School

A controversy arose about the location of the original school. The people in the village objected to the children walking to classes this considerable distance through the Black Bayou Swamp and wanted to move the building closer to the populated section of Gibralter. Others wanted to move the school out to Jefferson Road. The building was placed on skids while the discussions continued. After several votes they still did not reach an agreement. One night some irate and determined citizens hooked up teams of horses to the unit and drug it across the frozen ground into Gibralter Proper and placed it near the site of the present Municipal Building.

Churches 1845 thru 1976

In 1845, a new combination church and school building was built near the log cabin school. This was an impressive building with large double doors, and a winding stairway which led to the large choir loft and organ. If there was a funeral service, school would be shut down for the day so the church facilities could be used.

Gibralter was a booming community at this time and religious services were necessary to keep workers in the shipyards which were located here. During those early days, denomination was of no consequence. Whoever would come and preach was welcome. The wife of one of the shipyard owners, Mrs. Craig, from Syracuse, New York, donated the organ and with the aid of another young lady, Mrs. Linn, another shipbuilder's wife, was able to organize a Sunday school.

The early church was considered a mission and whatever minister was serving Flat Rock, Rockwood and Newport would serve Gibralter. The Gibralter Church had services on Thursday night. The Minister would ride over on Thursday morning, make congregational and sick calls, have dinner with a member of the congregation and depart after the evening service.

Sunday school for the children was held on Sunday mornings and led by the Sunday School Superintendent. During the summer, student ministers came to teach the youth of the church. In this early church, there was always an adult Bible class.

People would come to Church from the surrounding area by horse and carriage and tie their horses directly across from the present Municipal Building on Munro Street.

The Gibraltar Congregational Church did not become an organized church until 1909, when Reverend Hutchinson drew up a Covenant that was signed by 19 members. The records are scanty, but the church apparently was not registered with the state.

At this time, a Ladies Aide was organized and this group provided monies for the Church. At the second annual meeting, January 12, 1911, it was noted that the Ladies Aide would pay such amounts as they could each month toward the minister's salary. This salary was $6.00 a month. The women's group had suppers, box socials, etc. to raise the necessary funds.

During the time that Reverend Hutchinson served the Gibraltar Church, 1900-1931, very few services were missed by him. Often, the Minister would come to our town on horseback--or by driving Middle Gibraltar Road with water across it, and sometimes over the t1oorboards of his buggy.

After Reverend Hutchinson retired, Reverend William Skentlebury came to the Flat Rock Church, and one day each week was still given to the Gibraltar Church, 1931-1936.

Gibraltar had begun to grow by this time, and the newer citizens thought a Community Church would be more of an asset to the town. A Baptist Minister, Reverend Nain, was called to the Church, for a salary of $1,500.00 per year. The Church remained a Community Church until 1941, when it was again reorganized as a Congregational Christian Church, and registered with the Michigan Congregational Conference as a corporation. There were twenty-two charter members. In 1957 a merger with the United Church of Christ was effected.

In 1947 the Church bought a small building for $500.00 from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Trenton. A real estate company was selling the Edmund and Fred Hall property, and they gave the Church three lots to put the building on.

Approximately ten years later, the Trustees purchased three more lots south of the building; in 1959, nine more lots were purchased, giving the Church a total of fifteen lots--approximately 21/2 acres.

The first Church Parsonage on Pointe Drive was purchased in 1950 and the last lot left to connect the Church properties was purchased, and a new Parsonage built.

By November 1, 1964, the Church indebtedness was erased and the Church was the proud owner of the entire site, and holders of $45,000.00 in capital assets.

Looking to the future and a better Church building, November 1, 1813, a Building Committee was activated, and on October 23, 1966, Reverend Harold Aldrin dedicated the present Church building.

This Church has grown from humble beginnings to a strong position in the community, extending care and concern for all the people of Gibraltar.

In 1976 the Minister of the Church is Reverend Walter Kargus III. The First Baptist Church conducted its first worship service on October 25, 1953, in the old frame Gibraltar Church-School, which adjoined the site of the present Municipal Building. Twenty-three persons were present at that service, including the Harry West's, the Fred Williams, the Fred Hay's, and the William Taylor's.

The Church held services in the old building until a fire totally destroyed it on the evening of November 7, 1954. While the determined members were erecting the present building on Fryer near Middle Gibraltar, they met in the Parsons School. In 1955, thru the dedication and hard work of the congregation, the auditorium was completed and in 1962 an educational wing was added. In 1958 the Church erected a Parsonage.

The first Pastor of the Church was the Reverend Burton Huth, who remained with the Church for ten years. Subsequent pastors have been the Reverend Tom Hall, the Reverend Adrian Warford and the present Pastor, the Reverend Donald Rouse. The First Baptist Church is an independent Fundamental Baptist Church, which is in association with the Conservative Baptist Association of Michigan. Through the State Association, the Church provides a camping program, and helps establish new churches throughout the State.

A group of ladies from Gibraltar who attended the St. Joseph's Church of Trenton on October 3, 1937 formed the St. Theresa Group as a part of the Altar Society of St. Joseph's. Gibraltar was a part of the St. Joseph Parish of Trenton.

Early in 1958, a Catholic Mission Church was organized in Gibraltar, the name to be St. Victor's Mission of St. Timothy Church in Trenton, with Father John Eppenbrock as Pastor. Sunday Masses were held in the Parsons School Auditorium until the Church was built and completed. In 1960, plans were drawn up for the new Church. St. Victor's Mission was to be built on land purchased on Navarre Avenue by the Archdiocese.

A building fund program was held to raise money for helping out in the building of the Church. Many families pledged money over a two-year period.

The ground breaking ceremony for the new Church was held in March, 1961. The laying of the cornerstone was held in October, 1961. The dedication of the Church took place on December 2, 1961, with Cardinal Dearden presiding.

Father John O'Connor came to St. Victor's to serve as Pastor in June of 1963. He lived at St. Timothy's Rectory until the Rectory was completed in June of 1964. Father John celebrated his 25th Anniversary as a Priest in May of 1967.

Father Eppenbrock passed away February 13, 1970, and Father O'Connor passed away in September of 1974. Father Lis helped out until a new Pastor was named. Father Edward Walling became the new Pastor in November of 1974. Throughout the years the Church has been supported by the St. Victor Altar Society and St. Victor Parish Council.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Morman Church} have held their services in the Congregational Church for the last few years. This is the Oakwood Ward with 360 members, serving the area of Riverview to the Ohio Line and Detroit River to New Boston. Bishop Burgon is in charge.

Growth of Gibralter

From information obtained from the Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory we find:

"GIBRALTER… it is surrounded by good farming lands, growing fruit and grains. The village was settled in 1830 and in 1873 had 400 in. habitants. The principal business interest is the shipyard of Linn and Craig. Lumber, wood and staves are shipped. Gibralter has a daily mail. R. W. Linn is Postmaster. ..In 1875-77 the population is 500."

The Business Directory lists the following in 1873, 1875 and 1877:

Alford, Heman, general store
Brow, John, Blacksmith followed by: Brown, John
Doremus & Kitcheell, Cigar Mnfrs.
Linn & Craig, Gen. Store, sawmill and shipbuilders
Lyons, W .H., contractor
Mc Taggert, A. , general store
Seaton. E., steamboat captain
Stoddard, Wm. H., collector of customs
Springsted, Chas., meat market
Sullivan, E., hotel proprietor
Thompson, W. W ., stave manufacturer
Vreeland, M.J.,lighthouse keeper
Williams, P .E., meat market and grocery

Our school census for 1875 showed a total of 61 pupils. Names we recognized: Jeanie L. Linn, George and John Craig, D.H. and Nellie Blakely, Charles and John Springsted, Mat tie and Frank Dye, Charles and Hattie Alford and Carrie Parsons.

