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
Three mills and a small village, including a cooper's shop, a soap factory, a shoemaker's shop, a slaughterhouse and a tannery comprised Sleepy Hollow in the 1830's. In 1827 a grist mill was built on this spot along this rapidly flowing branch of . . . — — Map (db m104091) HM
Architect Marcus Burrowes designed this lovely home in 1925 for David and Martha Gray. Burrowes selected the site and built the house to blend with the land, yet retain an historic English architectural form.
The Grays never lived in the house. . . . — — Map (db m79852) 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
Stephen Yerkes Rodgers built this Greek Revival-style house in 1834. The carved fretwork in the pilasters flanking the door are reminiscent of a design in Asher Benjamin’s The Practical House Carpenter (Boston, 1830). Stephen Yerkes Rodgers . . . — — Map (db m173238) HM
Wells D. Butterfield and his daughter Emily (the state's first licensed woman architect) designed this house for Edward and Evelyn Chene. The house was built in 1927 as part of "The Oaklands," one of the first subdivisions in Farmington Township. . . . — — Map (db m135938) HM
This home, an outstanding example of cut-stone Greek Revival architecture, was constructed in 1837--the year Michigan achieved statehood--by John Dallas Harger, who came to Oakland County from Niagara, N. Y.
A son, Oscar Seeley Harger, . . . — — Map (db m160779) HM
This pleasant little valley and the pond at the bottom of it have been here since the retreat of the last ice sheet about 12,000 years ago. For centuries it was a camping spot for Indian parties traveling across the state. Many artifacts and stone . . . — — Map (db m163777) HM
Water power! Before the advent of the steam engine, water provided the energy needed to run mills for grinding the grain into flour for our ancestor's table and to cut the lumber for their homes. In the early 1800's this middle branch of the . . . — — Map (db m104109) HM
This beautifully restored Gothic Revival farmhouse is representative of homes built by well-to-do pioneer Farmingtonians.
Migrating from Manchester, Bennington County, Vermont, in 1841, Levi and Huldah Pettibone homesteaded the surrounding . . . — — Map (db m160757) HM
The attractive home on the northwest corner dates from 1827. In the 1830's and 40's, it was a tavern operated by Nathan Philbrick and was one of the finer hostels in southern Oakland County, widely known for the high quality of its entertainment for . . . — — Map (db m162284) HM
This cemetery, now known as the East Farmington Cemetery, is the oldest in Farmington. Mrs. Stanford M. Utley, who died as a result of a fall as she alighted from a wagon upon completion of her long trip from New York, was the first settler to be . . . — — Map (db m136113) HM
The first country inn in Farmington was the log home of Solomon Walker, opened in 1827. A gala celebration was held there for New Year's Eve 1828, followed by the first Township meeting in 1829. East of his log house Walker built a Greek Revival . . . — — Map (db m84873) HM
An 80 acre parcel on this site was purchased by the Czechoslovak Workers Farm Co-operative Association in 1924. They opened a summer education and recreation camp for blue collar workers and their families here in 1928. The camp was purchased by the . . . — — Map (db m160879) HM
In 1831, Oakland County pioneers Theron and Rebecca Murray purchased eighty acres of land from the U.S. government including this site. This Greek Revival house and the barn, constructed around 1835, were built of hand-hewn poplar beams with wooden . . . — — Map (db m163778) HM
This 1841 Greek revival farmhouse was the home of Ward Eagle (1891-1967), Farmington Township Supervisor, Justice of the Peace and influential member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association.
