Making a profit in the Prohibition Era in Erie

While Prohibition affected many cities throughout the nation in the 1920s, Erie was primarily a “wet city.”

Despite Erie’s congressional and senate representatives supporting the Prohibition Act, many rumrunners used the fact that Erie was a border town as an effective way to transport liquor across Lake Erie from Canada.

Before the Prohibition law took effect, large liquor orders were placed and packed into cellars, bookcases, and closets.

Fishing was a popular means of making a living, but the population of fish was quickly plummeting due to overfishing. With nets coming up empty, fishermen in Lake Erie saw an opportunity to make the money they were missing out on from the lack of fish.

Crates of alcohol were taken from trains in Canada and packed onto boats with the paperwork statin