Gibraltar- 1950's

Cleo Parsons was a very dedicated and devoted teacher in the Gibraltar School for thirty-five years. From the time she started she was the only teacher instructing all the grades, until the two room annex was built in 1935. In those early years teaching was not easy. On cold mornings she arrived at school early to build up the fires (a stove in each end of the building) and carry in coal and water from outdoor~ Neighbor women would help on cold winter days by bringing in heated bricks to put under the children's feet, to warm them during their classes. She also did the sweeping and snow shoveling. She would use her own money to buy clothing for needy pupils. Grateful citizens of Gibraltar hosted a special luncheon for Mrs. Parsons when she retired, Tuesday, June 13, 1950 at the Grosse lIe Golf and Country Club, honoring her many years of excellent service.

Many service clubs were started in Gibraltar during this period. Mrs. Marie Halbeisen started the Garden Club in 1950 and it continues to play an active role in the community. The Gibraltar Community Association was organized to help promote the improvements of streets and other projects for the benefit of the residents.

The Gibraltar Historical Society was organized on October 4, 1956 and will be remembered best, we believe, for its part in working to have the Cannon Memorial moved from its site near Jefferson and Middle Gibraltar to a special historic park site donated by the School Board near Parsons School. The group spent a lot of time researching the history of this area and many historical articles written by its members appeared in local newspapers. A Junior Historical Society was organized about this time by Dwight Smith, Principal of Parsons School.

The Gibraltar Rotary Club was chartered in January, 1956 and has worked for improving conditions in the village. The Gibraltar Goodfellows was originally established by the Rotary Club but is now run by citizen volunteers who assist needy families and individuals. The Gibraltar Health Council began in 1958 and started the Baby Clinic in 1960, working with the Wayne County Health Nurse. They take care of the needy by supplying clothing, medicine, food, etc.

Our first pharmacy, Shepherd's Drug Store, was established in 1958 in a new building at the intersection of the Gibraltar Roads. In 1965 it became known as the Gibraltar Pharmacy, under the ownership of Ralph Freeman. For a while an Antique Shop was operated on Middle Gibraltar by Mrs. Imhoff. This building was torn down in the late sixties and the land is now owned by Humbug Marina. A children's dress shop, called Kiddie Korner, was operated on the corner of North Gibraltar and Blakely.


The bank, in a building on North Gibraltar Road just south of Champs Service Station, opened in Gibraltar in 1956 as a branch of Peoples Bank of Trenton, with Dwight Burt as the first Manager. Mr. Jim Groves followed Mr. Burt as Manager on March 15, 1961 and the new building was opened December 11, 1970 on Middle Gibraltar Road. Before the opening of a bank in Gibraltar, our Village Treasurer with official funds was escorted to the Trenton City Limits by Gibraltar Police, met by the Trenton Police and escorted to the Peoples Bank of Trenton.


McLouth Steel Corporation built in April, 1955 a $19,000,000 cold steel rolling mill in Gibraltar. The Gibraltar facility includes a hydrochloric acid pickling tower, a four-stand tandem mill, single-stack annealing furnaces, temper mills and all the necessary steel finishing equipment and facilities. This is a clean plant and McLouth has been a good neighbor to the people of Gibraltar.

McLouth Steel wished to consolidate their land and on August 17, 1961 a resolution was passed by the City Council to close old North Gibraltar Road to Jefferson and reroute North Gibraltar Road to its present location. McLouth Steel, in 1964, offered to pay for the relocation of St. Joseph's Cemetery, consisting of 1.69 acres on the west side of Jefferson at the end of (new) North Gibraltar Road. The earliest recorded burial here was made in 1875 and it was used until approximately 1910. McLouth Steel had difficulty tracing the ownership. An old-timer remembered it was a Catholic Cemetery, but the Catholic Church was not even aware they owned the Cemetery until they searched their records and found it was indeed true. Permission was secured to move the Cemetery and they found it was a greater task than they had expected. McLouth figured it would take two weeks, as there were about 15 head stones. It took 31/2 months and more than 200 bodies were moved. There were burials on top of each other and many, many unmarked graves. We were told, when an illness of epidemic proportions struck, they would use mass graves to avoid handling the bodies more than was absolutely necessary.

Record high water was recorded on March 22, 1952. Horse Island and Hall Island were flooded and all along Lowell. It was described thus in a Detroit News article: ' 'In Gibraltar. Horse Island and Hall Island were flooded, peak levels reaching two feet. Water flooded houses on Lowell Drive along the shoreline including the J. H. Gorsuch residence where neighbors reported three feet of water in the living room. The wind was gusting at 40mph. More than 100 homes in Gibraltar suffered from water damage with high water and high waves from the battering northeast wind driving many riverfront residents from their homes, some by rowboat, some by car. ..

Gibraltar Becomes a Village
In November, 1953 it was discovered that Trenton was going to petition to annex an area on the west side of Jefferson south of Vreeland which was known as the Den by Tract depending upon the Brownstown Township Board of Commissioners authorizing the rezoning of this area to heavy industry. Trenton was not interested in taking on the residential area of Gibraltar because they would have to provide sewers, sidewalks, street lighting, etc. The only way to keep Trenton from annexing the tract seemed to be for Gibraltar to incorporate into a village. Brownstown Township Board decided to back Gibraltar so they rezoned the tract and McLouth Steel bought the property.

Mr. Dahlka left the meeting of the Township Board on Saturday morning and with help of the Community Association met with lawyers in the afternoon to prepare petitions for gathering signatures and an application to become a village. It was necessary to secure I% of the total census of the 1500 registered voters in the six or seven subdivisions within the proposed boundaries, so several petitions had to be prepared with the correct legal descriptions. It had been decided that the boundaries would be Vreeland Road from the river west to Fort, south to Ostreich Road, to the railroad at Woodruff and east on Woodruff to the river. One area had to petition later to join Gibraltar because the owners were out of town that weekend. A meeting was called by the Community Association and other clubs in Gibraltar. Mr. Dahlka spoke to the community on that Saturday night in the school telling why and how it must be done. In the pouring rain on Sunday, willing workers gathered signatures from house to house, and by midnight on Sunday the necessary signatures were obtained and verified on the petitions.

Mr. John Watts, Editor of the Guardian, and Hy Dahlka made an appointment to see Mr. Branigan, the Wayne County Clerk, first thing on Monday morning. They were waiting on the steps when he came to work at 8:00 a.m. and the petitions were accepted and filed. About 10: 10 that same morning Trenton came into the County Clerk's office with their petitions to annex the Denby Tract which were denied, and an election was held on our incorporation. If the incorporation vote had failed, Trenton would have had the next chance to annex the Denby Tract, but the voters approved the proposed village charter, 430 -25.

At this first election Hy Dahlka was elected Village President for a 2-year term with six councilmen elected for 4-year and 2-year terms. One of the first items on the agenda was Mr. Dahlka's appointments to start Village operations. Council meetings were held in the school until the old school burned in 1954, then they moved their meetings to the new Parsons School.

The council felt one of the first needs was a building to use as Municipal Hall because the clerk had to keep the records in his home and the meetings had to be held in the school. They decided the annex portion of the old school left standing after the fire might be renovated, so they approached the school board. A special election was held and the citizens of Gibraltar were given three questions on the ballot.

Thus the Village became the owner of five acres of land and a damaged building. Volunteer Firemen, DPW, councilmen and other volunteers worked to renovate the building and prepare the grounds. Volunteers bulldozed the burned building into the basement, covered it and established a parking lot. They cleaned and repaired the damage in the annex, then they made a council table, reinforced the floor for the safe, etc. The building was ready for the council meeting on March 31, 1955. The dedication of the Municipal Building was held on May 26, 1955 with the Recreation Commission serving refreshments.

The first big job was to get sewers, because subdivisions could not be financed and constructed without them. McLouth Steel and the people agreed to finance the sewers with 86% coming from village taxes and 14% direct assessment to the home owners.

