Mamajuda Island

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Mamajuda Island, also called Mama Juda Island, was a small island in the Detroit River near Grosse Ile, Michigan. It lay just east of the northern tip of Grosse Ile and about 500 feet from the Canada–United States border. It belonged to Grosse Ile Township in Wayne County and was the smallest charted island in the Detroit River. Originally about 30 acres, the island was slowly worn away by erosion. Today, only a few rocks rise above the water at very low water, so the island has no fixed size and can’t be used. It no longer appears on most maps, but you can see it on some precise online maps. The area, including Mamajuda Island, is part of the Mamajuda Island Shoal, a shallow underwater region about 3–8 feet below the surface that runs to Grassy Island.

The Mamajuda Island area is now part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. The island was named after a Native American woman who often camped there during fishing season. A lighthouse, called the Mama Juda Lighthouse, was built on the island in 1849, and the lighthouse keeper and their family lived there. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1866. Because the island was made of loose material, it eroded over time and the lighthouse fell into the water in 1950. The island had disappeared by 1960, with only a few boulders occasionally peeking above the water. The shallow shoal there remains a navigational hazard for boats, especially large lake freighters.