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
Before the existence of Kensington Metropark, Detroit journalist, poet and labor leader Jo Labadie chose this site to get away from the "noise and hurry-up of the big town." He and his wife built a house, barn, printshop, and henhouse. Because of . . . — — Map (db m185009) 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
He was a man of vision and achievement,
and he called Haven Hill his "nerve retreat," his restful refuge. The only child of Henry and Clara Ford, Edsel Ford was born in 1893 and became the youngest president of Ford Motor Company in 1919. . . . — — Map (db m99082) 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
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
This plaque is issued by the
Historical Society of Michigan
in recognition of
Milford Presbyterian Congregation
founded in 1835
for more than 150 years of
continuous operation in service
to the people of . . . — — Map (db m307552) 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
Fuller Grist Mill, 1834
Woolen Mill, ca. 1835
Peters Road, south of the Huron River
Pettibone Grist Mill, 1846
Hebbard and Davis Woolen Mill, 1850
Tower & Tenny Woodworking Mill, 1854
Henry Ford I Mill, 1938
North Main Street, at . . . — — Map (db m307627) 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
Huron River: Why dam it?
Dams serve a variety of purposes. The Kent Lake Dam was built in 1947, but why? The answer comes from the "when". On the Huron River, from 1910 to 1940, power generation was the goal. From 1944 to 1970, most dams . . . — — Map (db m156415) HM
Around 1855, Timothy and Lucretia Warner built this Greek Revival farmhouse. Timothy (1819-1900) migrated from Livonia, New York, to Brighton Township in 1837. He was credited with helping organize and name the township later that year. In 1841 he . . . — — Map (db m231249) 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
In honor of
William F. Hopkins
Who served from 1953 to 1972 as the first Chief Naturalist of the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority.
Developing and guiding the interpretive services program through its infancy, he left a legacy that . . . — — Map (db m252335) 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
