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
In 1836, Benajah Aldrich set aside one half acre of his farm for burial purposes. His brother-in-law, Henry Knapp, was the first to be buried here. Most of the burials took place in the 19th century.
The Victorian symbol for grief, the . . . — — Map (db m165022) HM WM
Side 1
Surveyors exhibited courage, determination, integrity, and ingenuity in the heroic feat of measuring Michigan from 1815-1853. Their work resulted in global implementation of innovative methods of land measurement and ownership. The . . . — — Map (db m165314) HM
The Old Burial Ground donated by area pioneer Daniel Lee
provides a final resting place for many of Novi's earliest settlers.
In 1844, remains from graves on the Loren Flint farm, some
dating from the early 1830's, were transferred to . . . — — Map (db m155626) HM WM
The original township hall, built in 1876, was hit by lightning and destroyed on July 14, 1913.
In 1915 a second building, identical to the first, was built on the same site, the west side of Novi Road south of Grand River. It served as . . . — — Map (db m155646) 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
The now-serene shores of Walled Lake haven't always been this quiet. From the early 1920s to the late 1960s, Novi's southern shore of Walled Lake was home to the premiere entertainment venue for metro Detroit. The catalyst was the Walled Lake . . . — — Map (db m164483) HM
The Michigan State University Tollgate Farm
is the latest in a line of stewards of this precious land. 160 acres were first settled by John and Ervilla Bassett in 1837 here at Twelve Mile and Meadowbrook Roads. The farm grew with access to . . . — — Map (db m164611) HM
The huge dance floor was the center of things
for the people who drove to Walled Lake Casino for forty years. The word "casino" originally meant a large building for civic or entertainment activities, and early automobiles allowed city . . . — — Map (db m164669) HM
It was a destination for all of southeast Michigan
"The Picnic Wonderland," made possible by the automobile and the creation of major highways like Grand River Avenue. Interurban trains didn't travel to Walled Lake, so visitors came in . . . — — Map (db m164752) HM
This complex of buildings began as the farmstead of John Axford, who built the Greek Revival house during the 1840s. Farmer Jacob Kline purchased it in 1848, and his descendants operated the farm until 1925. During the Great Depression the bank . . . — — Map (db m97706) HM
This building is a replica of the original carriage barn that stood on this site. The original building was circa 1870, and was rumored to have been moved to this site in 1910. It was a two-bay timber framed building constructed of hand hewn . . . — — Map (db m97707) HM
We use forestry mowing in this area to remove dense thickets of non-native, invasive shrubs like buckthorn, autumn olive, and oriental bittersweet. Using the process outlined below, we will restore the native wildflowers and grasses that once . . . — — Map (db m158302) HM
The first burial here dates from 1832. Almon and Elvira Mack deeded this land to trustees of the Paint Creek Burial Ground in 1850. Created in 1853, it was known also as the Baldwin Burial Ground. The oldest marker is for Lydia Barnes Potter . . . — — Map (db m142171) HM
This post-and-beam barn, originally located at Kern and Gunn Roads and owned for 49 years by the Flumerfelt family, was signed in 1879. Interior boards bear this date and signature. Later, it was part of the Peters farm and Kern Nursery. In early . . . — — Map (db m109609) HM
Apple Island is a 37-acre nature sanctuary at the center of Orchard Lake. Owned by West Bloomfield School District, it has officially been called Marjorie Ward Strong Woodland Sanctuary since 1970.
National Register of Historic Places
In . . . — — Map (db m174056) HM
Originally a gift from the glaciers, Apple Island is also a modern-day gift to West Bloomfield Schools from the Ward Family.
This 35-acre-jewel, located at the center of Orchard Lake, sparkles with 10,000 years of history and folklore.
