Detroit, MI
Boats for Sale

Detroit, the largest city in Michigan, is situated in the southeast part of the state on the Detroit River. The seat of Wayne County, Detroit was incorporated as a city in 1815 and reincorporated in 1824. Detroit is the oldest city of any size west of the seaboard colonies, having been founded by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac on July 24, 1701, more than a century before Chicago was founded. The French were the first settlers, and they gave the city its name from their word meaning "strait," referring to the 27-mile-long Detroit River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. The river forms part of the international boundary, and marks the only point where Canada lies directly south of U.S. territory. In addition to the privately owned marinas on the Great Lakes, the State of Michigan maintains 80 harbors of refuge for boaters throughout the Great Lakes. Michigan's Harbor program was designed to help boaters enjoy the Great Lakes safely and to provide the kind of facilities boaters need, in places they will need them. The program started in 1947, the same year the Michigan Waterways Commission was developed. The Waterways Commission has slowly developed a string of protective harbors for the convenience of Great Lakes boaters. Each harbor is no more than 15 shoreline miles from the next. While the harbor program was designed for boater safety and refuge from inclement weather or other emergencies, these harbors are also located along the stunning freshwater coast of Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, and can serve as fun destination sites between the public marinas that share the same stretch.