Anyone who has spent time on Michigan’s waterways knows that freighters are very common. Here are 15 vintage photos of freighters chugging along the shores of Michigan.

All photos from the Wayne State Virtual Library.

Freighters on the River Rouge in 1936.
A view of the River Rouge from I-75 in 1936.
The River Rouge in 1936
Freighters in the winter of 1937 on White Fish Bay on Lake Superior.
Freighters on Lake Superior in 1937.
Freighters on Lake Superior in 1937
Lake Superior, 1937.
It was cold as hell in 1937.
A freighter in 1929 on the Detroit River.
A view of a freighter from the Ambassador Bridge in 1937.
A freighter holding a ton of cars in 1961.
Freighters on the Detroit River in 1967.
An interior shot.
A freighter in 1937 stuck in the ice on the Detroit River.
Stuck in the ice in 1937.

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