The house was built by John Trick on land sold . . . — — Map (db m136056) HM
This cemetery was originally known as the Baptist Burying Ground, and was associated with the Baptist Church which was located on this land. It was organized by Rev. Nehemiah Lamb in 1835, and about fifty graves were transferred here from a plot . . . — — Map (db m160882) HM
"On March 8, 1824, five men, led by Arthur Power, a Quaker from Farmington, New York, came into this area. They felled the first tree of the first clearing a short distance due east from this point "on the bank of a small run" which can still be . . . — — Map (db m162279) HM
This beautiful historic building was constructed and then destroyed by fire in 1914. Known as The Ferndale School, it was re-built in time for the 1915 school year. Eventually known as The Central School, in the 1920's it was remodeled for District . . . — — Map (db m107989) HM
Shortly after midnight on August 12, 1917, Oakland County Deputy Sheriff Albert Anderson arrived at Nine Mile Road and Woodward Avenue on the interurban railway car. After disembarking, he noticed a suspicious man in front of a nearby business. . . . — — Map (db m108384) HM
(Side 1)
Evangelical Association
Historical Site
165 E. Nine Mile
The Evangelical Association was the first church founded in Ferndale and the congregation began meeting in 1916 in a storefront on Woodward Avenue as the . . . — — Map (db m155340) HM
At the southwest corner is the Ferndale Center Building. Originally named the C.H. Harrison Building, it housed the newly incorporated Ferndale City Hall offices in the 1930's. For many years, this three story building was the tallest structure in . . . — — Map (db m108232) HM
(Side 1)
Ferndale State Bank
Historical Site
141 W. Nine Mile
The Ferndale State Bank was the second bank in Ferndale, setting up shop within the former C.F. Smith Grocery store on July 1, 1924. Their early successes allowed . . . — — Map (db m155338) HM
Dedicated To Those Who Served In The Armed Forces Of Our Country
Honor Roll
We remember the following veterans, who passed away since Memorial Day 2021.
Robert F. Alford US Air Force
Steven Blomberg US Marine Corps
David Burnham US . . . — — Map (db m207731) WM
"Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom From Want
Freedom From Fear"
Franklin Delano Roosevelt President United States of America 1941
World War II(On left side of memorial)
Curtis Behnke, Richard Berryman, George Bessenger, . . . — — Map (db m207951) WM
April 6, 1917 Honor Roll Nov 11, 1918
A tribute to Ferndale's World War Veterans who offered all to their country "That Liberty and Justice might not perish from this earth"
*These made the supreme sacrifice *Paul William Hornaday *Jack Yull . . . — — Map (db m207733) WM
In the early years of the Village of Ferndale, most of the businesses were located on Woodward Avenue because Nine Mile Road was categorized as residential. The houses located on the street were primarily on the north side. On the south side the . . . — — Map (db m155329) HM
"It's not fair." These were the last anguished words whispered by Vincent Chin as he lay dying, the victim of a hate crime on June 19, 1982. His words became a rallying cry for the Asian American community outraged at the lenient sentences his . . . — — Map (db m108319) HM
The State Bar of Michigan 34th Michigan Legal Milestone marker commemorates Ferndale as the birthplace in 1983 of the pan-ethnic Asian American civil and victim's rights movement resulting in the formation of the civil rights organization . . . — — Map (db m108321) 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
(Side 1)
Pioneer & Merriman Apartments
Historical Site
195 W. Nine Mile
During the early development of the West Nine Mile business area, two apartment buildings were constructed. The first was the Pioneer Apartments, . . . — — Map (db m155336) HM
At the northwest corner was the first two story brick commercial and office building in Ferndale, home to Leonard's Drugs in the 1920's and McMillan's Drugs in the 1940's. Two well-known businesses, Federal Department Store and Radio City, . . . — — Map (db m108287) 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
First incorporated in 1917, Ferndale's early development as a streetcar suburb of Detroit resulted in Ferndale having a small downtown and traditional high density development patterns. The streetcar system, with its fond memories, served . . . — — Map (db m108386) HM
Originally built as a one-story building at the NE corner, and later that decade, a second story was added. On July 16, 1988, a stolen '88 Buick ran three red lights on northbound Woodward and broadsided an eastbound Pontiac at E. Nine Mile Rd. The . . . — — Map (db m108250) HM
Located at the southwest corner is the Professional Building, which replaced the Aston-Wallace Building during the widening of Woodward and is now located at the south end of the same block. Cunningham's Drug Store opened at this corner in 1931, . . . — — Map (db m108277) HM
During the early twentieth century, many African Americans migrated north to work in Detroit's automobile factories. Increased migration during World War II prompted Royal Oak Township's Clinton School District to split into two racially segregated . . . — — Map (db m95364) HM
Side 1
In 1827 Elijah Bullock, one of the founders of the Stoughton Bullock Settlement (renamed Franklin in 1828), set aside land for a burial ground. This parcel, known as "the Old Plat," is in the southeast corner of the cemetery. The . . . — — Map (db m98761) HM
"United Methodist in Affiliation
Ecumenical in spirit"
The first Franklin village church was organized in 1840 by Reverend Laban Smith. A building was constructed on German Mill Street and dedicated in 1863.
