Rum Row

During Prohibition, Rum Row was created as a liquor smuggling hub located on international waters off the coast of Long Island. It consisted of schooners and Freighters that were anchored, creating a flotilla liquor market. Canada and the West Indies supplied these bootleggers. Due to it's proximity to New York City, it was the perfect spot for distribution.

In the location of Rum Row, liquor was being bootlegged and some sellers had different signals that were required. Fishermen would transport the liquor from the floating market to the shore. During this time period, there were various ports are the country that were smuggling Liquor. Reports of submarines being used as rumrunners occurred, but officials were hesitant to believe that smugglers would be able to get their hands on submarines. The submarines on the East Coast turned out to be German U-boats. The Coast Guard was assigned to catch liquor smuggling causing disputes between the guard and the people. The Guard had boats called cutters, that had the purpose of stopping any boat that was smuggling liquor.

Laskow, Sarah. Did German U-Boats Smuggle Alcohol Into the U.S. During Prohibition?, Atlas Obscura. August 29th, 2017. Accessed January 17th, 2023. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/rum-running-submarines-german-uboats-prohibition-smuggling.

Merritt, Jim. New York's "Rum Row", NYS Archive Trust. Accessed January 17th, 2023. https://www.nysarchivestrust.org/application/files/9915/6831/6222/Bootlegging_NYArchives-2003_Winter.pdf.