. . . — — Map (db m174058) HM
A pleasant tradition, unsupported by history, says that Pontiac once lived on Apple Island here in Orchard Lake. This great Indian chief was born around 1720, probably in the Ottawa village on the Detroit River. A friend of the French, Pontiac was . . . — — Map (db m155747) HM
This rare 4,400 lb. conglomerate boulder is made of irregular-sized jasper pebbles cemented together over millions of years by a finer mix of quartz sand. Often called "puddingstones" (because the stones resemble a British Christmas pudding), . . . — — Map (db m174289) HM
Beautiful lakes and rolling fertile land
hold quite an attraction. Native Americans first lived in the woodlands among the waterways and trails. By 1820 settlers built roads and opened the land to farming, mostly growing apples and raising . . . — — Map (db m176372) 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
This 150-pound cast iron bell was purchased for $15 in 1878 to call local children to Green School. Located at Green Road and Savoie Trail, the school was built on farmland donated by the Hartwell Green family, c. 1866. The bell is one of three . . . — — Map (db m176371) HM
Early settlers here were devout Christians, and from 1825 were served on occasion by itinerant preachers. Later Colin and Caroline Campbell had this chapel built on land donated by Peter Dow to accommodate the influx of summer visitors. It was . . . — — Map (db m155136) HM
Orchard Lake Schools
Orchard Lake School Historic District comprises eleven buildings constructed between 1858 and 1924. The oldest, a massive Romanesque Revival house resembling a Norman castle, was built in 1858 by one-time Michigan . . . — — Map (db m156488) HM
Two railways came together here.
The West Bloomfield Trail follows the path of the Grand Trunk Railroad, built through the region in the 1880s. If you were standing here in 1900, you also would see a light rail trolley line that ran along . . . — — Map (db m174212) HM
The Orchard Lake Museum has been an intersection
where paths cross and people meet. The first building here was a small tavern named the Orchard Lake House, built in 1857 for stagecoach travelers. Various owners rebuilt and . . . — — Map (db m105083) HM
Transportation transformed the landscape of rural West Bloomfield
as electric trolleys and automobiles appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Many people traveled here for the first time from Detroit and Pontiac, and . . . — — Map (db m105114) HM
The trolleys made it easy to travel
through the lakes of Oakland County. In the early 1900s people got off or waited at platforms that were built for access to the track. The Detroit United Railway (DUR) bought land from local . . . — — Map (db m105074) HM
To change directions, trolleys had to turn around.
At this location, at the back of what had been the parade grounds of the Michigan Military Academy, the Detroit United Railway (DUR) built a "wye." This Y-shaped track allowed . . . — — Map (db m105150) 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
Children attended school in this building,
originally located on Sawmill Lake Road,
From 1879 to 1943
Moved to this site by The Ortonville
Community Historical Society in 1996 — — Map (db m179808) HM
In June 1850 an eleven-member Methodist class was organized here as the Hadley Circuit of the Detroit District. B. F. Prichard was the pastor; M. H. Filmore, the class leader; and James Shaw, the presiding elder. That year the group built a stone . . . — — Map (db m108869) HM
Ortonville
Honors the memory of
Pte. Frank R. Scott
Co. D, 44th BN., C. E. F.
Died of wounds, Sept. 11, 1918
Pte. Roy L. Hartwig
Co. E, 125th Inf., U. S. A.
Died of disease Jan. 26, 1918
Corp. Benj. J. Richmond . . . — — Map (db m190375) WM
The local Methodist society, organized in 1837 at the house of Joseph Shurter, met in residences and schoolhouses for nearly four decades. In 1871, Irene Gibbs donated this land for its use. The church's cornerstone was laid on May 29, 1874. Lumber . . . — — Map (db m77806) HM
Maple Grove is one of about fifty octagon buildings in Michigan. Harry Frink (1809-89), a farmer and master carpenter from New York State built this house around 1850. The house’s octagonal plan reflects a national craze following the 1848 . . . — — Map (db m179814) HM
In Memory Of Our Sons Who Made The Supreme Sacrifice In World War II, 1941 - 1945
Lavern H. Becker · Jack W. Dalgleish · Richard C. Quayle
John Brown · Frank Kreuger Jr. · Charles Scriver
Ronald Cheney · Elon R. Lintz · Donald Seal
Truman . . . — — Map (db m190380) WM
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
This was the home of Moses Wisner and his wife, Angeolina Hascall. From 1859 to 1861 Wisner served Michigan as governor. He was born in New York, came to Michigan in 1837 and shortly established a successful law practice. In 1844 he purchased this . . . — — Map (db m174270) HM
On Tuesday morning, September 1 1, 2001 , as the nation watched the horror of three terrorist attacks upon our country, a sense of disbelief, vulnerability, and anger enveloped the American people. At the same time, an overwhelming desire to respond . . . — — Map (db m190361) WM
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
In 1825 Elizabeth Denison, “a woman of colour,” purchased 48.5 acres of land from Pontiac’s founder, Stephen Mack, agent of the Pontiac Company. She became Pontiac’s first black property owner, but never lived on the property. In 1827 she and her . . . — — Map (db m174223) HM