This santuary was dedicated . . . — — Map (db m98770) HM
Founded in 1824-25, Franklin received its present name in 1828. First postmaster was Dr. Ebenezer Raynale, state legislator and physician. The William Huston store, opened in 1830, was the forerunner of a business center that later included the . . . — — Map (db m98766) HM
Michigan's Territorial Council passed a law in 1827 requiring every township with fifty or more inhabitants to establish a school. Thus, the following year, the first school in Southfield Township was erected in Franklin Village. Sophie Gotie taught . . . — — Map (db m98767) HM
The Kregers were descendents of early Franklin settlers who lived on this farm when it was located on Scenic Drive. The buildings were relocated here on December 18, 2008 and restored through the efforts of Franklin Villagers. — — Map (db m98771) HM
In 1962, Robert E. Cornillie had a vision to transform this 6 acres into what is now known as the Franklin Community Association Grounds. Through his hard work and dedication to the Village this park was created to be enjoyed by Village residents . . . — — Map (db m98773) HM
In honor of all residents and employees of the City of Hazel Park, Michigan who have served in the armed forces of the United States of America during times of peace, conflict or war. To fight for our country witout question or pause: For freedom is . . . — — Map (db m190565) WM
In 1846 Major F. Lockwood built a dam and sawmill on Pettibone Creek northeast of Livingston and Harvey Lake Roads. This sawmill supplied lumber to Highland's earliest settlers until it burned in 1863. In 1867 Chester Chatfield build a cider mill at . . . — — Map (db m20487) HM
Highland's Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1865. Lester and George St. John built this structure in 1886 on three lots donated by J.B. and Betsey Crouse. In 1946 the former Hickory Ridge School, was added to the Victorian church with the . . . — — Map (db m159716) HM
In 1872 Almon Ruggles and Germain St. John platted a village called Highland Centre on land between Milford Road and the new railroad. They named two of the village's streets after themselves, while a third honored late Governor Henry H. Crapo. . . . — — Map (db m78693) HM
Squire and Dolly Rowe, who settled here in 1835, built this elegant, cut fieldstone house in 1855. The solid cobblestone, beaded mortar joint construction is highlighted by the pleasing and sophisticated use of delicate scrollwork under the eaves . . . — — Map (db m125205) HM
Side 1
The need for a burying ground arose soon after Highland's first settlers arrived in the 1830s. They "laid out" an acre for cemetery use in 1835-36. The Highland Baptist Church bought the land in 1841. In 1915, at the urging of the . . . — — Map (db m159690) HM
This historic district was once the scene of frequent brawls. In 1880, an uproar between local rowdies and workers of a traveling circus rendered so many bruised, beaten, and jailed, that this street was thus named "Battle Alley." Carry A. Nation, . . . — — Map (db m34527) HM
Henry Howland Crapo (1804-1869)--wealthy lumberman, Republican, state senator (1863-64) and governor of Michigan (1865-68)--owned prosperous lumberyards in Holly, Fenton and Flint. Lumber and railroads were essential elements in the development of . . . — — Map (db m34494) HM
Holly's Town Hall has been a center of community activity since it was built in 1892. Holly Township in Oakland County was formally organized in 1838, and the Village of Holly was incorporated in 1865. The two local governments decided to join . . . — — Map (db m34541) HM
Beginnings of a Settlement
Settlers were attracted to the southern end of Holly because of the Shiawassee River. In the early 1820's, Ira C. Alger arrived to establish the first settlement. In 1843, Alger dammed the river at the border of . . . — — Map (db m142293) HM
AMVETS National Service Foundation and AMVETS Department of Michigan dedicated this carillon as a living memorial to America's veterans who served their country honorably for the cause of freedom
Great Lakes National Cemetery
Holly, Michigan . . . — — Map (db m217552) WM
The markers in this memorial area honor veterans whose remains have not been recovered or identified, were buried at sea, donated to science, or cremated and the ashes scattered. — — Map (db m217551) WM
Dedicated in memory of all marines, FMF corpsman and chaplains whose dedication, patriotism and self sacrifice helped to ensure freedom for all
May they rest in peace
"Uncommon valor was a common virtue"
-Adm. Chester A. Nimitz
March . . . — — Map (db m217557) WM
Dedicated to the men and women in the military who served their country on 7 December 1941, at 7:55 A.M., "the day of infamy" on the island of Oahu, Hawaii — — Map (db m217553) WM
In 1890, Fred A. Baker, an attorney and former state legislator, purchased 320 acres of land in Royal Oak Township. He developed the land into the Black Meadow Dairy Farm, one of the area's largest dairies. This Colonial Revival house was built in . . . — — Map (db m34269) HM
Dedicated to the American North Russian Expeditionary Forces known as the "Polar Bears".
