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1800s

Out of the Wilderness

OAKLAND COUNTY SWAMP

Source: Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 10.

SAGINAW TRAIL

First Surveyors in Oakland County, Early 1800s

The first Native Americans arrived in what is now Michigan about 10,000 years ago.  When the French explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 1600s, perhaps as many as 15,000 Native Americans lived here.  

 

The first surveyors who came to Oakland County, future home to Birmingham, found the land inhospitable.  A swamp that included a portion or Royal Oak was a major impediment to development.   Because the Potawatomi Trail that meandered from Detroit to Pontiac was impassable for wagons, early Birmingham settlers such as John Hunter traveled from Detroit to Mount Clemens and then westward along the Clinton River toward what is now Birmingham. 

 

In the first years of the 1800s, as one left Detroit, the Saginaw Trail (which would in time evolve into Woodward Avenue) went through flat, wetland forest for several miles, including an area called the Cranberry Marsh, a major impediment to development, that lay between the two and the place that would become known as Royal Oak.  

 

As the traveler moved farther northwest, the ground slowly rose as the trail went deeper into the woods of what would soon become Oakland County.  Now there were periodic clearings or “oak openings” as the terrain became higher, rolling hills. Of course, there were no settler’s house or farms along this trail in 1805; Indian camps were the only signs of human life one might see. 

 

By the time the early settlers arrived, many Native Americans had already signed treaties ceding lane and left the state.  The area comprising what is now the city of Birmingham was part of land ceded by Native American tribes to the United States government by the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.  Others lived on reservations such as Potawatomi chief Seginsiwin's Village on the Rouge River; the reservation survived until 1827.  It bordered north and south by what are now 12 Mile Road and 11 Mile Road, and east and west by Lahser Road and Telegraph Road.

 

(Sources: [1] Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 10.)  [2] History of Oakland County Michigan: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People, and its Principal Interest.  Under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley, Vol. 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1912.

Road Authorized Along the Saginaw Trail, 1816

Marker Inscription

 

“The Saginaw Trail, running from Detroit to Saginaw through Pontiac and Flint, was originally an Indian Trail.  In 1816, Michigan territorial government authorized the building of a road from Detroit to Saginaw along the trail.   Part of the trail in Oakland County is now Woodward Avenue and Dixie Highway.  Evidence of the original Saginaw Trail’s path through Royal Oak is still visible as a epression in the ground running northwesterly across the property adjacent to the John Almon Starr House.”

 

  • SIDE NOTE: When European settlers arrived began using the trail they dubbed it the Saginaw Trail.  These settlers determined the government should modernize it for the use of their horses and carriages. The name Saginaw is believed to mean, “where the Sauk were” in the Ojibwe language, which is used by the Chippewa tribe. (Sources:  [1] Wikipedia.  [2] Detroit: The History and Future of the Motor City. http://detroit1701.org)

SAGINAW TRAIL HISTORIC MARKER

John Almon Starr House

123 Crooks Road, Royal Oak

Photo Source: Law Office of Chisholm & Shuttie

Last Visible Remains of the Saginaw Trail

Indians End Use of  Saginaw Trail
Mid-1800s

Marker Inscription

 

“This depressed path, northwest across the ALMON STARR land, is the last visible remnant of a trail worn by the feet of INDIANS and the hoofs of their horses traveling between Detroit and Saginaw until the mid 1800s.

 

The children of the American Revolution planted the pin oak tree nearby in 1939 to mark the trail.

 

To perpetuate the memory of the natives of our land, this monument is set for the Michigan Sesquicentennial. May 1987.”  

 

INDIAN TRAIL HISTORIC MARKER, 1987

John Almon Starr House

3123 Crooks Road, Royal Oak

Photo Source: Law Office of Chisholm & Shuttie

Detroit's Great Fire of 1805 & Woodward Ave.

The Great Fire Gave Impetus for  Building Woodward Avenue

The beginning of Woodward Avenue goes back to Detroit’s Great Fire of 1805. 