The DPW started operation with one used 1952 tractor bought on time and held their meetings in the school. The first Superintendent, Mr. Roy Westphal, used his personal truck to pick up trash after a storm, etc. This trash was taken to a dump located on Young Drive and was periodically burned. McLouth Steel sent lumber from an old construction building over to the Village and the material was used to build a fire hall on the south end of City Hall (now Recreation Building). The remaining material was used to construct storage units on the north end of the building.

Ivan C. Ransford was appointed Police and Fire Chief. He began his duties on a part-time basis, using his own vehicle for patrol work. A telephone was installed in his residence to receive police and fire calls, which he and his wife answered. The Michigan State Police handled calls for police services whenever Ransford was unavailable and the Rockwood Fire Department handled the fire runs.

The first official police report was made on November 21, 1954. It was a report of a fire on a porch on Munro Avenue. Chief Ransford took over full-time in December, 1954 --24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After the old school building was remodeled the front section became Village Offices and the rear section the Police and Fire Department Office. Phones were installed and the office was in operation.

The first patrol boat was a 16ft. boat owned by C. Harrison and used in 1955. The first mobile radio for the patrol car was received in October, 1955 and a remote control was connected by phone wire to the Trenton Police Department's transmitter to allow our station to communicate with our mobile unit. In April, 1957, a base station on the police frequency was installed and we now had direct communication with our patrol car.

Chief Heumann in his report of the organization of the fire department wrote: "A 1926 American LaFrance Pumper was acquired from Flat Rock as a training apparatus for our newly organized fire department. On March 20, 1955, Saturday at 1:00 p.m. the first session was held with men given instruction on the newly acquired antique and its components. The engine was run, hooked to a hydrant and the first fire hose was charged with water by the Gibraltar Fire Department. In April, a second 1926 American LaFrance 12-Cylinder Pumper was received from Garden City Fire Department after they read in the paper about the need for fire equipment. By June the volunteers were ready for service. Brownstown Township Fire Department located at Rockwood gave Gibraltar permission to answer calls but wanted to be notified too because of the vintage of the trucks and the limited equipment. On August 5, 1955, at 12:10 p.m., the fire siren sounded our first alarm. It was a grass fire at Bayview and Addison. What a thrill! What excitement! What confusion! The men got the trucks to the fire scene, managed to quench the fire with Rockwood's assistance, and towed both trucks back to quarters for repairs.

"Our first building fire came on September 8, 1955. An oil stove overheated and was burning, as well as a fire in the chimney. We did much better, drove the trucks back to quarters."

The City Seal was officially adopted February 14, 1955 and was designed by Russell Cushing and Otto Townsend. Early council proceedings changed some street names in Gibraltar. On December 20, 1954, Warsaw Street was changed to Munro Street and David Street changed to Fryer Drive. In February, 1955, North Gibraltar Road from Middle Gibraltar to Navarre and Worth from Stoeflet to Navarre was changed to South Gibraltar Road. Also the spelling of Dennison Street was changed to Denison.

A Work Bee was organized by the Recreation Commission to turn the ten acre lot area behind the Village Hall into a Public Park. The people in the community responded and set up horseshoe courts, ping-pong tables and play equipment. The first playground equipment was bought from the Patterson School for $1.00 and other considerations. In those early years, one of the favorite activities sponsored by the Recreation Commission in the summer was the building of model airplanes. Many hours were spent by both youngsters and fathers preparing their planes and competing for the prizes given each year.

On November 28, 1955, the Detroit Free Press lists the accomplishments of the Village of Gibraltar in its first year:

The village Council decided to widen Horse Island because the boat houses along the west side of the island were built close to the road and the bank in back of them was starting to cave in. Sedimentation was occurring in the canal and the bottom was coming up making it too shallow. The residents of Horse Island paid a percentage for the dredging and the Village paid the rest. It lengthened the lots to 80 feet deep, big enough to build on. In the long run this meant more taxes, so the Village was well paid for the expense.

In 1960 it was decided to change the harbor entrance (channel north of Humbug Marina} to a more northeasterly direction. Before the change the entrance had been a right angle turn. Residents had been complaining about the low water in the canal due primarily to sedimentation. The current in the canal by the Gibraltar Boat Yard was less than a mile an hour, maybe three-fourths of a mile an hour current. One and seven tenth miles and hour current is needed to carry sedimentation and in anything less a fallout occurs. When the entrance of the canal was changed by the building of a coffer dam, it increased the flow to about three and a half mile an hour current. The boats in the canals stirred up the muck and it was carried on the current thru the canal system. This accomplished the same purpose as dredging the canals deeper but with less expense.

Schools

The new Gibraltar Elementary School (Parsons) was erected in 1953 on Middle Gibraltar Road at Fryer. A dedication program was held on November 15, 1953. This school has been added to several times since its opening to serve the growing need for more elementary class rooms.

In 1954 the old Gibraltar School with its 109 years of memories burned. Nearly everyone of Gibraltar's 1,500 inhabitants went to reminisce over the charred ruins of the building. There were tears in the eyes of many for this had been grade school and church for many years and the last year had been the temporary place of worship for the Baptist Church. On the front steps lay a bell that had been used to summon the students to school each morning and last September 20, it pealed the news of the incorporation of the community into a Village.

The fire was discovered about midnight by the Russell Fishers and Rockwood Firemen responded immediately also calling for help to the Flat Rock Fire Station. The Rockwood Department sent three trucks and 17 men to the fire. Firefighters played streams of water on the intersection of the old building and the newer addition to prevent the fire from spreading when it became clear the old school could not be saved.

Mrs. Edward G. Burt said new recreation equipment, including chairs and tables, still in their crates, went up in the blaze. Also lost was a new $3,400 organ installed the previous Friday by the Gibraltar Baptist Church. Brownstown Township's two voting machines were lost in the fire.

In 1956 four separate neighborhoods, Gibraltar, South Road School, Rockwood School and Barrow Elementary in East Rockwood pooled their resources and became the new Gibraltar School District with Bernard E. Hill, Superintendent of Schools. The district's first venture in secondary education was the opening of the new Oscar A. Carlson Junior High School in September, 1961, named for one of the Gibraltar School District principals, Oscar A. Carlson, who taught in district schools for more than 35 years. The name was selected by means of an essay contest won by Mary Jane Day.

1960's

In the spring of 1961 Gibraltar took the first steps toward becoming a city when voters elected a Charter Commission. The document drafted by the Commission was approved by Gov. John B. Swainson, July 21, 1961.

The charter had been published, discussed privately and openly, and the general consensus was that it was a good one, and if adopted would make a good blueprint for municipal operation and management. The charter was approved by a vote of 398- 143 with over half of the 1,139 voters voting.

Charles w. Shumate, serving as President of the Village, was returned as the first Mayor and all six councilmen elected the previous year were returned to office.

Gibraltar became the second smallest city in the state with a population of 2,187. Under Home Rule City Government there was a complete break from the Brownstown Township government. Gibraltar had its own court, manned by a fee-paid justice of the peace. It had a representative on the Wayne County Board of Supervisors. Under village status, it was represented by Supervisor, Roy Vreeland, of the township. As soon as it could be conveniently arranged, the city and the township divided their joint assets, on the basis of valuation. About 1/3 of the assets of Brownstown was taken over by the new city. This distribution was the valuation of all real and personal property of the township. It included the fire fighting equipment which was the property of the township, and assigned to Gibraltar and three other areas in the township.

In the early 1960's we saw the addition of the Dairy Queen, Fashionaire and Jo-Lynne Beauty Shops. In 1963 came Patay's Market bought from Arnold Kuster and Gibraltar Hardware which became a Dime Store. The latter part of the Sixties also saw the beginning of a bi-monthly publication named PULSE. A restaurant, Scotty Gall Fish and Chips, was built at 29010 North Gibraltar Road.

