Clarkston in Oakland County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Dr. Charles Gray Robertson
Sharing the Gift of Medicine
Photographed by Joel Seewald, June 27, 2026
1. Dr. Charles Gray Robertson Marker
In the Civil War and in Clarkston, Dr. Robertson served the people of his community.
Born in Scotland in 1829, he traveled with his family to America to carve out a farm in southeast Michigan. After earning a medical degree in 1862, he served in the Union Army as a surgeon. He joined the 8th Michigan Cavalry and took part in General Sherman's March to the Sea. Returning to Michigan, he became a physician and, in 1880, he bought eight acres of property along Main Street in Clarkston. He built a home here and opened an office on Main Street, spending much time on horseback treating patients at their homes. After his death in 1901, his son Milton subdivided the family land, built this road, and moved the family home onto Robertson Court.
This historical exhibit is supported by the loving family and friends of Charles Gray Robertson III. Chuck was the fourth of six generations of Robertsons to proudly call Clarkston home.
"Where we love is home home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Erected 2020 by Clarkston Community Historical Society & Heritage Museum.
Topics.
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Location. 42° 44.343′ N, 83° 25.143′ W. Marker is in Clarkston, Michigan, in Oakland County. It is at the intersection of North Main Street (State Highway 15) and Robertson Court, on the left when traveling south on North Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 104 North Main Street, Clarkston MI 48346, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Michigan and in Greater Detroit. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Building Clarkston History (within shouting distance of this marker); The Nelson Clark Home (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Becoming Clarkston (approx.
Photographed by Joel Seewald, June 27, 2026
2. Dr. Charles Gray Robertson Marker top right images
Left: The surgical toolkit of Dr. Robertson; right: An assortment of Dr. Robertson's "medical elixers."
Photographed by Joel Seewald, June 27, 2026
3. Dr. Charles Gray Robertson Marker lower left image
Union Army surgeons treating wounded soldiers on a battlefield of the Civil War. Dr. Robertson's service as a surgeon in the Civil War also included several weeks as a prisoner-of-war. (Etching by Winslow Homer, 1862, Smithsonian Institution)
Photographed by Joel Seewald, June 27, 2026
4. Dr. Charles Gray Robertson Marker lower middle images
Left: Main Street in Clarkston, about 1900. Dr. Robertson's family home is at the right, which was built about 1880. The eight acres of family property extended back toward Parke Lake. Circled at left is a diamond-shaped window in a home nearby that is visible today.
Right: Looking north on Main Street in the 1920s toward the stone pillars (circled) that were built on either side of the entry to Robertson Court. The same diamond-shaped window in the nearby home is visible to the right.
Right: Looking north on Main Street in the 1920s toward the stone pillars (circled) that were built on either side of the entry to Robertson Court. The same diamond-shaped window in the nearby home is visible to the right.
Photographed by Joel Seewald, June 27, 2026
5. Dr. Charles Gray Robertson Marker lower right image
This stone pillar is a trace of the history of Robertson Court, built on the original property of Dr. Charles Gray Robertson.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 1, 2026, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 1, 2026, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.
