In the spring of 1953, Eleanor Olney Spicer age 12 was walking her dog, a toy Manchester terrier named Stuart Little, after the children's book, Stuart Little by E.B. White. Suddenly Stuart noticed a small animal and chased it into a drainpipe and . . . — — Map (db m46697) HM
Addis Emmett Green was born in 1827 in Livonia,
New York to Zephaniah & Zerilla Green. The Greens
were pioneer settlers of West Bloomfield Township,
establishing a farm across 14 Mile Road from this
site in 1832. Addis Green lived in California . . . — — Map (db m217744) HM
Near West Eleven Mile Road east of Orchard Lake Road, on the left when traveling east. Reported missing.
Royal Aldrich, a native of Farmington, New York, built this two-story Greek Revival farmhouse around 1840. His father, Esek, had purchased the 320-acre site from the United States government in 1823. Esek never lived here, but sold the property to . . . — — Map (db m162376) HM
On Halsted Road, 0.3 miles north of West Twelve Mile Road, on the left when traveling north.
On May 16, 1827, New York resident James Boorn purchased 160 acres, 80 acres on each side of Halsted Road, from the United States Government. Michigan was ten years from statehood and 6th President John Quincy Adams was in office. Working as a . . . — — Map (db m163570) HM
On Grand River Avenue (State Highway 5) at Botsford Drive, on the right when traveling north on Grand River Avenue.
This historic structure was built as a home in 1836 by Orrin Weston and converted into a tavern by Stephen Jennings in 1841. Milton Botsford bought what was by then called the Sixteen Mile House in 1860. It was a stagecoach stop popular with . . . — — Map (db m169246) HM
On West Twelve Mile Road at Inkster Road, on the right when traveling east on West Twelve Mile Road.
Buckhorn Corners was a hamlet in the early days of Farmington Township. A pioneer carpenter, Timothy Tolman, built an early frame house at Buckhorn Corners in 1828.
In the same year, the Tibbits Sawmill went into business half a mile south, . . . — — Map (db m136084) HM
Near West Twelve Mile Road, 0.6 miles east of Haggerty Road, on the right when traveling east.
This lovely Michigan farmhouse dates to 1840, when the southern section was built by pioneer settlers Michael and May Marlett, owners of the surrounding 160 acres from 1834-1867. Charles and Eliza Wixom purchased the farm in 1867; they built the . . . — — Map (db m160983) HM
On Haggerty Road, 0.2 miles south of Nine Mile Road, on the right when traveling north. Reported missing.
A native of Ontario County, New York, David Simmons moved to this area around 1827. Here he farmed, eventually acquiring 156 acres of land. He built this Greek Revival house around 1843. It features a field stone foundation, hand-hewn timbers and . . . — — Map (db m155832) HM
On West Thirteen Mile Road at Fox Club Drive, on the right when traveling east on West Thirteen Mile Road.
This attractive Greek Revival house was built in 1845 by Stephen Jennings, an early owner of the Sixteen Mile House (now the Botsford Inn). He built the house as a wedding gift for . . . — — Map (db m163573) HM
On Ardmore Drive at Bond Boulevard, on the right when traveling south on Ardmore Drive.
This Storybook Tudor with faux thatch roof was designed by Emily Butterfield of Farmington, Michigan's first female architect. In 1925, Great Lakes Land Corp. President Edward E. Beals developed the Oaklands subdivision emphasizing country living . . . — — Map (db m136011) HM
On Spring Street at Middlebelt Road, on the left when traveling east on Spring Street.
In 1899, this lovely Victorian house was built on the southeast corner of Thirteen Mile and Middlebelt Road by Eli Stodgell, a local carpenter and stone mason. The Stodgells owned a pasture across the road and raised chickens as well as cows in the . . . — — Map (db m163650) HM
On West 8 Mile Road, 0.6 miles west of Gill Road, on the right when traveling west.
[East face]
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 . . . — — Map (db m169539) HM
On Middelbelt Road, 0.3 miles north of Northwestern Highway (State Highway 10), on the right when traveling north.
This is the only existing one-room schoolhouse in the area used continuously for educational purposes. It was built on land donated for a public school and named after George German, one of an English group who settled here in 1835. It provided . . . — — Map (db m136187) HM
On West Eleven Mile Road at Barbados Road, on the right when traveling east on West Eleven Mile Road. Reported missing.
Upon this land, for over 100 years, lived descendants of slaves who fled the South before the Civil War.
Aaron and Ellen Wilson came from Virginia to Farmington via the Underground Railroad in the early 1850s. Going on to Canada, they became . . . — — Map (db m162380) HM
On Thirteen Mile Road near Glen Oaks Boulevard West, on the right when traveling west.
This graceful English-style stone clubhouse, completed in 1925, was designed by Butterfield and Butterfield of Farmington. In 1923 developers began the Oakland Subdivision housing development. The clubhouse and its adjoining nine-hole public golf . . . — — Map (db m135932) HM
Near West Twelve Mile Road, 0.1 miles east of Shroeder Street, on the right when traveling west.
Hamilton Hill Jones (1844-1916) built this farm house from locally sourced lumber, principally oak, ca. 1871. When he gave up farming to establish a mercantile business in 1891, his son, Judson, took over the farm and lived here until his death in . . . — — Map (db m160915) HM
On Ardmore Drive at Firwood, on the left when traveling north on Ardmore Drive.
