From 1918 to 1933, Berlin Township was a major rum-running crossroad during Prohibition. As Michigan's early dry years began in Monroe County, the newly completed Dixie Highway became the only paved route for fast travel between Toledo and Detroit. With nearby marshes for concealment and protective waterways including Lake Erie, bootleggers unloaded smuggled Canadian liquor at the county shoreline into waiting automobiles and trucks, then sped away to distribute it illegally. Residents and out-of-town professionals alike were caught moving booze through the township. Violence and death became commonplace, with bootleggers found bullet-ridden, washed ashore, left in abandoned shacks, or drowned after falling through winter ice. In an effort to stop the profitable smuggling, the Michigan State Police opened a post on North Dixie Highway at the village of South Rockwood. After national Prohibition ended in 1933, stories from this era continued to be passed down locally.