Downriver

Downriver is the unofficial name for a collection of 18 suburban cities and townships in Wayne County, Michigan south of Detroit along the western shore of the Detroit River. The name derives from the fact that the Detroit River, after running more or less west along the banks of Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, then bends to flow largely south before emptying into Lake Erie. Communities to the south of the city can thus be accessed by traveling downriver (as opposed to upriver) along the waterway. In the early to mid-20th Century, the urban communities in the northern and middle parts of Downriver were mainly populated with workers who were employed by the dozens of auto factories, manufacturing suppliers, ship builders, steel mills and...