In 1918 the Iron County Board of Supervisors approved the recommendation of the road commission, through its engineer-manager, Herbert F. Larson, to purchase this 320-acre tract of roadside virgin timber and to dedicate it as a forest preserve. The . . . — — Map (db m125084) HM
Brooklyn Plant a Significant Employer for Residents
In 1921, American industrialist Henry Ford purchased the property of the former Swain Mill, which had burned 9 years earlier. Ford held the site vacant until 1938, when he began construction . . . — — Map (db m210618) HM
This building endures as one of the small "Village Industry" factories built by Henry Ford throughout southeast Michigan in the early 20th century. Most of these
factories occupied the sites of earlier water-powered mills and harnessed small . . . — — Map (db m210729) HM
On Sept. 24, 1898, Barney Toufel bought the lot on which John Askew's brick blacksmith shop stood. He then
tore it down and built the building called the Well Block. Known as the Well Block because of its adjacency to
the public well; the . . . — — Map (db m226827) HM
19th-20th Century Industrial/Commercial Complex
The historic Collins Manufacturing/Jackson Automobile Co. Complex is an important physical reminder of Jackson's industrial and commercial development and an excellent representation of . . . — — Map (db m210726) HM
Burdick Street—1900 (west side)
Streetcars carry workers and shoppers past grocers, butchers, dress shops, restaurants, saloons, banks, cigar stores, City Hall and the post office. Horses pulling buggies crowd the brick . . . — — Map (db m204000) HM
Railroads (north side)
The Michigan Central Railroad whistled into Kalamazoo in 1846, linking it with critical eastern markets. The Lake Shore (1867) and Grand Rapids & Indiana (1870) then arrived from the south. Another line . . . — — Map (db m203985) HM
A Favorite Drive Brockway Mountain Drive is one of the Copper Country's most popular driving attractions. In winter, it is also a favorite destination for snowmobilers and skiers. Built during the Great Depression, this road reflected a larger . . . — — Map (db m153989) HM
Early Indian footpaths became the trails for explorers, missionaries and fur traders, who came to carve out homes in Michigan’s wilderness. The early settlers began to widen and improve these trails, which became the majority of Michigan’s primary . . . — — Map (db m152799) HM
Pierce Stocking, a native of northern Lower Michigan, worked as a lumberman and spent much of his leisure time in the woods. He wanted to share his love of nature with others and conceived the idea of constructing a scenic drive onto the Sleeping . . . — — Map (db m98312) HM
Travelers or neighbors, all were welcome here.
Two of the most important roads of Michigan's settlement era - the Monroe Pike (M-50) and the Chicago Road (US 12) crossed at Cambridge Junction. Settlers and stagecoach riders . . . — — Map (db m205428) HM
This boulder marks the junction
of the Chicago Turnpike, running
between Detroit and Chicago
-an Indian trail prior to 1700-
with the Monroe Turnpike,
coming from Lake Erie.
Also
The old Walker Tavern-
built in 1833 and still . . . — — Map (db m205431) HM
Location, Location, Location
(left panel)
Nature made Sylvester Walker for his business. Men of every class and condition of life from the earliest times would stretch out their day's drive to reach the hospitable roof . . . — — Map (db m205529) HM
This historic building, a link with the bygone pioneer era, dates back to 1832. Here at the junction of the Chicago Road and the road from Monroe, a small inn was opened by Sylvester Walker of Cooperstown, New York. Before long the Walker Tavern was . . . — — Map (db m205438) HM
Side 1
This tavern was built around 1832. Stagecoach passengers stopped here for lodging and food as they traveled between Detroit and Chicago on the Chicago Road (later US-12) and on the La Plaisance Bay Pike (later M-50) from Lake . . . — — Map (db m205435) HM
Automobiles and the promise of paved roads brought opportunity to the Irish Hills. In the 1920s, anticipating change, two long-time neighbors erected competing observation towers to attract visitors to the spectacular views of area lakes and . . . — — Map (db m226829) HM
Clinton
Early settlers who came here from New York via the Erie Canal named this community in honor of DeWitt Clinton, the governor of their native state. First settled in 1829, Clinton became an important center of trade . . . — — Map (db m104925) HM
Murray D. Van Wagoner Memorial Bridge
The Michigan State Highway
Department built the steel - beamed
Murray D. Van Wagoner Bridge over
Silver Creek in 1935 at a cost of
$35,700. The federal relief project
helped the community by . . . — — Map (db m165599) HM
Dedicated
July 4th 1932
in memory of the
undaunted faith
of the
Irish pioneers
whose bodies rest in
this hallowed ground
and of Father
Gabriel Richard,
pioneer missionary,
who in 1826 sponsored
the building of the
Chicago Pike
which . . . — — Map (db m165614) HM
This boulder marks La Plaisance Bay Pike from Monroe to Cambridge Junction surveyed 1830 also Springville Inn built 1841 used by Irish Hills and Cambridge pioneers as a center for political and debating - gatherings, etc. — — Map (db m228060) HM
In 1832 the Federal Government appropriated funds for
survey and construction of a road which was to begin
at La Plaisance Bay, near Monroe. The road was to pass
through Tecumseh, and join with the Chicago Road at Cambridge Junction. The road . . . — — Map (db m165594) HM
Johnny Blessed operated a two horse stagecoach that avoided the swamps and followed the rough and bumpy Grand River Indian Trail between Detroit and Howell. Tired horses would be exchanged for fresh horses in Farmington, New Hudson and at Brighton's . . . — — Map (db m158769) HM
The Humpback Bridge used to be here,
crossing the Grand Trunk Railway. The narrow wooden span was built in 1900 to carry vehicles on state route M-36 over the Grand Trunk Railway line (now the Lakeland Trail). Unsuited to . . . — — Map (db m202504) HM
Ancient Anishinabe Path
The route that U.S. 2 follows today has served as an important transportation corridor from the earliest inhabitants of the Michigan Peninsulas to the present.
