There aren’t many bookstores in Detroit. In a city where statistically half the population can’t even read, there’s not much demand for the written word.

The few that are here are either specialty stores that are often religious in focus, or else little bookshops that sell used books discarded over time in a city with fewer readers each year.

One of the most unique, obscure bookstores in the city is that and more. J.W. Westcott, located at the foot of 24th street, just west of the Ambassador Bridge, on the edge of a shabby public park on the western riverfront, is a niche bookstore dealing exclusively in nautical and Great Lakes lore books and videos. “We try to supply as many good books as we can, just about anything boat-related,” said Bill Redding, 51, who works the afternoon shift.

But books are only a small part of what they do. The little building is the home of the J.W. Westcott II, a mail delivery boat that is the world’s only floating post office. The ship has its own zip code – 48222 – and offers ship-to-shore service delivering mail and supplies to passing ships 24 hours per day, 252 days of the year, usually beginning in the first Wednesday in April.

The company was founded in 1874 by. Capt. J. W. Westcott, with a little rowboat he used to row out to passing vessels and inform them of changes in their orders. After a while he decided he could also use the service to deliver mail and small goods to the heavy ship traffic on the Great Lakes. By 1949 the much-larger business commissioned a 45-foot boat, which is still in use today, receiving mail from the main Detroit Post Office and distributing it to passing ships, which come from as far as Italy, Russia and China.

The Westcott hasn’t sailed without trouble, however; in October 2001 it delivered mail to a ship whose wake was so large it capsized and sank the little mailboat. Two crew members survived, two died, including the captain. The ship was hauled to the surface, refurbished and put back into use soon after, with two smaller boats used as backup.

The headquarters also functions as a little general store of sorts, with bags of chips, pop, bottled water, and candy bars available, as well as jigsaw puzzles, flags for the ships, nautical charts and even T-shirts and polos with the Westcott logo on them. If the crew of a ship gives advance notice, they can order pizza to be delivered – usually from Sicily’s Pizzeria on Vernor – as the ships arrive.

Other times, ships return the favor by dropping off food treats like brownies or bread. “You never know what you’re going to get,” said Redding, pictured at right, who works afternoons as a dispatcher, part of a staff that works around the clock, handling mail for passing ships.

“It turns out to be a pretty essential service, I guess, especially for some of these guys that have been out there two, three months at a time,” Redding said. “The full-time employees out there, they’ll work 90 days on, 30 days off. It’s not for many married people, needless to say.” The back room functions as the mail room, housing dozens of cubby holes that serve as various ships’ personal mailboxes.

Working on the river’s edge has its perks as well. Fish swim right by the front door, and a barbecue grill offers a place to cook whatever’s caught. “It’s a lot better in the spring,” Redding said, “especially if you’re into walleye fishing. Usually the walleye run through here mid-April through the end of May.”

Except for among crews of passing ships, the existence of the post office and its little bookstore remains largely unknown. “We don’t really go out of our way as far as doing a lot of advertising, per se.” Redding said. “It’s mostly word of mouth. It’s really here for anybody interested in the maritime industry.”

The J.W. Westcott headquarters and bookstore is located at 12 24th Street, and is open 24 hours per day except in winter. For more information, call (313) 496-0555.