 

The fire started on the morning of June 11, 1805, in a stable at the western end of Sainte Anne Street.  Detroit, then, occupied two acres.  It was a walled city surrounded by tall Palisades, crowded with narrow streets, thatched roofs, and houses and buildings.  With the exception of one stone fort and the brick chimneys of wooden houses, the city of Detroit was leveled to the ground by that afternoon.

 

The Great Fire precipitated a new street and property layout formerlly called the "Governor and Judges Plan," and Woodward Avenue was born.

DETROIT FIRE, JUNE 11, 1805

Photo Source: EstateSaleRelics.Com

Side Note: Detroit Fire of 1805 & Detroit Flag

The flag of the City of Detroit was designed in 1907 by David E. Heineman and was officially adopted as the city's flag in 1948.

 

The two Latin mottos read Speramus Meliora and Resurget Cineribus, meaning "We hope for better things" and "It will rise from the ashes," which was written by Gabriel Richard after the fire of 1805. The seal is a representation of the Detroit fire, which occurred on June 11, 1805. The fire caused the entire city to burn with only one building saved from the flames. The figure on the left weeps over the destruction while the figure on the right gestures to the new city that will rise in its   (Source: Wikipedia)

Video on Detroit Fire of 1805 & Its Influence on Detroit's Flag, Motto, and Woodward Ave.
"Michigan's Troubled Era: Detroit Fire of 1805"
Governor and Judges' Plan for Detroit, 1807

Click on first photo for slideshow mode and descriptions.

After the 1805 Detroit Fire, August Brevoort Woodward, Michigan Territory's first Chief Justice, and Governor William Hull developed a new plan for Detroit, in keeping with its status as the capital of the Territory.  They based their work on pierre L'Enfant's layout for Washington, D.C.

 

Woodward proposed a system of hexagonal street blocks, with the Grand Circus at its center. Wide avenues, alternatively 200 feet and 120 feet, were designed to radiate from large circular plazas like spokes from the hub of a wheel. As the city grew, it could develop along the avenues in all directions from the banks of the Detroit River. When Woodward presented his proposal, Detroit had fewer than 1,000 residents. The plan was abandoned after 11 years, but some of its most significant elements had already been implemented. Most prominent of these are the construction of the six main "spokes" of Woodward, Michigan, Grand River, Gratiot, and Jefferson avenues and Fort Street.  Woodward Avenue followed the route of the Saginaw Trail, an Indian trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw.  With the Mackinaw Trail, the Saginaw also connected north to the Straits of Mackinac at the tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. (Source: Wikipedia)

How Woodward Avenue Got Its Name

Augustus B. Woodward was a judge in the Michigan Territory appointed by his friend President Thomas Jefferson.  Woodward named the street for himself, responding whimsically to the resulting criticism: “Not so.  The avenue is named Woodward because it runs wood-ward, toward the woods.” 

 

The three-person Governor and Judges panel that created the Plan for Detroit after the Great Fire of 1805 wanted to locate the courthouse in Grand Circus Park, so Woodward was designated "Court House Avenue."

 

Some locals even referred to lower Woodward as "Market Street," as a public market was constructed in the middle of the street right near the Detroit River about the same time.

 

An act of the Governor and Judges in December 1818 renamed Woodward “Congress Avenue” between Campus Martius and Adams Avenue, though the street remained commonly called Woodward.

 

For a time, one section was named "Congress Street," "Witherell Street," "Saginaw Road," or "Saginaw Turnpike," with another section dubbed "Pontiac Road."  Unlike these other monikers, the avenue retained the judge's name.  

 

(Sources: [1] Wikipedia.  [2] PureDetorit.com)

JUDGE AUGUST B. WOODWARD (1774-1827) 

Detroit's Woodward Avenue Began as a Military Road, 1817

BUILDING A CORDUROY ROAD

(Source: The Library of Congress)

The 1877 History of Oakland County states,  "A military road was begun about 1817 or 1818, starting from Detroit and following the Saginaw trail; and Colonel Levenworth, then in command of the post, had worked it about three miles previous to 1819, besides corduroying several additonal miles. " [2]

Detroit to Pontiac Roadway Was a Corduroy Road

Detroit was incorporated in 1815, and the initial roadway to connect Detroit north to Pontiac along the Saginaw Trail was started in 1817.  This was a corduroy road or log road, built by laying down log -- typically an oak log laid horizontally across the thoroughfare (i.e., perpendicular to the direction of the road) -- and filling in the gaps with clay or sand.

