Council Point Park is a city-owned park in Wayne County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. It is located along the

Ecorse River The Ecorse River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed November 7, 2011 river in southern Michigan. Because of its small size, it is often identified as Ecorse Creek. ...

within the city of

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

. The park is 27 acres, and borders the cities of Wyandotte and

Ecorse Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

. The point itself is formed by the northern and southern branches of the Ecorse River, just before it reaches the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

. The land for the park was purchased in the late 1980s. The park's dimensions were courtesy of Wade Trim and Associates. The park includes a 1.9 mile jogging track along the Ecorse River, two baseball/softball diamonds, two soccer fields, a picnic pavilion, a children's park with a playscape, an inline hockey arena, and a permanent restroom/storage building.

History

Council Point Park is the site of a significant event in the history of the state of

. In 1763,

Chief Pontiac Pontiac or Obwaandi'eyaag (c. 1714/20 – April 20, 1769) was an Odawa war chief known for his role in Pontiac's War, the war named for him, from 1763 to 1766 leading Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in an armed strugg ...

, the chief of the Ottawa tribe in Michigan, called for a council along the Ecorse River of all of the tribes in what is now Michigan. The tribes that were present at this council were the

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

, Detroit Ottawa, and the

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

. Pontiac called these tribes to action, stating that not only did he and other

Natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

want the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

gone, but that it was a special task sent from the King of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to attack and remove the British from the former French territories. Pontiac's plan was to attack

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

in 3 days. After a few abortive attempts to take the fort by trickery, Pontiac and his people laid siege to the fort, and kept it besieged for six months. A series of small farm fields and woods was purchased from the Levy Company by the City of Lincoln Park in the late 1980s to become Council Point Park. The city partnered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in order to clean up a small toxic waste spill. Hazardous chemicals, including heavy metals used in steel making, had spilled into the park and needed to be cleaned up before the park was opened. The

Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies with a variety of titles and responsibilities are included, e.g. Department of Environment, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of E ...

cleaned up the land to make it a safe park. The 1915 Musta family farmhouse, located at 3051 River Drive (at Mayflower) along the western edge of the park, still remains. An Army Corps of Engineers water access was modified and rebuilt in WWII and is still buried beneath the property and is also documented in the Washington CoE register.

Activities

Council Point Park is host to a variety of activities. The park has two

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

diamonds in which

little league Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

fields used during the summer. There is a 1.9 mile walking/jogging track that outlines the perimeter of the park. One of the park's new attractions is an

inline hockey Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The sport ...

rink in which inline summer roller hockey leagues are played. Local inline hockey players can also skate year round. The park also includes a picnic pavilion in which many families and organizations host picnics and parties. The Lincoln Park Relay for Life is held at Council Point, every year on Mother's Day weekend.

Entertainment

Council Point Park is used for a

Pow Wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

by the American Indian Movement of Michigan, to commemorate Pontiac's great meeting back in the 1760s. The Pow Wow offers the opportunity for children and adults both to learn about the happenings of the Council of Pontiac, and the rich cultural heritage of the original inhabitants of this area, along with dancing, fun games and other activities. Council Point Park also has several different venues for visitors of the park to sit down and watch sporting events including baseball,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, soccer, and inline hockey.

Geography

Council Point Park is a 27-acre park on the eastern edge of the City of Lincoln Park. The park is bordered by the Northern and Southern branches of the Ecorse Creek to the east, and River Drive to the west. The Creek forms the borders between the City of Lincoln Park, Wyandotte on the southern end, and Ecorse on the north end.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lincoln Park official page
Parks in Michigan Protected areas of Wayne County, Michigan