On North Proving Grounds Boulevard west of Van Dyke Avenue, on the left.
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
On North Proving Grounds Boulevard at Van Dyke Avenue when traveling west on North Proving Grounds Boulevard.
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
On Van Dyke Ave. (State Highway 53) 0.4 miles north of 22 Mile Rd., on the left when traveling north.
Packard Motor Car Company In 1899 brothers James Ward and William Doud Packard founded the Ohio Automobile Company in Warren, Ohio. In 1902 Detroiter Henry Joy and several other local investors purchased the company, moved it to Detroit, and . . . — — Map (db m135685) HM
On Van Dyke Avenue, 0.4 miles north of 22 Mile Road, on the left when traveling north.
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
The "Master Motor Builders" at Packard
made some of the world's best engines for both automobiles and aircraft. Packard first manufactured aircraft engines during World War I and continued after that war. Packard used the nearly mile-long . . . — — Map (db m137673) HM
On unnamed road, 0.7 miles east of Ryan Road when traveling east.
Spring Hill Farm
Peter and Sarah Lerich established Spring Hill Farm in the 1830s. Their daughter Liberetta wrote in 1923 that her parents, opponents of slavery, had built a hiding place into a hillside as part of the Underground Railroad. . . . — — Map (db m137840) HM
On South Proving Grounds Boulevard west of Van Dyke Avenue, on the left.
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
On Shelby Road near Sylvan Street, on the left when traveling north.
John and Mary Stead deeded 4.46 acres of land to the Utica Cemetery Association in 1863. Included in that parcel was a section referred to as the "Old Burying Ground" and a family plot called "Stead's Reserve." The first burial occurred in 1817 . . . — — Map (db m118901) HM
