Wyandotte Boat Club

Picture Page Two

Historical

The W.B.C. was founded in 1875 by a group of Wyandotte men rowing a ten oared barge in competition along the Detroit River. They put in long hard days at the steel mill and boat works and rowed to relieve the tensions of the day. They competed against The Detroit Boat Club and The Ecorse Boat Club located to the north of Wyandotte. At that time the only means of transportation was to row to the race and row back home.

The first home of the club was at the foot of Pine Street in a shed behind the summer home of a resident of Wyandotte. A picture of this home still exist in the historical files of the club.

The club's second home was in a one bay shell house behind the Legion on Vinewood. The rowers launched from a dock directly in front of the Legion building.

In 1943 the club was incorporated as a non-profit corporation and through the efforts of William E. Kreger and other dedicated members of the community, plans were made to search for a new home. Mr. Kreger was able to strike a deal with J.B.Ford, the owner of The Wyandotte Chenical Corp. Mr Ford donated and gave clear title to a 7.4 acre piece of property behind the Wyandotte Hospital known then as Burrels Slip. Plans were drawn and new and modern two bay shell house with a locker and shower room was built all with donated materials. A complete club house was also built on the river and in 1953 it was leased to The Wyandotte Yacht Club. The revenues of that lease went to support the club's rowing programs as it does today.

In the early 1990's, with the inclusion of women's rowing programs, the club once again found itself out of room. The club went to its long time friends and benefactors BASF Corp. and Bill Kreger for help. Working with the City of Wyandotte and many other groups, the club was able to build the state of the art rowing facility it now occupies. Over the 125 years of the club's existance it has come full circle and is once again located at the foot of Pine Street where it all began.

The club has an extensive historical archive maintained by the hard work of Milt Crassweller. The picture on this page is the earliest known picture of a Wyandotte crew, the crew of 1892. Anyone having pictures, medals or other club articles and would be willing to donate them for desplay, can contact Mr. Crassweller at the club or via this web page.