Bicknell Lecture Series - The Detroit and Cleveland Navigation Company

The Detroit & Cleveland (“D&C”) Navigation Company was almost inseparable from the City of Detroit (and all of SE Michigan) for almost a century. In 1877, Grosse Pointers, James McMillan and John Newberry joined the ranks of the D&C ownership. The McMillan family, which included a number of Grosse Pointe residents, continued this ownership until 1948.

This company’s route map stretched from Buffalo to Chicago, with Detroit as its hub, its ships plying Lake St. Clair and passing the Grosse Pointes dozens of times each year until the 1960’s when cruising the Great Lakes in a passenger ship went out of style. (Only top return in recent years)

The Great Lakes have always been one of America’s most precious and fruitful natural assets. Whether for commerce or recreation, the lakes and the straits that connect them have imparted a special character to the communities along their banks and beyond.

Author, Bruce Allen Kopytek was born in Hamtramck, Michigan, into an inquisitive working-class family who valued faith, education and culture above everything else. As a youth, he traveled widely with his family and still does today with his wife, Carole. Bruce has published four titles for The History Press, and in 2020 he launched his own publishing venture, Editions BK LLC.