DETROIT MICHIGAN DUSK

Happened to catch the webcam on Belle Isle at just the right moment last Saturday evening. My thanks to The Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and the Detroit Historical Society for these great photos. 
http://detroithistorical.org/dossin-great-lakes-museum/detroit-river-watch-webcam

Ambassador Bridge to Canada. Windsor Ontario is on the left.

The Detroit River makes a sharp bend toward the West. This makes Detroit the only place in the US where Canada is to the South. If you're doing genealogy research about the old French settlers don't be confused. If the records state birth or death place as the South shore, they are referring to the Canadian side of the river.

http://goo.gl/maps/NC7rM

Vivian :)

A COLD TUESDAY ON THE DETROIT RIVER

My home thermometer, the one tucked under my warm kitchen window, reads four degrees as I enjoy my morning coffee. The Dossin Great Lakes Museum webcam shows ice flows on the Detroit River. I don't see any ships, though the Boat Nerds map reveals some local tugs, along with US and Canadian Coast Guard boats. One freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson, now on Lake Erie near Toledo Ohio, claims their destination as "home sweet home" and who can blame them. I wouldn't want to be outside today. 

But in spite of the cold life goes on along the Detroit River. Freighters plow through the ice sheets forming on the Lakes, trucks are crossing the Ambassador Bridge, steel mills and factories spew smoke into the blue skies over Detroit, and the towers of the GM building shine in the morning sun. 

It's that midwestern work ethic I guess. :)

Vivian

http://ais.boatnerd.com/

http://detroithistorical.org/dossin-great-lakes-museum/detroit-river-watch-webcam

SISTERS ON THE BORDER OF DETROIT HISTORY, ASSUMPTION CHURCH IN CANADA AND STE. ANNE DE DETROIT, USA

Image from: Wikipedia.org

The twin steeples of Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church, and the gothic pinnacles of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, are like two sisters looking at each other across the jade current of the Detroit River. They are the grande dames of French Detroit.  

My grandparents were married at Assumption Church in Windsor Ontario and so it's always been special to me. Assumption is the slightly younger sister that's held up well these last two hundred and eighty four years. Surrounded by a campus of trees and gardens today, this parish was established in 1728 as a mission to the local native tribes, and was first called, "The Mission of Our Lady of the Assumption among the Hurons of Detroit."

In 1765 the mission grew to include the French settlers on the south shore of the river and was renamed, Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption. A frame church was erected near the river in 1767 and in October of that year a new Register of Baptisms and Marriages was opened.

The cornerstone of the current church was laid in 1842 on land donated by the Hurons. Since then the original French settlers were joined by people from around the world, and Assumption Church Windsor remains an important part of the community. It is the oldest continuous parish in Ontario.

I found the information for this post at the Assumption Church website.

http://www.assumption.rcec.london.on.ca/history.html

There is also a webpage for donations toward the preservation of this very special church.

http://assumptionheritagetrust.org/

And, if you'd like to see some wonderful photos of Assumption's interior:

http://www.internationalmetropolis.com/2008/10/01/assumption-church/

Vivian  
http://amzn.to/zVsVDZ

THE HEART OF FRENCH DETROIT

Founded July 26, 1701, Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church was one of the first structures ever built in Detroit. Those who followed Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac to settle on the banks of the Detroit River started work on their log church only two days after they arrived.


Ste. Anne's current church, built in 1886, is nestled between the Detroit River and the Ambassador Bridge. Though it is the eighth structure to carry that name, and these days a Mass is said in Spanish, this church remains the heart of old French Detroit.


The second oldest Catholic parish in the United States, Detroit's first settlers were baptized married and buried in this parish, and Ste. Anne de Detroit is keeper of the longest continuous church records in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ste._Anne_de_Detroit_Catholic_Church

I found this information on the Ste. Anne de Detroit website, a treasure of Detroit history.  http://www.ste-anne.org/history.html

Vivian
http://amzn.to/zVsVDZ