Where Is the Only Floating Post Office in the US?

J.W. Westcott II is the only floating post office that has been serving in the Detroit River, Michigan for around 67 years.

Floating Post Office in Michigan

The Westcott Company was founded in 1874 by Captain John Ward Westcott and transported supplies via rowboat. In 1949, the company hired Paasch Marine Service of Erie, Pennsylvania to construct J.W. Westcott II. The name was given to honor Westcott Company’s founder. The ship is 45 feet in length and has a beam of 13 feet. The speed of the boat is rated at 15 knots.

The J.W. Westcott II has its own ZIP code: 48222. It has been serving for more than a half-century and the J.W. Westcott Company itself was established more than 140 years ago. The company is offering deliveries to ship workers who are serving on the many boats that carry cargo up and down across the Detroit River. During the early  20th century, the Detroit River played a vital role in transporting steel, iron ore, and limestone. Surprisingly, the boat delivered more than 1 million mails per year to several boats on the Detroit River.

Liana Aghajanian stated in an in-depth profile on the company in July, that the mail boat J.W. Westcott II is called “7-11 of the Great Lakes” because the boat is “open 24 hours, seven days a week from mid-April to December, with three shifts for a bevy of crew members who have one of the most unique jobs in the country.”

Floating Post Office and Its Facts

There are thousands of sailors who work for months on the water transporting iron, coal, and limestone to export in the Rustbelt region. The J.W. Westcott Company is their only way to connect to family and friends.

The floating mail boat has delivered everything from love letters to coffee, toothpaste cigarettes, toilet paper, and televisions. After that, people began to request pizza when they were hungry. During the Ramadan festival, relatives of Arab-American steel ship workers deliver homemade meals to Westcott’s offices.

Captain Ryan Gadzecki stated that he once delivered a mistress to her man to Detroit’s nearby islands. Three decades ago, a lady named Arlene Earl sent flowers to captains and crews on the ships through Westcott.

Buchanan says, “These people rely on us to get them their stuff.” During deliveries I go out in all kinds of weather, at all hours of the day to try to make sure that they get it.”

2001. J. W. Westcott II sank in the dark water beneath the Ambassador Bridge on 23 October 2001. The captain and one other crew member died. Both pilots and two passengers were rescued. Later J. W. Westcott II was salvaged, repaired, and returned to service.