St Clair Shores was home to a classic
speakeasy on the shores of Lake St. Clair.
Blossom Heath, now a event center, was
notorious for illegal drinking and gambling
during Prohibition and the Great Depression.
Hoteller Matthew Kramer . . . — — Map (db m313071) HM
The Blossom Heath Inn was originally a roadhouse built in 1911 by Mathew Kramer and was known as the Kramerhof. On August 18, 1914, his only son, Mathew, decided to go for a swim before dinner. He dove into Lake St. Clair in water that was too . . . — — Map (db m313169) HM
Matthew Kramer, a hotelier and yachtsman, built this roadhouse in 1911, naming it the Kramerhof. In 1920 the building was sold to William McIntosh, who renamed it the Blossom Heath Inn and added two large wings, which included an ornate ballroom. . . . — — Map (db m102498) HM
The Turner Sommerheim Gesellschaft, or Turner Summer Home Society, was organized after the land, known today as 28404 Jefferson Avenue, was purchased in 1910. Built in 1924 to serve as a Turnverein, or German athletic club, it also served as . . . — — Map (db m279445) HM
The Davis Block was located at the northeast corner of Eleven Mile Road and Harper Avenue. It was one of the city's bustling retail centers by the mid-1920s. Dan Davis, for whom the block was named, was a real-estate developer with a pioneering . . . — — Map (db m279448) HM
Located on the shores of Lake St. Clair
at the intersection of Masonic Boulevard
and Jefferson Avenue, the Detroit
Masonic Country Club designed by
architect George W. Graves opened
in the early 1920s. The country club
sat on 87 acres of land . . . — — Map (db m313069) HM
St. Clair Shores organized its police force on June 1, 1926. The first department,
which consisted of just four men and two motorcycles, dealt mainly with traffic
violations. Initially, the speed limit was set at a minimum of 12 miles per . . . — — Map (db m313066) HM
Built on Lake St. Clair just north of 9 Mile Road, the Jefferson Beach Amusement
Park was one of the most popular entertainment destinations for metro-Detroiters
and featured the longest roller coaster in the
United States.
Fred Pearce, . . . — — Map (db m313063) HM
In 1957, Clarence and Vicki Monroe, along with sons Kyte (b. November 25, 1942, d. November 24, 1961) and Greg moved to a new home on Recreation Street; relocating from the eastside of Detroit. Both sons left Annunciation Catholic School to . . . — — Map (db m279389) HM
The earliest settlers in St. Clair Shores, mostly of French descent, lived along the lake with the friendly Potawatomi and Chippewa Indians. They called the area LAnse Creuse. Farmers settled on lots called strip or ribbon farms which were from two . . . — — Map (db m181449) HM
Lake Shore Church can trace its beginnings to 1922, when a group of visionary women, whose passionate desire to nurture children and embrace the community, formed as Ladies Aid Society on May 5, 1922. Soon thereafter, they started a Sunday . . . — — Map (db m279447) HM
French explorers discovered and named Lake Saint Clair on August 12, 1679. Among the party of 34 men were voyageur Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle and Roman Catholic friar Father Louis Hennepin. Aboard the Griffon, the first sailing . . . — — Map (db m102458) HM
The strip of land at the mouth of the Milk River was named Pointe a Guignolet for a grape-link berry that the French fermented into brandy. It later became known as Gaukler Point. The 1702 map of Lac Sainte Claire, attributed to . . . — — Map (db m102506) HM
Originally part of a French
settlement, the earliest deed for this
property was recorded in 1809. It
was part of the land upon which
Gazet Tremble laid claim based on
improvements dating back to 1796.
In the early twentieth . . . — — Map (db m257427) HM
Roy Edwin O'Brien was born in Lisbon, Arkansas on August 8, 1895. On February 8, 1919, Roy married Clara Estelle Leslie, born on April 8, 1897, from Alpena, Michigan. They had three children Mary, Gloria and Roy Jr.
In 1945, Roy O'Brien . . . — — Map (db m279326) HM
Officers Gordon McAllister and Harry Davis died at this location on May 20, 1945. The officers had attempted to stop a suspect for speeding around 6:10 a.m. The suspect driver forced their vehicle into a tree, causing both men to receive fatal . . . — — Map (db m279386) HM
The history of St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church dates back to October 1826 when Father Pierre Dejean built a church for the families of the L'Anse Creuse area. The original log church, dedicated to St. Felicity, was forty feet long by thirty . . . — — Map (db m279410) HM
In 1868, when this area was covered with small farms, Prussian immigrants John and Mary Selinsky bought farm land in Erin Township and built this salt-box house using solid log construction covered with clapboard. The Selinskys gave the house to . . . — — Map (db m102473) HM
The Detroit, Lake Shore, and Mt. Clemens Railway, also known as the Shore Line, began interurban rail service on September 28, 1898. The twenty-six mile route from Detroit followed Jefferson Avenue through Grosse Pointe and St. Clair Shores to . . . — — Map (db m102489) HM
Faster than horse-drawn carriages on
unpaved roads, urban travelers preferred
interurban railways in the early 1900s.
Rail lines spread from Detroit along
most of the city's main streets. One line:
ran along Jefferson Avenue through . . . — — Map (db m313068) HM
Trinity Episcopal Church had its beginnings in 1917. When Dr. and Mrs. Fred Thompson moved to Lake Township in June 1916, they found that there were no Protestant churches in the area.
On February 11, 1917, eighteen people met in the . . . — — Map (db m279443) HM
The Prohibition era of the 1920s and
1930s was a turbulent and colorful time
in St. Clair Shores. The Volstead Act,
prohibiting the sale and consumption of
alcohol, went into effect in 1920. However,
the state of Michigan had passed . . . — — Map (db m313072) HM
Maurice VanCoillie was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 19, 1925. His parents, Adiel and Rose, were immigrants from Belgium and he had two younger sisters, Alice and Margaret. In the 1930s and 1940s, his family farmed various locations in . . . — — Map (db m279379) HM
This Monument Is
"Dedicated To All"
By The
Members And Families
Of The
CPL Walter F. Bruce
Post 1146 VFW
"Lest We Forget"
Those Named Here
Will Never Be Forgotten — — Map (db m189336) WM