From September 4, 1918, to June 15, 1919, fifty-five hundred American Soldiers of the 339th Infantry regiment (with elements of the 310th Engineers and the . . . — — Map (db m91098) HM
[Side One]
In 1923 philanthropists Horace and Mary Rackham acquired 150 acres of land from the Baker Land Company, which was developing subdivisions in the future Huntington Woods. The Rackhams donated twenty-two acres to the Detroit . . . — — Map (db m234663) HM
Decker Settlement
The remnants of a millpond dam and the pioneer graves in nearby Bigler Cemetery are the only evidence of the settlement that once occupied this site. Samuel Munson built a sawmill and a log cabin here in the spring of . . . — — Map (db m169671) HM
Joseph Jackson built one of the first sawmills in Orion Township on this site in 1825. During the nineteenth century the waters of Paint Creek powered machines that cut logs into board lumber and ground wheat into flour. In 1835, Powell Carpenter . . . — — Map (db m137878) HM
John Howarth provided the land on which this Greek Revival schoolhouse was built in 1859. The building served the community as a place of worship for the Howarth United Methodist Church and as an Oakland County school. The Methodists moved to a new . . . — — Map (db m78025) HM
Methodist missionaries preached here in the 1820s, and in 1833 a class was organized. Services were held in homes and schoolhouses, and in 1853 several denominations combined to build a union church. The cornerstone of the present building was . . . — — Map (db m133647) HM
This Carpenter Gothic style house was built in 1879 for Joshua C. Predmore (1837-1912). A Civil War veteran, Predmore was on guard duty at the White House the night President Lincoln was assassinated. He was mustered out of the service in 1868. . . . — — Map (db m133637) 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
William E. Scripps
As the son of James E. Scripps, founder of the Detroit (Evening) News, William E. Scripps (1882-1952) was heir to a publishing fortune. He preferred engineering, however, and sought to use engineering and science . . . — — Map (db m133601) HM
In 1843 Addison Township settler Ernest Mann donated one acre of land to the local community for use as a cemetery. The cemetery has since expanded to more than eleven acres. Among the first to be buried here was Private Derrick Hulick, a veteran of . . . — — Map (db m109699) HM
This landmark building commands attention
as the Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station. It was built in 1938-39 to harness the precious power of water for Ford's Carburetor Plant, now gone. It remains as a reminder of Milford's "village . . . — — Map (db m125348) HM
This simple and picturesque park was designed by John Grissim and is dedicated to our longest-serving Village Manager, Arthur Lyle Shufflebarger. Arthur's Park is nestled in the shadows of the elevated railroad bed that runs through the heart of . . . — — Map (db m125231) HM
Erected to the memory of our comrades 1861-1865 by the Herber Lefavour Post no. 181 G.A.R. Milford committee A.J. McCall, J.E. Beaumont, G.W. Sturdevant — — Map (db m26705) HM
In 1832 Calvin Eaton came to Milford, and shortly thereafter built a dam on Pettibone Creek, a few rods north of here, and a woodworking mill on the east side of the creek. Eaton sold the mill to Philip Wells in 1846, but all traces of it were gone . . . — — Map (db m178324) HM
NW of here Luman Fuller built
Milford's first grist mill in 1834.
Shortly after a woolen mill was added
north of the grist mill. Peters' Mill
as it came to be known, housed
Milford's first electric dynamo in 1892.
