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[BigRedDog]

This is something I 'tripped over' this morning while looking up info for the Harrington for Sheriff link...

Monroe's first sheriff:

Upon the organization of Monroe County in 1817, LaCroix
was appointed a colonel by governor Lewis Cass in the militia and
the FIRST SHERIFF of the new county. He was a member of the
legislative council of the territory.
Hubert LaCroix died September 14,1827 at the age of 48
years. His home still stands on S. Macomb St. across the alley from
the present law enforcement center. It was the first brick home in
Monroe County.

He's long gone (note he died on ATG's birthday) but his home is still standing!

More at:  http://www.co.monroe.mi.us/docs/Past_Sheriffs_1_.pdf

Here's a list from the county website of all the past sheriffs of the county:

http://www.co.monroe.mi.us/government/departments_offices/sheriff/past_sheriffs.html

We didn't move here until 1984 so we just caught the tail end of the prior sheriff Harrington.

I know the State Police had a major presence in the area during prohibition to fight "bootlegging".  I've seen some pictures online so I'll look for those again.

[BigRedDog]

I know we've seen this first picture here on MT before...  it's of the northeast corner of Monroe street and Stewart across from Kmart:



The old Gulf gas station and the big house behind it are both still there although they look different today...  and of course Monroe Street is much wider now!

This was in 1937!

I think we had this one too...  in Dundee:



I just noticed the old Buick to the left of the siren... 

my dad had a 1956 Buick Special and we would drive to Stow, Ohio through Dundee so maybe I'm in the backseat of that car

Both photos are from:  http://theoldmotor.com/?tag=michigan-state-police

[BigRedDog]

Here's some interesting background on the Michigan State Police presence in Monroe County.  It's in .pdf so I can't paste the photos or copy the text.  It mentions the Erie post on page 25 and the Flat Rock post on page 22...   talks about their original goal in Monroe County was to stop the rumrunners from Ohio that were using the "newly paved Dixie Highway" for their smuggling...

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Second_District_-_p17-26_181271_7.pdf

When we first moved to this area I thought it was strange for one county to have two posts (the county I grew up in didn't even have one).

Here are some Google "Streetviews" of the buildings in the above article:

The original Erie post on Telegraph near M-151:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.809626,-83.499033&spn=0.001621,0.003484&hnear=La+Salle,+Monroe,+Michigan&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.809854,-83.499132&panoid=bx8sT-zqn45kc42AP60RSA&cbp=12,330.24,,0,9.38

Today it's used as an apartment building.


The later post (still called Erie even though it's a mile into LaSalle)...   if you didn't read the article it tells that this was originally a Welcome Center for out of state visitors coming north on US24.  I do remember that when the MSP finally moved to the Monroe Post that this one was in pretty rough shape.  It's been getting worse since it hasn't been being used by OMNI and it's probably time it was torn down!

Too many trees to get a good street level view of the building in LaSalle...   here's a low level aerial...  you can see how it was built to serve both north and south bound Telegraph...

drag the map just a little to the north and you can see the old scale house...   I haven't seen it "OPEN" for years although they do still impound an overweight or unsafe truck there from time to time.  Mostly the local truckers just use it for overnight parking. 

We see some interesting "wide loads" pulled in there overnight too...   windmill blades are there from time to time.

The above article was written before the MSP moved to Monroe...

Here's their current post on Jones Avenue:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.906054,-83.401036&spn=0.006508,0.013937&hnear=La+Salle,+Monroe,+Michigan&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.906111,-83.401151&panoid=iKkjh3S9UTFLYSJGM7VlDQ&cbp=12,191.66,,0,1.04

And the former Flat Rock post which is now an office complex on the banks of Huron River:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=42.09398,-83.295769&spn=0.001622,0.003484&hnear=La+Salle,+Monroe,+Michigan&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=42.09398,-83.295769&panoid=PR6PEPXukVkuR8FCthNgwA&cbp=12,350.36,,0,2.22

The article mentions that this was the very last post built in this design and that it replaced a post in Rockwood...   anyone remember where the post in Rockwood was.  I found it interesting that the one in Rockwood was only 10 years old when they built the one in Flat Rock...   I wonder if there was an outcry then about wasted tax dollars

[BigRedDog]

This article talks about early prohibition in Michigan and mentions US25 (Dixie Highway) as the "avenue de Booze"

Home production of liquor was difficult, though, and often produced noxious odors and other problems. This left many of the state's drinkers — "wets" — needing to find a new source of alcohol. That source became Ohio. Toledo is not far from the border of Michigan, and the city became a ready source of every intoxicant for those willing to transport, consume or sell it back into Michigan.[224]

By all accounts, there was no shortage of people willing to do so. Before federal prohibition was adopted, so much illegal booze was flowing into the Great Lakes State from Ohio that U.S. 25 — Dixie Highway — in Monroe County earned the nickname "Avenue de Booze."[‡], [225]

When national prohibition took effect in 1920, Michigan became a battleground state in government's attempt to thwart illicit trafficking and consumption of alcohol. Because of the state's early experience with alcohol prohibition, many in Michigan were already skilled in the production, acquisition and cross-border transport of large quantities of illegal liquor.

Alcohol from Canada arrived in Michigan by every means imaginable — not just planes, trains, automobiles, trucks and boats, but also underwater sleds[226] (Graphic 25) and at least one funeral hearse.[227] During the summer, every sort of marine craft worked the mile of river separating Michigan and Ontario, either hauling whiskey from Canada or trying to prevent it.[228] During the winter, ice skiffs (essentially sailboats mounted on long running blades) plied the frozen portions of the Detroit River.

Lots more, including photos, at:

http://www.mackinac.org/10016