The service clubs serve an important part of the community such as the Jaycees, a service club for young men between the ages of 18 to 35. They are responsible for many projects and activities in the city. The Over 50 Club is for senior citizens which is backed by the Recreation Commission. Some of the other clubs are the Rock of Gibraltar V.F.W. Post #4230 (Ladies Auxiliary organized in 1972), The LaLeche League, Reserve Police Officers Association and Public Safety Officers Association.

The School district had a teacher's strike in the late sixties that led to an effort to recall the entire school board which wasn't successful.

1970's

During the 1970's Gibraltar has experienced many challenging events. Everett Hedke, owner of Humbug Marina, built the first major boat here since 1895. A meticulous reproduction of the original 25-ton, 56 foot paddle wheel boat SUWANEE; with paddle wheel assembly it measures 65 feet. At the village, the old pilot-house from the original SUWANEE was installed along with the controls. The SUWANEE is currently moored at historic Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan, affording young and old alike the thrill of riding a steam powered paddlewheel propelled boat.

The Lake Erie Girl Scouts initiated and completed, with the assistance of other civic organizations, a very successful drive to collect trading stamps to be used towards equipment for the recently purchased, much needed, rescue vehicle.


1971--local citizens and civic organizations, led by Mayor James Taylor, attempted to move and preserve Wyman's Cabin, the state's oldest known log cabin. This worthy project remains unfinished; due primarily to the rotted conditions of the remaining timbers.

Kingsbridge Subdivision, consisting of apartments, condominiums and houses, opened in June of 1971 in a wooded area off West Jefferson and South Gibraltar Road. Many choice home sites are still available.

1972-- Would you believe five to ten feet of water in your home??? November 14, 1972, flood water brought havoc and devastation to many Gibraltar residents. Just a short two months later, another flood, four of them in 1973.

Out of the materials furnished consisting of straight lengths of steel pipe, planks and sand the Ross Knight Family assembled and filled the first dike completed in the city. The Self-help Program was the people assembling the dikes with the Army Corps of Engineers furnishing the material and the city putting in the sand. Walter Brow spearheaded the completion of the first finished section from Middle Gibraltar to Stoeflet along South Gibraltar road incorporating Knights' dike.

Operation Foresight, coordinated by Roy Westphal and the Army Corps of Engineers took over installation of the dikes and they were completed in 1973. In Operation Foresight the Corps of Engineers hired contractors to do the work using material furnished by the Corps. Court orders were obtained to install some dikes. Many dikes are stained or painted and many have flower and vegetable gardens growing in the top. Quite a few residents do not like the dikes, but without them Gibraltar would have been flooded many more times.

Some residents were brought home in boats down flooded streets and many families were evacuated by boat. Even children wanted to "go and help". During these times of need, residents assisted each other in any way they could. It makes one feel proud to be a part of such a caring, united community.

At one time Gibraltar celebrated each summer with a festival, a parade of gaily decorated boats thru the canals and a king and queen to reign for the day. Residents and friends lined the banks to witness this gala event. In later years, about 1962, Gibraltar started the tradition of a parade on July 4th sponsored by the Recreation Department with the active participation of the band, scouting groups, fire department and children from the summer recreation program. Youth Groups, Clubs and many organizations as well as individuals have contributed to the success of the parades.

After the Jaycees were organized in 1967, they have helped with the Fourth of July Celebration every year. Each year some of our elected senators or representatives have been a part of our parade and in 1973 they were joined by Governor Milliken who walked the parade route. The finale of our Fourth of July celebration is a fire- works display overseen by the Public Safety Department.

Rain, sleet, snow--planes usually fly in all types of weather but on this night conditions were intolerable. On March 15, 1974, two United States Marine Corps huge twin rotor helicopters stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base were caught in a heavy snow and sleet storm over Lake Erie, and being very low on gas, decided it would be prudent to set down at Gibraltar and Grosse Ile. One landed on Grosse Ile while the other one landed in the field (now the City Park) adjacent to St. Victor's Church without injury to personnel or damage to their machine. The citizens of Gibraltar opened their homes and hearts to the crew of QS-405 and the next morning the crew in their helicopter lifted off and proceeded safely on their way.

We would like to mention here what the Detroit News labeled as the, "Detroit River success story". That is the cleaner water we are enjoying here in Gibraltar. There is still room for improvement, but sport fish are flourishing in the river and the ducks are no longer coated with oil. I think we all agree that the color of the water has improved immensely in the last few years.


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Schools

Gibraltar is a part of a consolidated school district which includes Gibraltar, Rockwood, East Rockwood, a bit of Woodhaven and Trenton. There are two schools within the city limits; Cleo E. Parsons Elementary School on Middle Gibraltar Road and Oscar A. Carlson Junior High School on West Jefferson serving as both a Jr. and Sr. High School. In the spring of 1976 there are 545 children attending Parsons, 650 students in Junior High School and 1141 students in Senior High School.

Churches

Gibraltar is served by four church groups meeting within the city limits with other denominations attending church in the surrounding areas -- The First Baptist Church on Fryer, St. Victor's Church on Navarre and The First Congregational Church 0 United Church of Christ on Bayview Drive and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints holding services in the Congregational Church on Bayview.

Mail

Gibraltar has a branch office of the U.S. Postal Department at Adams and Stoeflet with daily rural delivery from the Post Office at Rockwood by two mail carriers.

Professional Offices

There are two Dentist's offices in Gibraltar, L.P. Kline, D.D.S. and G.R. Migoski, D.D.S. There is one Doctor's office on West Jefferson W. B. Grimaudo, D.O. and while there are no hospitals in Gibraltar; there is a hospital in Trenton easily and quickly reached in an emergency:
Southshore Hospital

Business

Our City is the southernmost city in the Detroit downriver industrial district. The primary employer is McLouth Steel Corporation which operates a cold steel rolling mill on Jefferson on 194 acres. McLouth Steel owns 1421.27 acres or 51% of the city area including much of the industrial waterfront area of Gibraltar and some mostly undeveloped marshy and wooded land separating the residential area of Gibraltar from the railroads, highway and neighboring cities. Many of the other skilled and semi-skilled workers are employed outside the city limits: Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Detroit Edison Company, Ford Motor Company, Monsanto and Chrysler are a few of the larger employers with many working in small factories and businesses in the downriver area.

GIBRALTAR (The Name)

One of the first questions that might be asked is, why was this area named Gibraltar?


The earliest map of the area engraved in France (see copy of French Map) calls this area Chenal de la Presque Isle. We know that the French referred to this community at different times by different names, probably giving their translation of the Indian names. They called it La Roche Debout (standing or upright rock), Point AuRoche, Gros or Grosse Roche (big or large rock or mass of rocks). It would be natural for an Englishman to transfer these names to Gibraltar which was, as far as the English are concerned, the greatest rock of all.

However, when the land was platted and named, it was "Gibralter" spelled with "er". It was not until 1900 that the name was changed to give us the present day spelling of Gibraltar. In our story we will refer to Gibraltar until the year 1900 as ending in "er'', and thereafter use the name as it is spelled today -- Gibraltar.

1776 to 1800

The Wyandotte's {also known as Huron's) who lived in this area were under French rule until the British took over the Fort at Detroit in 1760. At first, the relationship between the Indians and the British was not pleasant but did, however, improve as time went on. The British were offering quality goods in exchange for furs and depended upon the Wyandotte's Indians for food supplies, firewood and labor for the Military Garrison. The Indians were interested in iron and metal goods such as knives, awls, chisels, kettles, muskets, etc. This Wyandotte Village became known as Brown's Town (later called Brownstown).

The last battle of the American Revolution was fought in 1782 and on the frontier it was many, many more years before we saw the end of fighting over the land. It was 1796 before the British finally turned over the fort at Detroit to the Americans. Some Indians pledged obedience to the United States, while some, who preferred to remain under British rule, moved to Canada. Others, however, were neutral and tried to avoid being involved.

