Covering the period from the first government survey of the treacherous Limekiln Crossing to the completion of the Livingstone Channel, The Detroit River tells the story of the industrial transformation of the city’s most important waterway.

Richard Gebhart was director of the White River Light Station lighthouse museum from 1975 to 1980. He has authored numerous articles of historical interest and essays for journals and newsletters of Great Lakes historical societies, as well as the books Ships and Shipwrecks: Stories from the Great Lakes, Tragedy and Triumph on the Great Lakes, and The Great Lakes Ships of Frank E. Kirby: America's Greatest Naval Architect.