When the Federal Highway System was established . . . — — Map (db m139359) HM
Built and operated under the supervision of Grover C. Dillman, State Highway Commissioner, as a link of the State Highway System.
Ferry service first opened -1923- under the supervision of Frank F. Rogers, State Highway Commissioner, 1913-1929.
. . . — — Map (db m130090) HM
July 31, 1923 marked the beginning of a Straits ferry system, when the converted river boat “Ariel,” landed 20 autos at the St. Ignace center. Annual traffic increased to about one million cars, requiring 470 employees, new docks and a . . . — — Map (db m130095) HM
This dock and the auto ferries which landed here were once the Upper Peninsula's "highway" to lower Michigan.
In the early 1900's, the few cars which reached the Straits crossed on railroad ferries, at a cost of $40 each! Better roads . . . — — Map (db m139782) HM
In 1782 marauding American militia massacred nearly one hundred Christian Delaware Indians at their village in eastern Ohio. Seeking refuge, the Delaware settled on the Clinton River two and one-half miles north of here, on land granted by the . . . — — Map (db m85632) HM
Edsel Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company for many years, and his wife, Eleanor Clay, completed this 87-acre estate in 1927. Architect Albert Kahn derived the design from precedents in Cotswold, England, and many of the building materials, . . . — — Map (db m143597) HM
The Fords—especially Edsel—lived in the public spotlight. They considered security and privacy to be of the utmost importance. To enter the estate, you must pass through the guarded and gated opening in the monumental Gate Lodge building. . . . — — Map (db m212261) HM
Eleanor's chauffeur Arthur Fauser and his family (wife Mary and three children Arthur Jr. Alice, and John) moved into the cottage in late 1928 or early 1929. They lived there until Fauser's death in 1954.
Many staff members, like Fauser, . . . — — Map (db m212263) HM
Thomas Clegg (1863-1939) and his English-born father, John, built “The Thing,” the first recorded self-propelled vehicle in Michigan (and perhaps the country) in 1884-85. The Thing, driven by a single cylinder steam engine with a tubular boiler . . . — — Map (db m135276) HM
Romeo's foundry industry was well-established
when Lyman Holmes contacted Ford Motor Company in 1907. Ford was having problems getting engine parts for the Model N automobile from foundries in Detroit. Holmes managed the Romeo Foundry, that . . . — — Map (db m123458) HM
This shop has sheltered many types of work over the years.
Built on its original South Bailey Street site in 1864, its owners included a tinsmith and a furniture upholsterer. Later, blacksmith Clyde Craig worked in the building for 50 . . . — — Map (db m123327) HM
Romeo was a world of wheels, long before the automobile.