This Church, Michigan’s oldest Baptist Church, was begun in 1821 by a small band of pioneers who came to Pontiac through the forest and swamp from Mount Clemens. In 1824 the Reverend Elkanah Comstock became the church’s first pastor. The . . . — — Map (db m174228) HM
As early as 1820 itinerant Methodist preachers came to Pontiac, and in 1828 a society was organized by the Reverend William T. Snow in the home of Ira Donelson. The small group later met in a school and the courthouse until it was able in 1842 to . . . — — Map (db m174222) HM
Organized February 26, 1824, by four men and nine women under the leadership of Missionary Eldad Goodman at John Voorheis’ home in Bloomfield Township, the congregation met during its early years in Pontiac and for a time in Auburn. In 1844, a brick . . . — — Map (db m174268) HM
Built between 1845 and 1930, this neighborhood of 93 structures retains a turn-of-the-century appearance with its mix of Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick style and Colonial Revival architecture. During Michigan’s early period of . . . — — Map (db m174286) 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
They built this city.
An exodus of people left southern America for the north in the early 20th Century, attracted by the explosive growth in the automobile industry. Many cam to Pontiac for jobs in the auto plants, and many others brought . . . — — Map (db m175586) HM
This planting is dedicated to the memory of Helena Sexauer known affectionately as “The Tree Lady”. She worked for the beautification of her community and the improvement of the environment. During the 1970's Helena was responsible for saving and . . . — — Map (db m240323) 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
In 1861 the Reverend Augustus Green organized Oakland County’s first African American church. Services were held in homes, in a church basement and in a schoolhouse. In 1868 they incorporated as Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church, named for . . . — — Map (db m174220) 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
Pontiac has no shortage of talented folks
and they are honored at their time of rest. The highest point of land in Pontiac was selected as the village cemetery in 1822 and from 1840 a long line of accomplished individuals have been buried at . . . — — Map (db m174236) HM
(Front): On June 1, 1822, the Pontiac Company gave the citizens of Pontiac the first land for a village cemetery. It was "to be occupied and used forever as a burying ground." In 1839, when Captain Hervey Parke was employed by the village to . . . — — Map (db m174237) HM
In Honor of All From
Oakland County
Who Have Served In
The War On Terror
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom
Never Forget Those Who Have Made
The Ultimate Sacrifice — — Map (db m174209) WM
August “Gus” Scholle then president of the Michigan AFL-CIO, was troubled by the fact that his Oakland County State Senate District in 1958 held more than 12 times the number of persons than an outstate district — yet each district elected one . . . — — Map (db m205909) HM
Pontiac was one of Michigan's first cities to develop outside of Detroit however fire consumed much of its core in 1840. The downtown was rebuilt and made more permanent with use of brick and limestone. The richness of building styles that . . . — — Map (db m174257) HM
It's the "hub of the wheel."
Pontiac was named for the venerable Native American Chief Pontiac of the Odawas and always has been in the center of things. It became Oakland County's seat in 1820, was a carriage-making powerhouse later that . . . — — Map (db m174263) HM
In loving memory
of Union Veterans
of The Civil War
1861 * 1865
* * *
Erected by
Frances C. Butterfield
Tent No. 9 Daughters of Union Veterans
1927 Loyalty — — Map (db m26703) HM
This plaque is issued by the
Historical Society of Michigan
In Recognition Of
Pontiac
Public Library
Founded in 1882
For more than 100 years of Providing continuous service to the people of Michigan
And for contributing to the . . . — — Map (db m174238) 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
The Courthouse
The first Oakland County courthouse, built about 1824, was located on the corner of Saginaw and Huron Streets on land given by the Pontiac Company. The log first story housed the jail, while the frame second story was occupied by . . . — — Map (db m174281) 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
Oakland County Equal Suffrage Assn. organized May 9, 1912 at former courthouse in Pontiac to actively campaign for Women’s right to vote. — — Map (db m205904) HM
"The Corner" was an intersection of people
who came for jobs offered by the explosive growth of Pontiac's automobile industry. In the early 1900s, large numbers of mostly-rural Southerners settled near factories on the southwest side of the . . . — — Map (db m175369) HM
This memorial is
dedicated to the
men and women Of Pontiac who
served their country in this war
and in grateful memory of those
who made the supreme gift — — Map (db m180064) WM
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
St. Vincent de Paul parish, established in 1851 by Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere, once included all of Oakland County and parts of Genesee, Lapeer and Macomb Counties. The parish’s first house of worship, the Academy Building, was first a private . . . — — Map (db m174290) HM
The Chimes That Sound
From The Organ And Tower
Of This Church Were Installed
By The Members Of This Parish
In Memory Of The Following Sons
And Daughters Of The Parish Who
Died in World War II 1941-1945.