Both mills were razed in . . . — — Map (db m178323) HM
Aaron Phelps, pioneer settler and first postmaster of Milford, built this Greek Revival residence between 1836 and 1838. It was one of the first frame structures erected in the village. New York immigrant Ira Hibbard purchased the house and . . . — — Map (db m125402) HM
Henry Ford chose to build a "village industry" here in the 1930s,
one of seventeen small factories he built in rural settings to produce small parts for Ford vehicles. Ford found benefits to building the carburetor plant here — dams . . . — — Map (db m125380) HM
The "Milford Rural Agricultural School" was the first building in Milford Township designed solely for high school pupils. It was built in 1926 and was located on the east side of Hickory Street between Detroit and Summit Streets. This name stone . . . — — Map (db m125287) HM
Preserved here is the name stone from Milford's Water Works Building. The building stood near this site from 1895 until 1996. Here at the Water Works was a coal-fired boiler and steam-driven pumps that provided Milford its first pressurized water . . . — — Map (db m125271) HM
This bridge was built by the determined efforts of a small group of Milford people, with the help of many
Originally built in 1885 — — Map (db m125407) HM
Dedicated — July 16, 2010
Thomas Samuel Motley, a lifelong resident of Milford and a fixture on Main Street for more than 55 years, was well known for his big smile, firm handshake, good jokes and civic pride.
Tom began his love . . . — — Map (db m125319) HM
Oak Grove Cemetery, established in May 1845, was formally named in May 1871. When it was officially designated as the township cemetery, the remains from the area's "old burying ground," begun on the corner of Mill and Washington streets in 1832, . . . — — Map (db m125445) HM
The Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station was designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn and built by Henry Ford in 1939. Over time the station became known as "The Ford Powerhouse." Decommissioned in 1953 and in declining condition, the iconic . . . — — Map (db m125362) HM
The upper mill pond was created in 1846 by damming Pettibone Creek. A mill race entered the pond beneath the road and powered the woolen and woodworking mills. The race for the grist mill left the pond near the dam at the south end of the pond. . . . — — Map (db m125366) HM
Circa 1836, Aaron Phelps, Milford’s first postmaster and the man who platted north Milford, built a saw mill and a distillery here, at the foot of the lower mill pond.
The distillery became a carding mill in 1848, but the other mill, used for . . . — — Map (db m79683) HM
Side 1
Frederic and Priscilla Prior and four of their seven children were among Milford Township's earliest settlers. Originally from Massachusetts, the Priors came to Michigan in 1835 and settled near Sears Lake. This house was completed . . . — — Map (db m125222) HM
In 1865 Philip F. and D. Webster Wells moved their foundry, then called the Milford Furnace, from North Main Street to this site after experiencing problems with the water power at the former site (a water power their father had developed). Their . . . — — Map (db m78801) HM
This body of water, known as Kingfisher Lagoon, is connected to Kent Lake by a culvert that runs under the road. Over the years, this pond changed in appearance.
As ponds and lakes age, soil from the surrounding landscape washes into the . . . — — Map (db m185055) HM
This Greek Revival house was built as a home for John Wood, a woodworker. It was sold to Edwin Hubbell, grocer and meat market owner, in 1866.
The second story on the west wing was added in 1874, the porch on the south side in 1897 and the . . . — — Map (db m125282) HM
A Piece of Novi's History
This park and the Civic Center Campus are a part of the original 160 acres purchased by the pioneering Simmons family in 1827. The first Novi Town Meeting was held on this site in 1830, seven years before Michigan . . . — — Map (db m155643) HM
The focus of the Novi community...
the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Novi Road. Various buildings have come and gone, within walking distance of this crossing — stores, churches, a school, a hotel, restaurants, village . . . — — Map (db m155616) HM
A wonderful tumble of attractions grew beside Walled Lake
in the early 20th Century. The lake had been known for fishing, swimming and boating, but the development of automobiles and highways brought great numbers of mobile city dwellers . . . — — Map (db m164432) HM
Colonel Samuel White
The Samuel White family was one of the first to settle in Novi Township. White (1794-1870) and his wife, Amanda (1799-1869), immigrated to this area from Royalton, New York, in 1827. White had recently retired from the . . . — — Map (db m164871) 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
This sign marks the location of the original Grand River Avenue Bridge traversing what was formerly the Pere Marquette Railway line. The bridge, built by the Michigan State Highway Department (now the Michigan Department of Transportation), took . . . — — Map (db m164920) 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
Side 1
In 1827 Gamaliel Simmons of New York purchased 160 acres of land from the federal government in what was then Farmington Township. In 1830 the first Novi town meeting was held in the Simmons residence, a Greek Revival structure that . . . — — Map (db m155628) HM
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