I recently spent time in the Detroit Beach area of Monroe while participating in the CAR/MCCC EV Summit, held on the MCCC campus. I noticed some of the familiar road names of Steiner and Laduke in the area. It prompted me to dig into the history of the lost area of Steiner, in what it now Frenchtown Township.
Wikipedia defines Steiner as a small farming settlement near the intersection of today’s CSX Railroad crossing. According to MichiganRailroads.com, Steiner was a station stop on the Flint & Pere Marquette main line 5.1 miles north of Monroe. In 1898, the station was unmanned. In 1927, Steiner was staffed by an agent-operator. Rate of pay 60¢ per hour. There was also a spur line that connected the Steiner depot with the nearby sand quarry located in Maybee.
Steiner was founded by William Steiner, who was born in 1835 to George and Helen Biegler Steiner. In 1864, he married Mary Louise Fix (born in 1844). The Steiners were in the hardware business but were also involved in many of the other enterprises in the settlement, including the creamery, granary, freight scales, a sawmill, basket factory, pottery and brick works, and a saloon (the Steiner Inn). Other businesses and services, including the Laduke general store and the Steiner Post Office, were also thriving during the time period.