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Newhall, Baker, and Gore, During the period 1872 to 188U the records indicate that it was located at the foot of Randolph St,, except for the year 1881, for which there is no location given. During 1882-83 the office was at the foot of Griswold, It was moved to the foot of Woodward Avenue in 188U and remained there until 1887 when it again moved, this time to the foot of Bates to stay there until 1895* Hie data for 1896 gives two locations, the foot of Bates and on East Atwater, near the municipal lighting stations. Definitely the location was 26 East Atwater from 1897 through 1910, and at the foot of Baldwin St, in 1911 and 1912. In 1913 the station was moved to Belle Isle where it has remained until now, suitably housed in a substantial building, designed to serve as both office for the harbor Master and his force, as well as a home for the former, who under earlier regulations was supposed to live on the premises. So intent was the department upon making the living quarters attractive it created a place which it is unlikely that any Harbor Master would care to, or be able to furnish and maintain, so it stands vacant except during summer months when a part of it is used as extra office space. FORCE EMPLOYED In the nearly one hundred years since the office of Harbor Master was created, the nature of the work has remained, basically, the same. The territory covered has increased with the population of the city and its physical expansion, though in the days when there was only one man on the job he sometimes ranged far and wide as will be shown later. Because regulations require that records over seven years old must be destroyed, most of the old blotters are no longer available, and with them have gone many of the first-hand accounts of activities engaged in by the Harbor Master and his men. Somehow the records from September, 1889 to June 27, 1893 escaped destruction and remain to tell us some of the humor, the pathos, and just down-to-earth hard work that came to the man who guarded the Detroit River in those days. Today the territory covered extends from Alter Road on the east to River Rouge on the west including all of Belle Isle, which is perhaps more of a problem than all the rest. During the winter months Inspector Oliver Beresford, present head of the detail j has under him one lieutenant, five sergeants, and thirty-four_ patrolmen. During the summer, when boating and other water sports are in full swing the entire force is increased to fifty-eight men. It is during these months that the river fills up with pleasure boats of all kinds, operated by men, women, and children, of fl-p degrees of that quality so essential to safety on the water--common sense. Many of them receive no instructions in boat handling before they make their first run in control of a craft. Included are the daredevils, the show-offs, and the inconsiderate, most of whom have never bothered to avail themselves of the valuable courses to all by the Power Squadron. Then there are the thousands of bathers, many of whom have not yet learned to take care of themselves in the water. All of these are the concern of the men on the Harbor Masters force, whether they know it or not. However it appears evident that a lot has been learned about safety on the water since the 1890*s when, we scan the Harbor Master log for those years check the number of drownings reported. 189 0...................13 189 1...................10 189 2...................18 1893 (6 months)..... 8 In those years there was but one man detailed to guard the river, and his equip- ment consisted of one rowboat and a set of grapples for dragging for bodies. Here are some of his entries in the daily record. We quote at length in order to create a fairly good picture of the times. 1889 Sept. 20. Arrested a man from Sault Ste. Marie. Took him to Woodward Station to sleep off his drunk. Helped Andrews and McHugh arrest Big Foot Manson and two suspects. Sept. 21. Helped Patrolman and Marshall arrest William Piper far assaulting a boy on Whiting' s dock. Was from pr o p e Her India. Sept. 2lw A man drowned between First and Second Streets. Sept. 25>. Dragged for body from 10:00 a.m.