Swill Point is an intriguing neighborhood name that first appears in Clarence Burton’s 1884 “A History of Detroit and its Environs.”

The physical area where Swill Point was no longer exists as it did in the 1880s. The area was named for the the malt houses where grain malt was soaked for beer or whiskey brewing. The smell from the “swill” of soaking malt grains is very strong and clearly made a notable geographic place in early Detroit.

However, one “Swill Pointer,” John C. Lodge, couldn’t recall why it was every called “the Point” as there was no physical point anywhere around the neighborhood area. Writing in 1949, Lodge noted that very few Detroiters at that time had probably ever heard the name Swill Point.

“It was a relatively small area along the river, extending eastward from First Street and inland to the vicinity of Larned and Congress streets.”

– John C. Lodge in “I Remember Detroit,” 1949 p.182-183

Publications:

• A History of Detroit and its Environs, Clarence Burton, 1884
• I Remember Detroit, John C. Lodge, 1949

Posts:

• Map: Historic Detroit Neighborhoods 1884