In the mid-1800s, a carriage industry developed here which was responsible for much of the prosperity of the Village of Romeo. This is still seen in the beautiful old homes built . . . — — Map (db m123364) HM
There had to be a better way to travel
through the countryside when Michigan was young. In the mid-1800s, the new Gratiot Turnpike between Detroit and Mt. Clemens was a swampy and rutted dirt road. To improve things, in 1846 the State of . . . — — Map (db m120549) HM
During World War II, new cars were not available
and people came to Frenchy's Auto Parts to keep their cars running. Owners Dumitru and Anna Simionescu experienced difficulties — rebuilding from a 1949 fire and financial struggles . . . — — Map (db m120723) HM
The outdoor theater was a delightful landmark in Roseville
and in the memories of people who enjoyed the Gratiot Drive-In for 36 years. It first opened in 1948 and offered entertainment until it closed in September 1984. People fondly . . . — — Map (db m120666) HM
Packard is remembered and celebrated
by people around the world. No company sold more luxury cars between 1925 and 1942, and the distinctive tombstone-shaped grill was a company trademark. The Packard Motor Car Company was originally . . . — — Map (db m137591) HM
The Lodge is a landmark, just north of the main gates
of the Packard Proving Grounds. Designed by famous architect Albert Kahn in the English Cotswold style, it opened in 1928 as the site's base of operations. The site manager and his . . . — — Map (db m137579) HM
Packard combined luxury and quality
like no other automobile. The Packard Motor Car Company continually tested its products, even under extreme conditions. Two 25,000-mile tests were run here on the Packard Proving Grounds track, one in . . . — — Map (db m137675) HM
Packard answered the call to arms,
turning its automotive expertise to the production of thousands of trucks and Liberty aircraft engines in World War I. The world again turned to Packard's "Master Motor Builders" during World War II, as . . . — — Map (db m137634) HM
The high-speed testing track was the key.
The 2 1/2-mile oval had 31-degree banked curves which allowed drivers to reach high speeds. On June 14, 1928, after winning that year's Indianapolis 500, race car driver Leon . . . — — Map (db m137683) HM
There were wide open spaces here
when the Packard Motor Car Company purchased almost a full square mile of land to the west for a new testing facility. The site opened in 1928 with a high-speed 2 1/2-mile oval track . . . — — Map (db m137619) HM
It wasn't just an industrial testing facility.
The Proving Grounds was also home to superintendent Charles H. Vincent and his family, from its opening in 1928 to 1942. Charlie and his wife Lucille raised three daughters in the Lodge at the . . . — — Map (db m137605) HM
An American icon of modern architecture, the General Motors (GM) Technical Center stands as a model corporate research and development park. Thirty-one buildings were constructed between 1949 and 1985. Conceived in 1944 by Board of Directors . . . — — Map (db m87767) HM
This farm house was built in 1895. The architectural design is a combination of Greek Revival & Queen Anne (noted by the gables, dental moldings, fish scale shingles and fret work).
The house originally sat 200 ft. E. from it's current . . . — — Map (db m107289) HM
The County Road 510 steel truss bridge over the Dead River owes its existence to the passage of a few key Acts by the Michigan Legislature in the early 1900's. The first of these acts was the Trunk Line Act of 1913, which provided for the laying out . . . — — Map (db m198443) HM
This
tablet marks the
Bay de Nocquet
Trail
of the Menominee
and other Indian tribes
U.S. Mail runners
and earliest fur traders
also Indian cemetery — — Map (db m88828) HM
The first land patent for land in the Village of Dundee, was issued to William Remington, from Livingston County, New York, on July 23, 1823. Riley Ingersoll, Dundee's first white settler, settled here in 1824. The settlement was named Dundee by . . . — — Map (db m100794) HM WM
featuring a photo of the 'trestle bridge' that frames the downtown area (facing North) in 1900. This metal bridge was installed over the Saline River by Massillon Bridge Co. of Ohio in Feb. 1889 at a cost of $275.00. A walkway on the east side . . . — — Map (db m236065) HM
Oil extracted from soybeans was used in the paint for the early 20 century Ford vehicles. The beans were stored next door and transferred to this building via a chute from an upstairs window to be processed here. Generations have prospered because . . . — — Map (db m236074) HM
Originally built as a gristmill. Henry Ford converted the building into a storage facility for soybeans. The soybeans were moved over to the next building (garage) where oil was then extracted from the beans to be used in paint for the vehicles. . . . — — Map (db m236072) HM
From the earliest days of Michigan settlement this corner has witnessed travel of many sorts signaling important events in the history of Michigan.
East lies Monroe’s port on Lake Erie where waves of immigrant traffic came from New England . . . — — Map (db m127984) HM
With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, Monroe's LaPlaisance Harbor became the gateway to the West. A stream of settlers from Europe and the East crossed Lake Erie in sailing vessels and later in steamships, all seeking new homes in Michigan . . . — — Map (db m202247) HM
A covered toll bridge first spanned this section of the River Raisin in 1819. Destroyed by high water and ice in 1832, the bridge was replaced with a conventional wooden span, which lasted 30 years before being replaced in the late 1860’s.
