Temperance and Prohibition

Michigan State Police Wayne Detachment

The history of certain groups trying to ban alcohol goes back centuries, but in Wayne it really only picked up in the 1870s. A group called the “Women’s Christian Temperance Union” or W.C.T.U. was founded in 1874 in Michigan and a Wayne branch was founded in 1877.
The goal of the group was to advocate for women’s suffrage, women’s rights, humanitarian causes and temperance (the prohibition of alcohol). The group sought to protect women and children who at the time had little rights and often suffered at the hands of drunk husbands and fathers.
The group was religiously based, singing hymns, praying and meeting at the Congregational church. Temperance articles were shared and speakers would present to the group of 20 or so, which by 1881 had grown to over 90 women. The union would petition the Wayne village council to ban alcohol, publish anti-alcohol literature in the newspaper and protest outside bars and taverns in Wayne. Just for reference, in 1875 there was only one saloon in town, and by 1912 only four.
The temperance movement would culminate in the nationwide ban of alcohol, Prohibition, in 1920. People didn’t just suddenly give up drinking though, the activity just went underground. We don’t have specific addresses, but it is known Wayne had a few “Blind Pigs” and even some gambling houses throughout the 20s and 30s that would occasionally get caught and raided.
Michigan Avenue was also a main thoroughfare for rumrunners bringing booze in from Canada, so much so that the state police built a police post in Wayne. These state officers would patrol and chase rumrunners on motorcycles. When prohibition was repealed in 1933 the state police post closed, and one of the first bars to open was Weberlines on Wayne Road, later known as Jakes. The

Police officers on motorcycles.

W.C.T.U. Wayne chapter still existed and had active members up until at least the mid-1950s.  Temperance and Prohibition The history of certain groups trying to ban alcohol goes back centuries, but in Wayne it really only picked up in the 1870s. A group called the “Women’s Christian Temperance Union” or W.C.T.U. was founded in 1874 in Michigan and a Wayne branch was founded in 1877.
The goal of the group was to advocate for women’s suffrage, women’s rights, humanitarian causes and temperance (the prohibition of alcohol). The group sought to protect women and children who at the time had little rights and often suffered at the hands of drunk husbands and fathers.
The group was religiously based, singing hymns, praying and meeting at the Congregational church. Temperance articles were shared and speakers would present to the group of 20 or so, which by 1881 had grown to over 90 women. The union would petition the Wayne village council to ban alcohol, publish anti-alcohol literature in the newspaper and protest outside bars and taverns in Wayne. Just for reference, in 1875 there was only one saloon in town, and by 1912 only four.
The temperance movement would culminate in the nationwide ban of alcohol, Prohibition, in 1920. People didn’t just suddenly give up drinking though, the activity just went underground. We don’t have specific addresses, but it is known Wayne had a few “Blind Pigs” and even some gambling houses  throughout the 20s and 30s that would occasionally get caught and raided.
Michigan Avenue was also a main thoroughfare for rumrunners bringing booze in from Canada, so much so that the state police built a police post in Wayne. These state officers would patrol and chase rumrunners on motorcycles. When prohibition was repealed in 1933 the state police post closed, and one of the first bars to open was Weberlines on Wayne Road, later known as Jakes. The W.C.T.U. Wayne chapter still existed and had active members up until at least the mid-1950s.