The Floating Post Office of Detroit
Few know that America’s oldest floating post office, the J.W. Westcott II, has delivered mail to ships on the Detroit River since 1948.
On the busy waters of the Detroit River, a small white boat with red trim has been faithfully zipping back and forth for over seventy-five years. The J.W. Westcott II is no ordinary vessel. It serves as the only floating ZIP code in the United States, a mobile post office whose official address is 48222, assigned solely to this moving spot on the river. While American history is replete with tales of great ocean liners and mighty riverboats, the unique service provided by the Westcott is a little-known chapter involving ingenuity, community, and the ever-present spirit of invention.
The roots of the floating post office go back to 1874, when a man named John Ward Westcott saw an opportunity amid the hustle of Detroit’s river traffic. At the time, Great Lakes freighters spent months away from port, isolated from land-bound families and businesses. Wire communications were patchy and unreliable. Westcott began the first “mail-by-rowboat” service so that captains and crews could receive letters, newspapers, and packages without docking. He kept meticulous records, and his tiny business quickly became an essential service. In time, it won authorization from the U.S. Postal Service and a national reputation for reliability.
By the postwar era, Westcott’s business had acquired the modern J.W. Westcott II—a 45-foot steel-hulled vessel designed to hand-deliver mail in waterproof pouches by hoisting them in basket rigs up to massive freighters. While the Westcott brings mail out to ships, it also collects outgoing letters from the vessels and even picks up groceries, spare parts, and jokes or news from back home. Onboard, postal clerks sort parcels and handle paperwork, just like their counterparts on land.
Each day during shipping season, the Westcott receives coded messages detailing the passage of hundreds of vessels plying the river. As ships approach, the postal workers race to meet them. The boats pull alongside in a carefully choreographed dance—crews throw down lines, and the mail is exchanged as the freighters plow onward to their next Great Lakes port of call. The ship never stops; neither does the post office.
Because the operation is perilous, especially in bad weather or late at night, its crew is notably skilled. On occasion, the river’s swirl has tossed the boat dangerously alongside giant ship hulls. A tragic incident in 2001 claimed the lives of two crewmen when the Westcott capsized in turbulent water beneath a passing freighter, marking the first fatalities in 127 years of operation. The company and postal service memorialized their loss, but the service continued.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Westcott is its ZIP code. Established in 1949, the floating 48222 is unique. No other floating post office in the world has its own postal district. Crews far from home know to write “J.W. Westcott Company, Marine Post Office, Detroit River, Detroit, Michigan 48222,” and trust that their letters will find their intended deck.
The Westcott’s humble work has woven it into Great Lakes lore. Crewmembers keep traditions alive; some even claim the tiny boat is a kind of floating social club for sea-hardened men and women. Visitors to Detroit today can sometimes glimpse the Westcott, perhaps unaware of its function. Yet for mariners, this anonymous craft is their lifeline to the world beyond decks and waves, a symbol of steadfast reliability and the enduring human need for connection—even when surrounded by water.
Though the age of digital communication has changed many aspects of shipping, the J.W. Westcott II continues to operate every shipping season, reminding us that ingenuity can transform even a simple letter into an extraordinary journey across the currents of history.
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