. . . — — Map (db m72705) HM
The first road to be paved in Greenville was a downtown section of Lafayette Street. In preparation, the road was plowed and the surface, mostly gravel put down to stabilize the native sand, was removed. The road was crowned in the center, sloping . . . — — Map (db m217454) HM
The Knights and Ladies of the Maccabees, a once prominent social
group in Greenville, perform a drill
routine in front of the former
Jacobson's store located at 314 to 318
South Lafayette Street. The streets are
dirt in this picture, indicating . . . — — Map (db m217482) HM
Earliest History
Before John Green settled in 1844, Indians were the only
inhabitants of the area, living on land near a bend in the Flat
River at Shearer Road and Industrial Drive Two well-established Indian
trails crisscrossed the area. . . . — — Map (db m217484) HM
If you could stand here and go back in time - this is what you might see: 1700's - a small group of Native Americans traveling through this open savanna on their way to fish in nearby lakes
1800's - a large farm house, barns . . . — — Map (db m202835) HM
The Saginaw Trail was once a footpath through this wooded region, used by Native Americans. In the 1820s, the trail became the first road in the region for travel from Pontiac through the southwest corner of Independence Township and on to . . . — — Map (db m180824) HM
In 1927, L.P. Cookingham became Village President. A man who embraced progress, he detested dirt roads and set about to improve the Village of Clawson with paved roads, sewer services and improved water service.
These photos, taken in 1928, . . . — — Map (db m216229) HM
The photo at left shows East 14 Mile, or Clawson Road, as it was then known, about 1922. Electrical lines had been strung, including street lights, and wooden sidewalks are visible on the right of the street.
The building in the left . . . — — Map (db m216235) HM
Mass transit was abundant in Clawson from the 1920's and into the 1940's. Bus lines and taxis, known as jitneys, along with the Interurban train, provided many transportation choices for commuters and shoppers.
The Buchanan Bus Garage was . . . — — Map (db m216267) HM
Long before our everyday journeys,
people traveled along this important road. This was once the Grand River Trail, a pathway Native Americans followed across Michigan before European settlement. Farmington founder Arthur Power came here along . . . — — Map (db m85441) HM
Along this road ran the route of the Shiawassee Indian Trail through Farmington Hills. The trail began near the Detroit River and extended northwest into the center of the state. This Shiawassee Road closely follows the original trail. — — Map (db m169419) HM
Side 1
This lovely complex was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1929. It is an outgrowth of a foundling and maternity hospital called the House of Providence, administered by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, established in 1851 . . . — — Map (db m136118) HM
During the 1950s, as Oakland County's population soared, the corner of Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue became the most congested crossroad in Michigan. The solution, envisioned in a plan created by Detroit and its surrounding counties in the . . . — — Map (db m31894) HM
A Ferndale landmark, the Crow's Nest served as an early traffic signal at this intersection of Nine Mile and Woodward Avenue. The structure was created to hold policemen high above heavy traffic to direct traffic in a safe environment. The Crow's . . . — — Map (db m108383) HM
Behind these gates lies the country estate
built in 1927 by William E. Scripps, heir to the Detroit News fortune and a talented early aviator, inventor, and radio pioneer. He joined his nephew James Scripps Booth in forming the . . . — — Map (db m133626) HM
Novi has grown with major transportation,
and Grand River Avenue has been the community's corridor of history. The route's first segment was cut through the landscape in the 1830s from Detroit to Brighton, and many of Novi's earliest . . . — — Map (db m178336) HM
The crowds loved the high-pitched "shriek" of its engine
and drivers were barely able to control its power. The legendary Novi Special stood out with 450 horsepower at its first Indianapolis 500 race in 1941 and the supercharged engine . . . — — Map (db m155908) HM
An intersection of history...
where the Pere Marquette Railroad crossed Grand River Avenue. Built in the 1850s, Grand River Avenue was an important route between Detroit and Lansing, but transportation was limited to horseback, wagon or . . . — — Map (db m165134) HM
Emmendorfer House
William Gilmour began building this house in the 1830s. With two hidden chambers and a strategic location on an Underground Railroad route between Farmington and Pontiac, it is believed to have provided shelter for runaway . . . — — Map (db m155724) HM
Walter Flanders During his career, automotive pioneer Walter Flanders was considered a genius of production and management. He was one of the first men to develop the moving automotive assembly line in Detroit. In 1907 he implemented production . . . — — Map (db m173319) HM
Historical Site of Michigan
This monument, erected in 1954, was presented by the John Crawford Chapter, D.A.R. This commemorates the territorial road, which was located in 1832 between Rochester and Lapeer. The first post office of . . . — — Map (db m190376) HM
One of the historic trails leading out of Detroit and built on a sandy ridge to avoid swamplands on either side, Ridge Road was originally part of the Saginaw Trail. This route meandered north from Detroit to Pontiac, Flint, Saginaw and finally . . . — — Map (db m96766) HM
Skills, quality and leadership came naturally
to the Fisher brothers. By the time they formed Fisher Body Company in Detroit in 1908, they had adapted their carriage-making to the needs of automobile bodies and were ready for early . . . — — Map (db m174262) HM
Pontiac was ready to become a "motor city."