1800 to 1812

On November 7, 1807, the Brownstown Treaty was successfully negotiated between William Hull, Governor of the Michigan Territory, representing the United States Government, and the Six Nations of Indians. This treaty opened up the southeastern part of Michigan for survey, settlement and new roads.

West Jefferson (River Road) follows an early trail used by the Indians traveling from Ohio to the north. It is said that, in the spring, Indians traveling north with their families left their mares on what we call Horse Island to foal where they lived on this natural corral to feed during the summer and were picked up by the Indians on their way south in the fall. Also, the Indians rested near this area, as there was an abundance of reeds available in the swamps for the making of baskets. They would rest, hunt, fish and weave their baskets before continuing their journey.

The United States was anxious to build a north-south road to supply their garrison at Detroit, so, in the Brownstown Treaty of 1808, the Indians ceded to the United States a quantity of land one mile wide for the purpose of building the road. Later, the remainder was ceded to the government. This was a road through the Black Swamp now referred to as Jefferson.

War of 1812

The War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain began with a declaration of war by the American Congress on June 18, 1812 and closed officially with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. The causes of the war are still in dispute among historians but there is general agreement that Great Britain had excited American enmity by her policy, both on the high seas and on the entire frontier in the northwest, of not recognizing the citizenship and rights of our American people.

The United States was ill-prepared for conflict. Congress provided on paper for a regular army of 35,000 men but fewer than 10,000 men had been mustered. Plus, these men were ill-trained and scattered about the country in small garrisons. The state militia were poorly disciplined and unreliable. Some state governors refused to permit their militiamen to leave their states. Although preparing to fight Great Britain in defense of maritime rights, congress had rejected all proposals for building up the Navy. Even on the lakes nothing had been done to insure naval control.

One part of the initial American plan involved our area. Brigadier General William Hull with a force of some 2,000 men reached Detroit soon after the declaration of war. On August 5, 1812 some 200 American troops under the command of Major Van Horne sent by General Hull to support a supply column moving northward from Ohio and destined for Detroit, were ambushed by the famous Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, ally of the British, and 25 braves. These supplies were urgently needed by Hull's army in Detroit. As the Americans forded Brownstown Creek, Tecumseh opened fire. Van Horne, overestimating the Indian's numbers, ordered his men to fall back. The retreat soon became a panic-stricken night back to Fort Detroit. Seventeen Americans were killed, twelve were wounded, and two were captured and murdered. One Indian was killed.

On August 16, 1812 General Hull surrendered the Detroit post and its garrison to the British Commander Major General Issac Brock. On the preceding day, Fort Dearborn (Chicago) had been surrendered and its garrison treacherously massacred by Indians while in the process of evacuation. The entire northwest was left in British hands.

Commander Oliver Hazard Perry was put in charge of building a fleet to oppose the British, who were building a fleet at Maiden, as it became evident in 1813 that the re conquest of the Northwest depended on wrestling control of Lake Erie from the British.

Commander Perry superintended the building of a small fleet at Erie, Pa. of nine vessels with a total of 54 guns and, on September 10, 1813, met the British fleet commanded by Captain Robert H. Barclay with 6 vessels and 63 guns; the crews were about equal, some 500 each. This battle was fought in Lake Erie in the vicinity of Middle Sister Island and northwest of Put-in-Bay. For two hours, the British vessels concentrated their fire on the American flagship LAWRENCE while the other vessels in the American fleet kept off, but when Commander Perry was forced to nee the flagship to the NIAGARA and was able to bring the other vessels into close action; the battle was over in 15 minutes, as the entire British fleet surrendered. The Americans had fought with heroism and skill and a third of the force was disabled or dead. Twenty-seven Americans were killed and 96 were wounded, while 41 British were killed and 94 were wounded. Few naval battles had such momentous results; this one gave the Americans back their Northwest Territory at the Treaty of Ghent.

In 1813, Brigadier General William Henry Harrison avenged General Hull's failure and recovered control of the Detroit area. This success was made possible by the naval victory of Commander Perry which gave the United States command of the lake. Harrison's army ferried across the water, overtaking the retreating British on the Thames River (October 5, 1813) and inflicting a severe defeat in which the chief casualty was the famous Indian leader Tecumseh. Elsewhere, the second year of the war brought no important successes.

A popular misconception that has been stated and repeated a number of times is that Gibraltar Island used Horse Island as a lookout post for Americans in the Battle of Lake Erie. This is not true. Gibraltar Island is one of the Bass Island Group in Lake Erie and a part of Ohio. It is a six-acre island which had been owned by members of the Jay Cooke family since 1864 until when it was acquired by Ohio State University for the establishment of the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory for the study of freshwater biology in 1925.

Acquisition of Land

Lewis Cass served as Governor of the Northwest Territory and began buying Indian land wherever available in the Territory, as far west as Muskegon. Godfrey, who was an assistant to Lewis Cass, bought Adam Brown's property in September 1815 while both were attending a Treaty Council held at Springwell's near Detroit. Godfrey was there as an Indian interpreter at the Council. We are told Adam Brown lived with his son, Adam, on the River Canard in Anderson, Canada at that time.

Brownstown Township

The township of Brownstown was organized on April 5, 1827 and, at that time, Gibralter was described in an Atlas of Wayne County printed in 1876 as follows: "That portion of the town lying on the Detroit River was settled at an early period in the history of the Northwest, and is described in the old geographies as being one of the principal towns in the Michigan Territory, from the fact, perhaps of its having been the seat of several great Indian Councils held between the years 1786 and 1806."

1836

The Gibralter-Flat Rock Land and Canal Company was organized on July 20, 1836. Their plans were to build a canal between Gibralter and Flat Rock, extending on to Ypsilanti. Their ultimate goal was a connecting waterway from the lower end of the Detroit River at Gibralter to Muskegon, on Lake Michigan. The prevailing thinking and planning, not only in the territorial region of Michigan but throughout the then developing nation, centered on a network of man-made canals as a means of cheap transportation, transporting passengers and freight.

The offices of the Canal Company were located on the second floor of the 2 1/2 story hotel building. Two prominent leaders associated with this enterprise were Lewis Cass, former Governor of the Michigan Territory, and Daniel Webster, a renowned orator and national political figure of his time. Daniel Webster and Lewis Cass were friends and, in 1836, when Senator Daniel Webster made a political tour of the country, he visited his old friend and classmate.

Lewis Cass lived in Detroit and Webster was invited to Gibralter. From the balcony over the entrance of the hotel, Webster made a fiery speech extolling the great benefits which would fall upon the State of Michigan by the building of the Canal from Gibralter to Flat Rock; to Ypsilanti; and finally to Muskegon on Lake Michigan. Before Webster left Gibralter, he made it known that he would acquire $20,000 worth of Canal Company stock. This was afterward sold at auction.

The wheeler-dealer promotions offered by the Gibralter-Flat Rock Land and Canal Company actually filled the area with a number of settlers. The Canal Company advertised widely on the growth potential of the area as a growing major city, and created such confidence in the scheme that lots sold for $5,000 or more. The same parcels of land, a hundred years later, were available for less than one hundred dollars.

Organization of School and Church

The first school in the area was built at Gibralter in 1836 on South Gibralter Road close to where the cemetery is located. It was a building constructed of logs and known as District # 9. It served Gibralter and the surrounding area as far west as the village of Rockwood. The school district was organized by Alanson Parsons, Hiram Blakely and John Alford and, in 1837, had a total enrollment of 51 pupils.

1837

Gibralter, Wayne County was platted and recorded on March 14, 1837, by Peter Godfroy, Benjamin B. Kerchival and Joshua Howard, trustees of the Gibralter and Flat Rock Land and Canal Company. Amos Dunbar became first postmaster of Gibralter on October 2, 1837. The office was renamed Woodbury on December 8, 1838, but back to Gibralter on May 13, 1839, with the changing of the spelling to, "ar", on December 19, 1900. The streets running north and south were named after the presidents; those running east and west after the developers.

