Elizabeth Park is a county-owned public park in southeast
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 ...
. The park is located in the city of
Trenton along
West Jefferson Avenue and 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 ...
just north of the
Wayne County Bridge
The Wayne County Bridge is a swing bridge that crosses the Trenton Channel in the Detroit River. Located in Wayne County, Michigan, it connects Grosse Ile Township to mainland Trenton and is one of two bridges connecting the island of Grosse ...
leading to
Grosse Ile. Under private ownership until it was given to the county in 1919, Elizabeth Park is recognized as the first county park established in the state of Michigan.
The park is located mostly on an
artificial island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...
historically called Slocum's Island. The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow canal. While Elizabeth Park occupies the northern portion of Slocum's Island, the
Trenton Channel Power Plant
The Trenton Channel Power Plant, also known as the Trenton Stacks, was a coal-burning power station located in Trenton, Michigan. Completed in 1924, it is owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy.
Location
Part of the facility's prope ...
occupies the portion south of the Grosse Ile Parkway.
History
![Monguagon Township 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Monguagon_Township_2.png)
The area was occupied by the
Native American tribe 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 ...
for several centuries before Europeans arrived to colonize the area. The Wyandot settled the village of Maguagon along the banks of the Detroit River, which was the site of the minor
Battle of Maguaga
The Battle of Maguaga (also known as the Battle of Monguagon or the Battle of the Oakwoods) was a small battle between British troops, Canadian militia and Tecumseh's natives against a larger force of American troops, Ohio Volunteers and Michigan L ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The area was soon settled as Truaxton in 1816 by Abram Caleb Truax, who was a French Major who decided to stay in the area after the war. In 1827,
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...
, the governor of the
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...
, organized
Monguagon Township with Truax as the first township supervisor. As a part of the township, the area of Truaxton was renamed
Trenton in 1847 and incorporated as a village in 1855.
Giles Bryan Slocum (1808–1884), who was an early businessman and landowner, moved to Truaxton in 1834. He built Truaxton's first dock along 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 ...
in that summer. He would later manage docks up and down the Detroit River. He used his wealth to purchase three miles (4.8 km) of Truaxton's riverfront. He built his large estate on what he called Slocum's Island, which was partially separated from the mainland by his own constructed canal. Slocum married Sophia Truax (daughter of Abram Caleb Truax) in 1838, and she inherited his estate when he died in 1884. She continued to live on Slocum's Island with her only daughter, Elizabeth Nichols (''née'' Slocum). Sophia Truax died in 1912, and Nichols then inherited the island.
Nichols died in 1919, and her children inherited the property. They donated the estate to the Wayne County Park Trustees in October 1919 on the condition that it be set aside as "Elizabeth Park" in honor of their mother.
The Slocum estate, which consisted of 162 acres (65 ha), was given to the county and organized as Michigan's first county park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
.[ The donation was helpful in the creation of the Wayne County Park System, which had been hindered by a lack of funding to acquire their own properties. Though the new park system continued to have no funding afterward, the development of Elizabeth Park was made possible by financial support from the ]Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate ...
, which improved the canal, created bridges connecting the island to the mainland, and built the road that circles the park.[
]
Recent status
In 2003, the park underwent an over $1 million renovation of the crumbling Southshore Riverwalk, which was an original element of Elizabeth Park. The Northshore Riverwalk is also being improved at a cost of $1.2 million. This riverwalk is closer to the Trenton populace and is expected to draw in more visitors from the surrounding commercial district.[ The park includes a ]marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
on the southern end near Grosse Ile Parkway. Fishing and boating remain very popular activities. Walking, skating, or fishing can be done from the 1,300 feet (396 m) of riverwalks, and the interior of the park contains hiking and cycling trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
s, a baseball field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
, skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...
