motor Co. – toward the overall goal of $600,000 to build the park.
“We are still $260,000 from our $600,000 goal, but we are nibbling little by little,” Yopp said. “We are so proud to be part of this partnership. This group represents diverse backgrounds and unique motivations that have come together to accomplish a shared goal. This is an important site for the automotive industry and its history.”
 Some clearing for the park and on-the-ground work already has been completed. Earlier this year, on the Marathon Gardens Wildlife Habitat (a separate, but complimentary area to the park), for example, a stewardship day was held in which dozens of people came out to help plant flowers and plants and get rid of non-native species.
Planners hope to begin construction of the park yet this year.
“It is sites like this – and the partnerships formed to build them – that help make the Iron Belle Trail a showcase trail for Michigan,” said Paul Yauk, statewide trails coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
“This is an important location, a site with a lot of historical significance,” he said. “Having it on the Iron Belle Trail is wonderful, because it marks another reason for people to get out onto the trail and explore all that Michigan offers. There are many other historically significant sites along the trail, from Belle Isle in Detroit, to the Mann House in Concord, to Hartwick Pines in Grayling, all the way to Ironwood. And summer is the perfect time to visit them.”
Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail is the longest state-designated trail in the nation, encompassing more than 2,000 miles of Michigan hiking and biking routes, allowing users to explore pristine forests and cool rivers while connecting big cities to smaller and diverse towns. The trail extends from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula.
For more information on the Iron Belle Trail, visit www.michigan.gov/ironbelle.
For more information on the Fort Street Bridge Park project and details on how to support the fundraising effort, visit www.motorcities.org.
/Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows. Photos credited to Michigan Department of Natural Resources unless noted otherwise.
Historical view – Fort St. Bridge: A black-and-white shot of the old Fort Street Bridge. Photo courtesy Michigan Department of Transportation.
Marathon Gardens stewardship work: Efforts to get the Fort Street Bridge site ready for the park project involved a stewardship day at the Marathon Gardens Wildlife Habitat area. Dozens of people pitched in to plant flowers and plants.
Fort St. Bridge: A recent view of the new Fort Street Bridge in southwest Detroit./
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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