By the early 1900s, the city was a leading carriage manufacturing center and its low wages, skilled workforce and many production facilities attracted early automotive manufacturing companies. In . . . — — Map (db m174280) HM
Inventive and competitive people were drawn to Pontiac, or inspired here, by the city's industrial culture in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And in patent drawings they left a record of their ideas and contributions. In the galloping world of . . . — — Map (db m174253) HM
Before loan money was available,
the early market for automobiles was limited in Pontiac and elsewhere. Car dealers couldn't afford inventories of more than a few vehicles and many people couldn't afford to buy cars at all. By offering . . . — — Map (db m175272) HM
He went from strength to strength when the need for vehicle bodies grew to an industrial scale. Oliver Joseph Beaudette learned woodcraft as a young apprentice in Michigan's logging frontier of Bay City before starting his carriage business in . . . — — Map (db m174288) HM
They stood together through good times and bad, and the members of United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 594 in Pontiac built GMC Truck's reputation for fine trucks, coaches and military vehicles. Born in 1938 from worker discontent, Local 594 . . . — — Map (db m174276) HM
Pontiac began as one of Michigan's first inland settlements, and the first road cut through the wilderness to connect Detroit with Pontiac was completed in 1822. In 1831, French traveler Alexis de Tocqueville took this road all day from Detroit, . . . — — Map (db m174278) HM
Our roads are more than bold lines on a map. They are stories of human experience that inspire some of the most creative minds of our time. Telegraph Road, Woodward Avenue and Eight Mile Road have become characters in popular culture, . . . — — Map (db m174279) HM
How do you explain what happened in Pontiac?
Around 1900, its carriage industry was thriving, so people already knew how to make wheeled vehicles. But when things became motorized, Pontiac grew into a sparking engine of ideas and . . . — — Map (db m174215) HM
It has been a force in America for the last hundred years, still accounting for a fifth of all American manufacturing. Where there once were hundreds of automobile manufacturers in the United States by 1913 almost 80 percent of all cars were . . . — — Map (db m174283) HM
Workers in Pontiac handled the fires of furnacesto cast parts for the dynamic automobile industry. In the mid-1920's, the Wilson Foundry & Machine Company on the south side of Pontiac was the largest automotive foundry in the world. To meet . . . — — Map (db m174265) HM
It was a mark of achievement to build a home on or near Franklin boulevard in the late 1800s. Lawyers, bankers, doctors and publishers lived along this beautiful "Boulevard of Roses." Here also were leaders in Pontiac's thriving carriage-making . . . — — Map (db m174284) HM
Good fortune multiplied in Pontiac
with vehicle manufacturing beginning in the early 20th Century. The automotive sector is especially known for creating many other jobs too. Assembly operations naturally led to companies that provided parts . . . — — Map (db m174216) HM
Pontiac was the world's capital of coach manufacturing and United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 594 was the largest truck and coach union local in the world. General Motors (GM) began building coaches in Pontiac as early as 1928 and Local 594 . . . — — Map (db m174277) HM
Remarkable changes were on the horizon Albert North and Harry Hamilton relocated their Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works to larger premises in 1899 to boost their output of carriages, wagons and springs. Within a few years they were also assembling . . . — — Map (db m174285) HM
At the start, everything has to be right.
Rigorous testing and refinement of design, engineering and build processes is needed before going to full production since difficulty in making changes multiplies as mass production increases. Testing . . . — — Map (db m174214) HM
Horses did all the work in Pontiac's early days.
By 1850, several builders of "horse-drawn" vehicles — wagons and carriages — had workshops around Lawrence Street, using wood cut at lumbermills powered by the Clinton River. Carriage-makers . . . — — Map (db m174213) HM
No location has been more vital to the development of modern highways
and the automobile. Built along the Native American Saginaw Trail, Woodward Avenue in the 1800s was the most important pathway of growth between Detroit and . . . — — Map (db m234986) HM
2012 Main Street received its second major makeover. New storm sewers and twelve-inch water mains were constructed on both sides of the street. A new concrete roadbed, sidewalks and curbs were constructed and new traffic signals and lamp posts . . . — — Map (db m219945) HM
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