Robert T. Archambeau · Cletus . . . — — Map (db m184110) WM
1817 Alexander Graham and his wife built the first permanent, non-native settler's dwelling in Oakland County (a log cabin on the plot just east of today's East Alley on Third Street). Their son, James, was born in 1818 and was the first . . . — — Map (db m219596) HM
1827 The First Congregational Church was originally known as the First Congregational Society of Avon and was established in the summer of 1827. It was the first church in Rochester and the first Congregational Church in Michigan.
The . . . — — Map (db m219602) HM
1844 The first woolen mill in Rochester was built by Hosea B. Richardson. The mill was later purchased by J.S. Roberts and was destroyed by fire in 1867.
A new three-story factory was built by Samuel Richardson (son of Hosea) in 1867. This . . . — — Map (db m219610) HM
1849 The Old Stone Store was constructed in Greek Revival style by Dr. Rollin Sprague. It was a general store which sold groceries, pharmaceuticals and dry goods. Repairs and renovations began in 1899 and were done in an ornate Victorian style. . . . — — Map (db m219615) HM
1857 A flour mill (originally built by Colonel Stephen Mack in 1824) was converted to paper making. In 1864, William H. Barnes moved to Rochester from Connecticut, purchased the mill and operated it on behalf of the Barnes Brothers' firm. . . . — — Map (db m219621) HM
1872 The Detroit & Bay City Railroad Company laid its tracks through Rochester and brought the first train to town in October.
The railroad brought rapid transportation and communication to a sleepy village, and with it the economic . . . — — Map (db m219723) HM
1880 The lack of a public water supply made fire prevention an important consideration in early Rochester. The village was prompted to take action after a devastating fire destroyed the former Pavilion Hotel on Main Street in 1880. After the . . . — — Map (db m219724) HM
1890 Charles A. Burr erected a two-story brick building on the southeast corner of Main and Fourth Streets that housed two businesses on the street level and an opera house on the upper floor. The First National Bank of Rochester and the drug . . . — — Map (db m219726) HM
1899 The Detroit Sugar Company built a huge sugar beet processing mill on the northwest side of the village, along the Paint Creek. A street running westward from North Main to the plant (appropriately named Sugar Avenue) was laid, and . . . — — Map (db m219779) HM
1907 The Detroit pharmaceutical firm of Parke, Davis & Co. purchased property east of Rochester for its farms, where antitoxins, antiserums and vaccines were produced. The farms used many animals in the production of its antiserums, including . . . — — Map (db m219780) HM
1924 The village council created a police department. The chief of police and other policemen were appointed by the Village President with consent of the Council.
The police department, jail and village offices were housed at the Rochester . . . — — Map (db m219781) HM
1935 The Township of Avon established its first public park during the Great Depression, when federal funding was available through New Deal programs. A fourteen-acre portion of the old John C. Day farm, lying along Paint Creek in the northwest . . . — — Map (db m219782) HM
Image caption: Chapman Lake Dam
1946 Record rainfall during the months of May and June caused Rudd's Mill Dam (near Clarkston and Kern Roads) to fail, sending a torrent of water down Paint Creek valley. Several dams along the Paint Creek . . . — — Map (db m219866) HM
1952 As the population in the Rochester area grew, a change in the organization of local schools became necessary. A special election in December 1952 consolidated the rural school districts of Brooklands, Stony Creek, Mt. Vernon, Snell, . . . — — Map (db m219867) HM
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