School

A controversy arose about the location of the original school. The people in the village objected to the children walking to classes this considerable distance through the Black Bayou Swamp and wanted to move the building closer to the populated section of Gibralter. Others wanted to move the school out to Jefferson Road. The building was placed on skids while the discussions continued. After several votes they still did not reach an agreement. One night some irate and determined citizens hooked up teams of horses to the unit and drug it across the frozen ground into Gibralter Proper and placed it near the site of the present Municipal Building.

Churches 1845 thru 1976

In 1845, a new combination church and school building was built near the log cabin school. This was an impressive building with large double doors, and a winding stairway which led to the large choir loft and organ. If there was a funeral service, school would be shut down for the day so the church facilities could be used.

Gibralter was a booming community at this time and religious services were necessary to keep workers in the shipyards which were located here. During those early days, denomination was of no consequence. Whoever would come and preach was welcome. The wife of one of the shipyard owners, Mrs. Craig, from Syracuse, New York, donated the organ and with the aid of another young lady, Mrs. Linn, another shipbuilder's wife, was able to organize a Sunday school.

The early church was considered a mission and whatever minister was serving Flat Rock, Rockwood and Newport would serve Gibralter. The Gibralter Church had services on Thursday night. The Minister would ride over on Thursday morning, make congregational and sick calls, have dinner with a member of the congregation and depart after the evening service.

Sunday school for the children was held on Sunday mornings and led by the Sunday School Superintendent. During the summer, student ministers came to teach the youth of the church. In this early church, there was always an adult Bible class.

People would come to Church from the surrounding area by horse and carriage and tie their horses directly across from the present Municipal Building on Munro Street.

The Gibraltar Congregational Church did not become an organized church until 1909, when Reverend Hutchinson drew up a Covenant that was signed by 19 members. The records are scanty, but the church apparently was not registered with the state.

At this time, a Ladies Aide was organized and this group provided monies for the Church. At the second annual meeting, January 12, 1911, it was noted that the Ladies Aide would pay such amounts as they could each month toward the minister's salary. This salary was $6.00 a month. The women's group had suppers, box socials, etc. to raise the necessary funds.

During the time that Reverend Hutchinson served the Gibraltar Church, 1900-1931, very few services were missed by him. Often, the Minister would come to our town on horseback--or by driving Middle Gibraltar Road with water across it, and sometimes over the t1oorboards of his buggy.

After Reverend Hutchinson retired, Reverend William Skentlebury came to the Flat Rock Church, and one day each week was still given to the Gibraltar Church, 1931-1936.

Gibraltar had begun to grow by this time, and the newer citizens thought a Community Church would be more of an asset to the town. A Baptist Minister, Reverend Nain, was called to the Church, for a salary of $1,500.00 per year. The Church remained a Community Church until 1941, when it was again reorganized as a Congregational Christian Church, and registered with the Michigan Congregational Conference as a corporation. There were twenty-two charter members. In 1957 a merger with the United Church of Christ was effected.

In 1947 the Church bought a small building for $500.00 from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Trenton. A real estate company was selling the Edmund and Fred Hall property, and they gave the Church three lots to put the building on.

Approximately ten years later, the Trustees purchased three more lots south of the building; in 1959, nine more lots were purchased, giving the Church a total of fifteen lots--approximately 21/2 acres.

The first Church Parsonage on Pointe Drive was purchased in 1950 and the last lot left to connect the Church properties was purchased, and a new Parsonage built.

By November 1, 1964, the Church indebtedness was erased and the Church was the proud owner of the entire site, and holders of $45,000.00 in capital assets.

Looking to the future and a better Church building, November 1, 1813, a Building Committee was activated, and on October 23, 1966, Reverend Harold Aldrin dedicated the present Church building.

This Church has grown from humble beginnings to a strong position in the community, extending care and concern for all the people of Gibraltar.

In 1976 the Minister of the Church is Reverend Walter Kargus III. The First Baptist Church conducted its first worship service on October 25, 1953, in the old frame Gibraltar Church-School, which adjoined the site of the present Municipal Building. Twenty-three persons were present at that service, including the Harry Wests, the Fred Williams, the Fred Hoys, and the William Taylors.

The Church held services in the old building until a fire totally destroyed it on the evening of November 7, 1954. While the determined members were erecting the present building on Fryer near Middle Gibraltar, they met in the Parsons School. In 1955, thru the dedication and hard work of the congregation, the auditorium was completed and in 1962 an educational wing was added. In 1958 the Church erected a Parsonage.

The first Pastor of the Church was the Reverend Burton Huth, who remained with the Church for ten years. Subsequent pastors have been the Reverend Tom Hall, the Reverend Adrian Warford and the present Pastor, the Reverend Donald Rouse. The First Baptist Church is an independent Fundamental Baptist Church, which is in association with the Conservative Baptist Association of Michigan. Through the State Association, the Church provides a camping program, and helps establish new churches throughout the State.

A group of ladies from Gibraltar who attended the St. Joseph's Church of Trenton on October 3, 1937 formed the St. Theresa Group as a part of the Altar Society of St. Joseph's. Gibraltar was a part of the St. Joseph Parish of Trenton.

Early in 1958, a Catholic Mission Church was organized in Gibraltar, the name to be St. Victor's Mission of St. Timothy Church in Trenton, with Father John Eppenbrock as Pastor. Sunday Masses were held in the Parsons School Auditorium until the Church was built and completed. In 1960, plans were drawn up for the new Church. St. Victor's Mission was to be built on land purchased on Navarre Avenue by the Archdiocese.

A building fund program was held to raise money for helping out in the building of the Church. Many families pledged money over a two-year period.

The ground breaking ceremony for the new Church was held in March, 1961. The laying of the cornerstone was held in October, 1961. The dedication of the Church took place on December 2, 1961, with Cardinal Dearden presiding.

Father John O'Connor came to St. Victor's to serve as Pastor in June of 1963. He lived at St. Timothy's Rectory until the Rectory was completed in June of 1964. Father John celebrated his 25th Anniversary as a Priest in May of 1967.

Father Eppenbrock passed away February 13, 1970, and Father O'Connor passed away in September of 1974. Father Lis helped out until a new Pastor was named. Father Edward Walling became the new Pastor in November of 1974. Throughout the years the Church has been supported by the St. Victor Altar Society and St. Victor Parish Council.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Morman Church} have held their services in the Congregational Church for the last few years. This is the Oakwood Ward with 360 members, serving the area of Riverview to the Ohio Line and Detroit River to New Boston. Bishop Burgon is in charge.

Growth of Gibralter

From information obtained from the Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory we find:

"GIBRALTER… it is surrounded by good farming lands, growing fruit and grains. The village was settled in 1830 and in 1873 had 400 in. habitants. The principal business interest is the shipyard of Linn and Craig. Lumber, wood and staves are shipped. Gibralter has a daily mail. R. W. Linn is Postmaster. ..In 1875-77 the population is 500."

The Business Directory lists the following in 1873, 1875 and 1877:

Alford, Heman, general store
Brow, John, Blacksmith followed by: Brown, John
Doremus & Kitcheell, Cigar Mnfrs.
Linn & Craig, Gen. Store, sawmill and shipbuilders
Lyons, W .H., contractor
Mc Taggert, A. , general store
Seaton. E., steamboat captain
Stoddard, Wm. H., collector of customs
Springsted, Chas., meat market
Sullivan, E., hotel proprietor
Thompson, W. W ., stave manufacturer
Vreeland, M.J.,lighthouse keeper
Williams, P .E., meat market and grocery

Our school census for 1875 showed a total of 61 pupils. Names we recognized: Jeanie L. Linn, George and John Craig, D.H. and Nellie Blakely, Charles and John Springsted, Mat tie and Frank Dye, Charles and Hattie Alford and Carrie Parsons.

