About That Fort Wayne in Detroit-- Part 5: IN WW II, It Was the World's Largest Motor Supply Depot

In World War I, Fort Wayne became important in the acquisition of cars, trucks and spare parts for the military, of course, Motor City you know.  And that role really took off during World War II.

There was a "Red Scare" in the United States after World War I with the troubles going on in Russia, and Fort Wayne served as a temporary detention center for persons accused of being Communist.  In 1921, the world's first motorized  ride-on lawnmower was used at Fort Wayne, along with several other sites.

During the Great Depression the fort was opened to homeless families and it housed a local group of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

During World War II, Fort Wayne was designated Motor Supply Depot and additional buildings were constructed for warehousing and shipping.  At that time Fort Wayne was the largest motor supply depot in the world.  Its command center controlled the flow of materiel from the automobile factories   to the citywide network of staging facilities which included the Michigan State Fairgrounds and the Port of Detroit  terminal.

--Brock-Perry