, playground, and a large picnic area.[
The unique pedestrian bridges that cross the canal and connect Elizabeth Park to the mainland were constructed in the early stages of the park's development. There are three walkway bridges — all named Elizabeth Park Walkway Bridge — at different locations. All three of these bridges are still structurally sound but are in desperate need of restoration. The only automobile bridge that crosses the canal is an ]arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
called the Elizabeth Drive Bridge on the north end of the park. The 59.7 ft (18.2 m) bridge was constructed in 1923 and retains most of its original features. However, like the pedestrian bridges, the Elizabeth Drive Bridge is in poor shape. The Michigan Historic Bridge Inventory lists the bridge as eligible for entry into the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Elizabeth Park is also mentioned for possible inclusion into the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife refuge in North America. Established in 2001 and managed jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service, it is located in ...
, which is still in its preliminary stages of development. Since Elizabeth Park is owned by Wayne County, it is unsure at this time if the park would be included into the expanding refuge or if it would just include the surrounding waterways.
In 2013 the foot bridges around Elizabeth Park were restored, the wrought iron railings were salvaged, cleaned an replace on the new bridges. They were dedicated in May 2014.
Trenton Channel Power Plant
Quite the contrast to Elizabeth Park, the portion of Slocum's Island south of Grosse Ile Parkway is occupied by the large, coal-burning Trenton Channel Power Plant, which is owned and operated by DTE Energy
DTE Energy (formerly Detroit Edison until 1996) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services in the United States and Canada. Its operating units include an elec ...
. This property was not part of Giles Bryan Slocum's original property that was donated to the county in 1919 but has since been included as part of the island when the original canal around Slocum's property was expanded southward. The Detroit Edison Company
DTE Electric Company (formerly The Detroit Edison Company) was founded in 1886.
DTE Electric's power generation portfolio includes renewable energy, but is primarily generated by fossil fuels. In 2021, 67.32% of electricity generated by DTE came ...
, a present-day subsidiary of DTE Energy, purchased the southern portion of the island and constructed the Trenton Channel Power Plant in 1949. Much of their property is on the mainland surrounding West Jefferson Avenue. The main building—the two smokestack
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
power station—is the only portion located on what is now technically the southern portion of Slocum's Island.
Despite its nature, the power plant works closely with environmental organizations to ensure the area is free of pollutants. For their efforts, the Trenton Channel Power Plant was awarded the Wildlife Habitat Council's Corporate Habitat of the Year award in 2004 “ 14 years ago”. DTE Energy regularly spreads crushed limestone along the banks of the Detroit River on Slocum's Island, because such an item provides a popular nesting habitat for native common tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory ...
s. Common terns were once plentiful in the region before industrialism drove out all but a small number of them. Other birds, such as the bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
s, peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
s, and great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
s also use the grounds for habitat.[
]
See also
*Battle of Maguaga
The Battle of Maguaga (also known as the Battle of Monguagon or the Battle of the Oakwoods) was a small battle between British troops, Canadian militia and Tecumseh's natives against a larger force of American troops, Ohio Volunteers and Michigan L ...
*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 ...
*Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife refuge in North America. Established in 2001 and managed jointly by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service, it is located in ...
*List of islands in the Detroit River
The following is a description of islands in the Detroit River. The Detroit River is a major waterway in the Great Lakes system, and it flows for from Lake St. Clair south to Lake Erie. The river serves as a major shipping channel, jointly c ...
*Trenton Channel Power Plant
The Trenton Channel Power Plant, also known as the Trenton Stacks, was a coal-burning power station located in Trenton, Michigan. Completed in 1924, it is owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy.
Location
Part of the facility's prope ...
References
External links
Wayne County Department of Public Services profile
Trenton Channel Power Plant EPA Facility Detail Report
History of Trenton, Michigan
{{Authority control
Protected areas of Wayne County, Michigan
Detroit River
Islands of the Detroit River
River islands of Michigan
Uninhabited islands of Michigan
Protected areas established in 1919
1919 establishments in Michigan
Parks in Michigan
Landforms of Wayne County, Michigan