Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station

Fermi 1 was the United States' only demonstration-scale breeder reactor, built during the 1950s at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station on the western shore of Lake Erie south of Detroit, Michigan. It used the sodium-cooled fast reactor cycle, in which liquid sodium metal is used as the primary coolant instead of more typical nuclear reactor designs which are cooled with water. Sodium cooling allows for a more compact core with surplus neutrons, which are used to produce more fission fuel by converting a surrounding "blanket" of 238U into 239Pu which can be fed back into a reactor. At full power, it would generate 430 MW of heat (MWt), or about 150 MW of electricity (MWe). The design and construction of Fermi 1 was led primarily through the efforts of Walker Lee Cisler, president of Detroit Edison. Cisler believed that the breeder cycle would dominate the future commercial market as it would guarantee an effectively limitless supply of fuel, and ceaselessly championed efforts to produce Fermi 1 based on the design of the small experimental EBR-I in Idaho. His efforts were supported by Lewis Strauss, chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), who was a strong advocate of private companies entering the nuclear field. On 29 November 1955, EBR-I suffered a partial meltdown for reasons that were not completely understood at the time. Construction licensing for Fermi 1 started in January 1956. The AEC's review panel suggested the design should not proceed until the issue with EPR and breeder design in general was better understood with further testing on new experimental systems like EBR-II. When the report was mentioned in congressional meetings, Strauss refused to discuss it and approved construction. This led to a firestorm of debate within Congress and the press, along with a series of lawsuits by the United Auto Workers that briefly led to its construction license being revoked. Construction was delayed by several years and its budget doubled during that time; originally planned to start operations in 1959 or early 1960, Fermi 1 achieved criticality on 23 August 1963. While slowly increasing its power rating over the next two years, on 5 October 1966 it suffered a partial meltdown when the flow of sodium was disrupted by blockage of the inlet holes at the bottom of the reactor. The problem was seen early enough to safely scram the reactor and there was no radioactive release outside the containment building. The site was shut down for repairs and restarted in July 1970. It ran for only a short period before closing again on 27 November 1972, and was officially decommissioned on 31 December 1975.

Stony Point is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,784 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located within Frenchtown Charter Township.

Woodland Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,899 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located within Frenchtown Charter Township. Woodland Beach and its surrounding communities are served by Jefferson Schools.

Newport is an unincorporated community in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Berlin Charter Township. As an unincorporated community, Newport has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own but does have its own post office with the 48166 ZIP Code.

Berlin Charter Township is a charter township of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the township population was 9,890.The township was organized in 1867 from the eastern portion of Ash Township. As part of the Monroe Metropolitan Area, the township is also included as part of the much larger Metro Detroit region.

Detroit Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,957 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located within Frenchtown Charter Township, and as an unincorporated community, Detroit Beach has no legal autonomy of its own. Detroit Beach and its surrounding communities are served by Jefferson Schools.

Potter Cemetery is a privately owned, historic cemetery located in Ash Township in the U.S. state of Michigan. The cemetery was established as early as 1847 with its last known gravesite dating to 1930. By 1968, the state abandoned the cemetery, and it later became inaccessible as a result of private property surrounding the cemetery. This led to changes in state law prohibiting cemeteries from being landlocked with the passage of Public Act 525 of 2012. This allowed for recent restoration efforts, and the cemetery and state legislation were dedicated as a Michigan State Historic Site in 2017.

Jefferson Schools is a public school district in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The district encompasses portions of Frenchtown Charter Township (including Detroit Beach, Woodland Beach, and Stony Point) and Berlin Charter Township (including Estral Beach).

Sandy Creek is an 18.5-mile-long (29.8 km) creek located entirely within Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The creek rises in London Township in the north-central portion of the county and flows southeast into Lake Erie in Frenchtown Charter Township at Sterling State Park. Along the banks of Sandy Creek was one of the earliest French settlements in the area, known as the Sandy Creek Settlement, which existed from approximately 1780–1813 before being abandoned after the Battle of Frenchtown during the War of 1812.

William C. Sterling State Park is a public recreation area located in Frenchtown Charter Township with a small portion lying within the city limits of Monroe, Michigan. It is the only Michigan state park located on Lake Erie. The park encompasses 1,300 acres (530 ha) of mostly man-made lagoons and beachfront near the mouth of Sandy Creek. The main attractions at the park include a 256-site campground, beach area, boat launch, and shore fishing lagoons. There are over seven miles (11 km) of biking and hiking trails within the park.

The Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges are two separate bridges, sharing a continuous railing, that were jointly listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 2000.The Jefferson Avenue Bridge carries West Jefferson Avenue (known south of the river as the U.S. Turnpike) across the Huron River, which connects Brownstown Charter Township in Wayne County to Berlin Charter Township in Monroe County. Along with the Clinton–Kalamazoo Canal and Main Street Historic District, it is one of three properties listed on the National Register in Michigan to span two counties. The Harbin Drive Bridge is located entirely within Wayne County. Both bridges are located about one mile (0.6 km) inland from Lake Erie on a historically important route between Detroit and Toledo. The Jefferson Avenue Bridge is also designated as a Michigan Historic Site.

Millman Island is an island in the Huron River, near Lake Erie, in Wayne County, Michigan. Its coordinates are 42°02′35″N 83°12′38″W; the United States Geological Survey gave its elevation as 571 ft (174 m). It is shown (unlabeled, as a peninsula) on an 1818 survey map, and labeled "Millman Island" on a 1936 map.