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It was after many years spent as private land, in 1879 that Barnabas’ heirs sold Belle Isle to the city of Detroit, and the following year it was made public land once again. Belle Isle is currently the country’s largest city island park and has officially been recognized as a state park since 2014.
- 1800
- 1890
- 1940
- 1962
- 2001
The history of the island dates back to the early 1800’s when it was purchased by Walter Brashear, a surgeon, sugar-planter, an exporter of ginseng to China, and member of the Louisiana legislature. He lived with his wife and children as he milled sugar on the island.
In the late 1890's, the island was explored by Capt. Anthony Lucas who studied the occurrence of salt, its movements, and the presence of oil associated with salt.
Starting in the early 1940s, Belle Isle was one of the first sites in Louisiana for oil drilling. The Belle Isle Field was once one of the largest oil and gas fields in Louisiana.
In 1962, Cargill Inc. started the Belle Isle salt mine at 1,200 ft below sea level. The mine was a little over one-half mile in diameter when it was abandoned and purposely flooded in 1985.
In 2001, Belle Isle, LLC was formed with a mission to protect, enhance and restore the island to its natural state while maintaining its historical and environmental significance.
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Owned by the city of Detroit, Belle Isle is managed as a state park by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources through a 30-year lease initiated in 2013; it was previously a city park. Belle Isle Park is the largest city-owned island park in the United States, and Belle Isle is the third largest island in the Detroit River , after Grosse ...
- 982 acres (397 ha)
- State park
- 1845 (2014 as a state park)
Feb 17, 2024 · As the DNR plots the future course of Belle Isle as a state park, it is letting those who love the park have their say. The front entrance to Detroit's Belle Isle Boathouse on Belle Isle in Detroit on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. The boathouse that has been in disrepair for years needs restoration costing $40 to 50 million.
Feb 19, 2024 · As Belle Isle moved from city control to a state park in February 2014, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources had its hands full. The City of Detroit had filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy the previous July, the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history by debt, estimated at up to $20 billion.
Belle Isle is accessible only by boat, and has some ruins, and some solution salt mining and gas storage facilities. Cargill opened an underground salt mine here in 1962, 1,200 feet below sea level. In 1968, a fire in the mine killed 21 people. In 1979, five miners were killed in an explosion. In 1985 the mine was purposely flooded.
The City of Detroit owns the park and has leased it to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The MDNR is responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities, while the Belle Isle Conservancy focuses on awareness, historical preservation, and fundraising for capital projects.