Gibraltar- 1950's

Cleo Parsons was a very dedicated and devoted teacher in the Gibraltar School for thirty-five years. From the time she started she was the only teacher instructing all the grades, until the two room annex was built in 1935. In those early years teaching was not easy. On cold mornings she arrived at school early to build up the fires (a stove in each end of the building) and carry in coal and water from outdoor~ Neighbor women would help on cold winter days by bringing in heated bricks to put under the children's feet, to warm them during their classes. She also did the sweeping and snow shoveling. She would use her own money to buy clothing for needy pupils. Grateful citizens of Gibraltar hosted a special luncheon for Mrs. Parsons when she retired, Tuesday, June 13, 1950 at the Grosse lIe Golf and Country Club, honoring her many years of excellent service.

Many service clubs were started in Gibraltar during this period. Mrs. Marie Halbeisen started the Garden Club in 1950 and it continues to play an active role in the community. The Gibraltar Community Association was organized to help promote the improvements of streets and other projects for the benefit of the residents.

The Gibraltar Historical Society was organized on October 4, 1956 and will be remembered best, we believe, for its part in working to have the Cannon Memorial moved from its site near Jefferson and Middle Gibraltar to a special historic park site donated by the School Board near Parsons School. The group spent a lot of time researching the history of this area and many historical articles written by its members appeared in local newspapers. A Junior Historical Society was organized about this time by Dwight Smith, Principal of Parsons School.

The Gibraltar Rotary Club was chartered in January, 1956 and has worked for improving conditions in the village. The Gibraltar Goodfellows was originally established by the Rotary Club but is now run by citizen volunteers who assist needy families and individuals. The Gibraltar Health Council began in 1958 and started the Baby Clinic in 1960, working with the Wayne County Health Nurse. They take care of the needy by supplying clothing, medicine, food, etc.

Our first pharmacy, Shepherd's Drug Store, was established in 1958 in a new building at the intersection of the Gibraltar Roads. In 1965 it became known as the Gibraltar Pharmacy, under the ownership of Ralph Freeman. For a while an Antique Shop was operated on Middle Gibraltar by Mrs. Imhoff. This building was torn down in the late sixties and the land is now owned by Humbug Marina. A children's dress shop, called Kiddie Korner, was operated on the corner of North Gibraltar and Blakely.


The bank, in a building on North Gibraltar Road just south of Champs Service Station, opened in Gibraltar in 1956 as a branch of Peoples Bank of Trenton, with Dwight Burt as the first Manager. Mr. Jim Groves followed Mr. Burt as Manager on March 15, 1961 and the new building was opened December 11, 1970 on Middle Gibraltar Road. Before the opening of a bank in Gibraltar, our Village Treasurer with official funds was escorted to the Trenton City Limits by Gibraltar Police, met by the Trenton Police and escorted to the Peoples Bank of Trenton.


McLouth Steel Corporation built in April, 1955 a $19,000,000 cold steel rolling mill in Gibraltar. The Gibraltar facility includes a hydrochloric acid pickling tower, a four-stand tandem mill, single-stack annealing furnaces, temper mills and all the necessary steel finishing equipment and facilities. This is a clean plant and McLouth has been a good neighbor to the people of Gibraltar.


McLouth Steel wished to consolidate their land and on August 17, 1961 a resolution was passed by the City Council to close old North Gibraltar Road to Jefferson and reroute North Gibraltar Road to its present location. McLouth Steel, in 1964, offered to pay for the relocation of St. Joseph's Cemetery, consisting of 1.69 acres on the west side of Jefferson at the end of (new) North Gibraltar Road. The earliest recorded burial here was made in 1875 and it was used until approximately 1910. McLouth Steel had difficulty tracing the ownership. An old-timer remembered it was a Catholic Cemetery, but the Catholic Church was not even aware they owned the Cemetery until they searched their records and found it was indeed true. Permission was secured to move the Cemetery and they found it was a greater task than they had expected. McLouth figured it would take two weeks, as there were about 15 head stones. It took 31/2 months and more than 200 bodies were moved. There were burials on top of each other and many, many unmarked graves. We were told, when an illness of epidemic proportions struck, they would use mass graves to avoid handling the bodies more than was absolutely necessary.

Record high water was recorded on March 22, 1952. Horse Island and Hall Island were flooded and all along Lowell. It was described thus in a Detroit News article: ' 'In Gibraltar. Horse Island and Hall Island were flooded, peak levels reaching two feet. Water flooded houses on Lowell Drive along the shoreline including the J. H. Gorsuch residence where neighbors reported three feet of water in the living room. The wind was gusting at 40mph. More than 100 homes in Gibraltar suffered from water damage with high water and high waves from the battering northeast wind driving many riverfront residents from their homes, some by rowboat, some by car. ..

Gibraltar Becomes a Village

In November, 1953 it was discovered that Trenton was going to petition to annex an area on the west side of Jefferson south of Vreeland which was known as the Den by Tract depending upon the Brownstown Township Board of Commissioners authorizing the rezoning of this area to heavy industry. Trenton was not interested in taking on the residential area of Gibraltar because they would have to provide sewers, sidewalks, street lighting, etc. The only way to keep Trenton from annexing the tract seemed to be for Gibraltar to incorporate into a village. Brownstown Township Board decided to back Gibraltar so they rezoned the tract and McLouth Steel bought the property.

Mr. Dahlka left the meeting of the Township Board on Saturday morning and with help of the Community Association met with lawyers in the afternoon to prepare petitions for gathering signatures and an application to become a village. It was necessary to secure I% of the total census of the 1500 registered voters in the six or seven subdivisions within the proposed boundaries, so several petitions had to be prepared with the correct legal descriptions. It had been decided that the boundaries would be Vreeland Road from the river west to Fort, south to Ostreich Road, to the railroad at Woodruff and east on Woodruff to the river. One area had to petition later to join Gibraltar because the owners were out of town that weekend. A meeting was called by the Community Association and other clubs in Gibraltar. Mr. Dahlka spoke to the community on that Saturday night in the school telling why and how it must be done. In the pouring rain on Sunday, willing workers gathered signatures from house to house, and by midnight on Sunday the necessary signatures were obtained and verified on the petitions.

Mr. John Watts, Editor of the Guardian, and Hy Dahlka made an appointment to see Mr. Branigan, the Wayne County Clerk, first thing on Monday morning. They were waiting on the steps when he came to work at 8:00 a.m. and the petitions were accepted and filed. About 10: 10 that same morning Trenton came into the County Clerk's office with their petitions to annex the Denby Tract which were denied, and an election was held on our incorporation. If the incorporation vote had failed, Trenton would have had the next chance to annex the Denby Tract, but the voters approved the proposed village charter, 430 -25.

At this first election Hy Dahlka was elected Village President for a 2-year term with six councilmen elected for 4-year and 2-year terms. One of the first items on the agenda was Mr. Dahlka's appointments to start Village operations. Council meetings were held in the school until the old school burned in 1954, then they moved their meetings to the new Parsons School.

The council felt one of the first needs was a building to use as Municipal Hall because the clerk had to keep the records in his home and the meetings had to be held in the school. They decided the annex portion of the old school left standing after the fire might be renovated, so they approached the school board. A special election was held and the citizens of Gibraltar were given three questions on the ballot.

1. Sell the school building and land to the Village -passed.
2. Sell the school building and land for $1.00 to Village -passed.
3. Accept highest bid for school building and land -defeated.

Thus the Village became the owner of five acres of land and a damaged building. Volunteer Firemen, DPW, councilmen and other volunteers worked to renovate the building and prepare the grounds. Volunteers bulldozed the burned building into the basement, covered it and established a parking lot. They cleaned and repaired the damage in the annex, then they made a council table, reinforced the floor for the safe, etc. The building was ready for the council meeting on March 31, 1955. The dedication of the Municipal Building was held on May 26, 1955 with the Recreation Commission serving refreshments.

