A Bootlegger's Paradise/Prohibition in Berlin Township 1918-1933 - Newport, MI
N 41° 59.695 W 083° 17.147
17T E 310675 N 4651738
Historical Marker in Newport, Michigan discussing the Prohibition Years.
Waymark Code: WM144Y1
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 04/16/2021
Views: 1
This County of Monroe Historic Site marker was the new first new original sign placed by the county in the silver and blue motif. The marker is located near the parking lot of the Newport Branch Library.
Prohibition in Berlin Township
1918-1933
Berlin Township was a major rum-running crossroad during the Prohibition years, when alcohol was prohibited from production and consumption, in an effort to battle its social effects. Just as Michigan's early ”dry years" commenced in Monroe County, the new Dixie Highway was completed, making it the only paved roadway linking fast travel between Toledo and Detroit. With access to marsh concealment and protective waterways including Lake Erie, bootleggers quickly unloaded the smuggled Canadian liquor into automobiles and trucks waiting at the county shoreline and then sped away to distribute their illegal cargo.
“A Bootleggers Paradise"
Residents and out-of-town professionals alike were caught moving booze through Berlin Township. Violence and death became commonplace during the Prohibition years. Bootleggers bodies were found bullet-ridden, washed up on the shore or left in abandoned shacks. Others drowned, falling through the winter ice. Trying to halt the flow of this profitable smuggling, the Michigan State Police opened a post on North Dixie Highway at the village of South Rockwood in the township. After national Prohibition ended in 1933, the colorful stories of this era continue to be passed down to subsequent local generations.
Group that erected the marker: Monroe County Museum System
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
8120 North Dixie Highway
Newport, MI United States
48166
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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