This Colonial Revival style home with Asian influences was the residence of Henry and May Bach. Henry was Vice President in charge of sales for the Great Lake Land Corp., the developer of Oaklands. The house was originally an outbuilding on the farm . . . — — Map (db m163654) HM
On West Thirteen Mile Road, 0.2 miles west of Drake Road, on the right when traveling west.
John Garfield built this house on his 160-acre farm around 1835. The symmetry, pilaster-framed entrance and cornice returns reflect the simplicity of the Greek Revival style. In 1846, John and Elizabeth Cox purchased the house. When John died in . . . — — Map (db m163773) HM
On Farmington Road at West Ten Mile Road, on the right when traveling west on Farmington Road.
This Federalist Revival House was designed by talented architect Marcus Burrowes for Kirby White, an executive of Ferry Morse Seed Company. In the 1930s Ferry Morse was the largest seed company in the world. This house is considered the work of a . . . — — Map (db m105570) HM
On West Twelve Mile Road, 0.2 miles west of Farmington Road, on the right when traveling west.
Constructed in 1861, this is one of the three houses that Livonia farmer Joshua Simmons had built for his three sons. Lawrence Simmons, for whom this house was built, lived here for twelve years. He, like the elder Simmons, was a farmer. The house . . . — — Map (db m160678) HM
On Farmington Road at Glenn Valley Drive, on the right when traveling north on Farmington Road.
Lemuel and Lucy Botsford were Quakers. From Salisbury, Connecticut, they moved to Lyons, New York, and in 1836 to Farmington's Quaker settlement. In 1837 the Botsfords built this Greek Revival house on what became known as Botsford Hill. The house . . . — — Map (db m105576) HM
On Twelve Mile Road at Parkhill Street, on the right when traveling west on Twelve Mile Road.
This centennial business marked its 100th year in 1993. In 1893 Francis J. McCabe purchased the Detroit funeral home of Frank Gibb at Cass and Grand River. In 1902 he moved to Canfield and Grand River, again moving in 1904 to Hudson and Grand River . . . — — Map (db m104089) HM
On West Eleven Mile Road at Barnwell Road, on the left when traveling west on West Eleven Mile Road.
In 1927 the Nardin Park Methodist Episcopal Church was formed by a merger of two Detroit churches: the Ninde Church, organized in 1886, and the Grand River Avenue Church, established in 1891. The following year and educational building and gymnasium . . . — — Map (db m162306) HM
On Farmington Road south of West Fourteen Mile Road, on the left when traveling north.
Established here around 1850, this was a small village containing a post office, a blacksmith shop, a cheese factory, general stores and about ten homes. It was a collecting point for milk from surrounding farms. A cemetery, south of here, still . . . — — Map (db m136040) HM
On Farmington Road south of Walnut Lane, on the right when traveling north.
The Association for Cemetery and Burial Purposes was begun on the 20th of September, 1838, to deal with the business of the cemetery which was located on land donated by the Wm. L. Coonley family. This private organization, still in existence, . . . — — Map (db m136012) HM
On Holly Hill Drive at Rose Hill Drive, on the left when traveling north on Holly Hill Drive.
"The first homes in this lovely subdivision were built in 1926, when suburban living came to Oakland County. First platted in 1925 by the James F. Cain Building Company, Pasadena boasted four model homes billed as "small estates." It had been . . . — — Map (db m162294) HM
On West Twelve Mile Road at Rudgate Boulevard, on the right when traveling west on West Twelve Mile Road.
Pennsylvania native Samuel Davis settled on this site in 1855. In 1886 Samuel and his wife, Susan Graft Davis, built this Italianate house on their 299-acre farm. The Davises engaged in general farming and raised stock, and were among Oakland . . . — — Map (db m160571) HM
On Shiawassee Street at Inkster Road, on the right when traveling west on Shiawassee Street.
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
On Drake Road at Howard Road, on the left when traveling north on Drake Road.
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
On Inkster Road at Twelve Mile Road, on the right when traveling south on Inkster Road.
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
On West Nine Mile Road, 0.1 miles west of Polo Club Drive, on the right when traveling west.
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
On Ardmore, 0.3 miles north of Thirteen Mile Road, on the right when traveling north.
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
Near West Twelve Mile Road, on the right when traveling west.
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
On West Fourteen Mile Road at Halsted Road, on the right when traveling east on West Fourteen Mile Road.
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
On Howard Road at Drake Road, on the left when traveling west on Howard Road.
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
On West Twelve Mile Road, 0.1 miles east of Schroeder Street, on the right when traveling west.
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
On West Eleven Mile Road at Power Road on West Eleven Mile Road.
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
On West Twelve Mile Road west of Balmoral Way, on the right when traveling west.
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
On Grand River Avenue at Michigan Highway 5, on the right when traveling east on Grand River Avenue.
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
On West Twelve Mile Road at Investment Drive, on the right when traveling east on West Twelve Mile Road.
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
On Halsted Road, 0.3 miles south of West Fourteen Mile Road, on the right when traveling south.
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
On West Fourteen Mile Road west of Middlebelt Road, on the right when traveling east.
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
On West Twelve Mile Road at Halsted Road, on the right when traveling east on West Twelve Mile Road.
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 Power Road, 0.3 miles south of West Eleven Mile Road, on the left when traveling south.
"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