The first big job was to get sewers, because subdivisions could not be financed and constructed without them. McLouth Steel and the people agreed to finance the sewers with 86% coming from village taxes and 14% direct assessment to the home owners.

The DPW started operation with one used 1952 tractor bought on time and held their meetings in the school. The first Superintendent, Mr. Roy Westphal, used his personal truck to pick up trash after a storm, etc. This trash was taken to a dump located on Young Drive and was periodically burned. McLouth Steel sent lumber from an old construction building over to the Village and the material was used to build a fire hall on the south end of City Hall (now Recreation Building). The remaining material was used to construct storage units on the north end of the building.

Ivan C. Ransford was appointed Police and Fire Chief. He began his duties on a part-time basis, using his own vehicle for patrol work. A telephone was installed in his residence to receive police and fire calls, which he and his wife answered. The Michigan State Police handled calls for police services whenever Ransford was unavailable and the Rockwood Fire Department handled the fire runs.

The first official police report was made on November 21, 1954. It was a report of a fire on a porch on Munro Avenue. Chief Ransford took over full-time in December, 1954 --24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After the old school building was remodeled the front section became Village Offices and the rear section the Police and Fire Department Office. Phones were installed and the office was in operation.

The first patrol boat was a 16ft. boat owned by C. Harrison and used in 1955. The first mobile radio for the patrol car was received in October, 1955 and a remote control was connected by phone wire to the Trenton Police Department's transmitter to allow our station to communicate with our mobile unit. In April, 1957, a base station on the police frequency was installed and we now had direct communication with our patrol car.

Chief Heumann in his report of the organization of the fire department wrote: "A 1926 American LaFrance Pumper was acquired from Flat Rock as a training apparatus for our newly organized fire department. On March 20, 1955, Saturday at 1:00 p.m. the first session was held with men given instruction on the newly acquired antique and its components. The engine was run, hooked to a hydrant and the first fire hose was charged with water by the Gibraltar Fire Department. In April, a second 1926 American LaFrance 12-Cylinder Pumper was received from Garden City Fire Department after they read in the paper about the need for fire equipment. By June the volunteers were ready for service. Brownstown Township Fire Department located at Rockwood gave Gibraltar permission to answer calls but wanted to be notified too because of the vintage of the trucks and the limited equipment. On August 5, 1955, at 12:10 p.m., the fire siren sounded our first alarm. It was a grass fire at Bayview and Addison. What a thrill! What excitement! What confusion! The men got the trucks to the fire scene, managed to quench the fire with Rockwood's assistance, and towed both trucks back to quarters for repairs.

"Our first building fire came on September 8, 1955. An oil stove overheated and was burning, as well as a fire in the chimney. We did much better, drove the trucks back to quarters."

The City Seal was officially adopted February 14, 1955 and was designed by Russell Cushing and Otto Townsend. Early council proceedings changed some street names in Gibraltar. On December 20, 1954, Warsaw Street was changed to Munro Street and David Street changed to Fryer Drive. In February, 1955, North Gibraltar Road from Middle Gibraltar to Navarre and Worth from Stoeflet to Navarre was changed to South Gibraltar Road. Also the spelling of Dennison Street was changed to Denison.

A Work Bee was organized by the Recreation Commission to turn the ten acre lot area behind the Village Hall into a Public Park. The people in the community responded and set up horseshoe courts, ping-pong tables and play equipment. The first playground equipment was bought from the Patterson School for $1.00 and other considerations. In those early years, one of the favorite activities sponsored by the Recreation Commission in the summer was the building of model airplanes. Many hours were spent by both youngsters and fathers preparing their planes and competing for the prizes given each year.

On November 28, 1955, the Detroit Free Press lists the accomplishments of the Village of Gibraltar in its first year:

1. Established a full-time police department.
2. Organized a well-trained volunteer fire department and equipped it with the latest fire fighting equipment.
3. Installed street lights on nearly all business and residential streets in the village.
4. Improved many roads in the village.
5. Constructed a new elementary school and paid off a large part of the debt the first year.
6. Built a new municipal building to house the police and fire departments and other village offices.

 

The village Council decided to widen Horse Island because the boat houses along the west side of the island were built close to the road and the bank in back of them was starting to cave in. Sedimentation was occurring in the canal and the bottom was coming up making it too shallow. The residents of Horse Island paid a percentage for the dredging and the Village paid the rest. It lengthened the lots to 80 feet deep, big enough to build on. In the long run this meant more taxes, so the Village was well paid for the expense.

In 1960 it was decided to change the harbor entrance (channel north of Humbug Marina} to a more northeasterly direction. Before the change the entrance had been a right angle turn. Residents had been complaining about the low water in the canal due primarily to sedimentation. The current in the canal by the Gibraltar Boat Yard was less than a mile an hour, maybe three-fourths of a mile an hour current. One and seven tenth miles and hour current is needed to carry sedimentation and in anything less a fallout occurs. When the entrance of the canal was changed by the building of a coffer dam, it increased the flow to about three and a half mile an hour current. The boats in the canals stirred up the muck and it was carried on the current thru the canal system. This accomplished the same purpose as dredging the canals deeper but with less expense.

School History

The new Gibraltar Elementary School (Parsons) was erected in 1953 on Middle Gibraltar Road at Fryer. A dedication program was held on November 15, 1953. This school has been added to several times since its opening to serve the growing need for more elementary class rooms.

In 1954 the old Gibraltar School with its 109 years of memories burned. Nearly everyone of Gibraltar's 1,500 inhabitants went to reminisce over the charred ruins of the building. There were tears in the eyes of many for this had been grade school and church for many years and the last year had been the temporary place of worship for the Baptist Church. On the front steps lay a bell that had been used to summon the students to school each morning and last September 20, it pealed the news of the incorporation of the community into a Village.

The fire was discovered about midnight by the Russell Fishers and Rockwood Firemen responded immediately also calling for help to the Flat Rock Fire Station. The Rockwood Department sent three trucks and 17 men to the fire. Firefighters played streams of water on the intersection of the old building and the newer addition to prevent the fire from spreading when it became clear the old school could not be saved.

Mrs. Edward G. Burt said new recreation equipment, including chairs and tables, still in their crates, went up in the blaze. Also lost was a new $3,400 organ installed the previous Friday by the Gibraltar Baptist Church. Brownstown Township's two voting machines were lost in the fire.

In 1956 four separate neighborhoods, Gibraltar, South Road School, Rockwood School and Barrow Elementary in East Rockwood pooled their resources and became the new Gibraltar School District with Bernard E. Hill, Superintendent of Schools. The district's first venture in secondary education was the opening of the new Oscar A. Carlson Junior High School in September, 1961, named for one of the Gibraltar School District principals, Oscar A. Carlson, who taught in district schools for more than 35 years. The name was selected by means of an essay contest won by Mary Jane Day.

Professional Offices

There are two Dentist's offices in Gibraltar, L.P. Kline, D.D.S. and G.R. Migoski, D.D.S. There is one Doctor's office on West Jefferson W. B. Grimaudo, D.O. and while there are no hospitals in Gibraltar; there is a hospital in Trenton easily and quickly reached in an emergency:
Oakwood South Shore Medical Center

Our City is the southernmost city in the Detroit downriver industrial district. The primary employer is McLouth Steel Corporation which operates a cold steel rolling mill on Jefferson on 194 acres. McLouth Steel owns 1421.27 acres or 51% of the city area including much of the industrial waterfront area of Gibraltar and some mostly undeveloped marshy and wooded land separating the residential area of Gibraltar from the railroads, highway and neighboring cities. Many of the other skilled and semi-skilled workers are employed outside the city limits: Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Detroit Edison Company, Ford Motor Company, Monsanto and Chrysler are a few of the larger employers with many working in small factories and businesses in the downriver area.

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