Detroit’s J.W. Westcott Co. has delivered mail to Great Lakes freighters since 1874, starting with rowboat messages and now operating as a full-service floating post office with its own ZIP code, 48222.
From Amazon packages to handwritten letters, the boat connects crews to the outside world as they pass through the Detroit River, using a distinctive “mail in the pail” system, where buckets are tied to ropes and hoisted up and down ship sides to transfer mail between vessels.