 

“It was not until the late ‘twenties that the roads which brought immigrants to Oakland county from north and south were sufficiently established to encourage settlement.  The military road begun by Colonel Leavenworth in 1817, started from Detroit and followed the old Indian trail to Saginaw.  Previous to 1819, this highway had been completed about three miles, besides “corduroyed” several additional miles.  What manner of road it was, has been already told by Capt. Hervey Parke, the surveyor, and other early comers into this region by way of Detroit.”  “…the worst ever built, as no regard was paid to equalizing the size of the logs, the largest and the smallest lying side by side.” [1]

 

(Sources: [1]  History of Oakland County Michigan.  Under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley, Vol. 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1912.) [2] History of Oakland County, Michigan. By Samuel W. Durant, L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1877.)

Birmingham's Early Settlers Lived Near Today's Woodward

John W. Hunter: First White Man to Settle in Birmingham, 1818

JOHN WEST HUNTER AND SARAH VAN ANTWERP

Sarah was John's second wife.  They were married in the settlement of Birmingham on October 24, 1858

Source: 

FIRST SETTLER

The first white man who came to the area with any intention of remaining was John West Hunter (1793-1880).[1]  On March 10, 1818, John Hunter and his brother Daniel left Auburn, New York, by sleigh and traveled to Michigan by way of Upper Canada,[2] and over the ice on the Detroit River to Detroit, arriving in the winter of 1818.  This was about 3 years after  Detroit was incorporated in 1815 and about 1 year after the first roadway was initiated along the Saginaw Trail from Detroit in 1817.

 

On December 2, 1818, John Hunter paid about $2 an acre for 160 acres of land; the parcel was known as the northeast corner of Section 36 of the Township of Bloomfield (south of today's E. Maple Ave. and east of today's Pierce St.), along near the old Potawatomi trail that meandered from Detroit to Pontiac. [3]  

 

Note: Craig Jolly, author of "Images of America: Birmingham," refers to the "Potawatomi trail" rather than the "Saginaw Trail."  I have not been able to determine if the names are interchangeable, though it seems likely given the route of both Native American trails.  NF

 

Sources: [1] Birmingham, Mich.: Its Past, Present and Future.  Detroit, Mich.: F.H. Brown pub. Co, 1898.  [2] Wikipedia.  [3] Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum.  Page 11. 

John W. Hunter House, Original Location Along Saginaw Trail 

Click on first image for slideshow mode and description.

In January 1819, the Hunter family built their first log cabin in about 10 days.  Unfortunately, they built it on Elijah Willits’ land and had to build another.  In 1821, the Hunters were one of only four families in Oakland County.

 

The John W. Hunter House was built in 1882.  Its original location was along the Saginaw Trail (west side of today's Old Woodward Avenue, south of today's Maple Road, near what was the Detroit United Railway (D.U.R.) Waiting Room Building and later Olga's Kitchen restaurant).

 

In 1893, the Hunter House was moved from its original location on today's Old Woodward Avenue to 264 West Brown Street where it sat for seventy years. In 1968, James K. Flack offered the house to the City of Birmingham, and in July of 1970 it was again moved to its present location, 556 W. Maple Rd.  (Source: Birmingham Selected Downtown Historic Buildings: Self-guided Tour.  May 18, 2014.)

Birmingham's Earliest Land Entries: Col. Pierce, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Willets, and Maj. Hamilton

 The formal settlement of the area now known as Birmingham began when four enterprising men purchased the first parcels totaling 640 acres of land.  The men were Elijah Willits, Benjamin Pierce, John Hamilton, and John West Hunter.  [1]

 

"From an enlightening paper entitled "Piety Hill" read by W. D. Clizbe at the annual meeting of the Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society on February 22, 1919, the following information regarding the early settlement of Birmingham is taken: Birmingham covers the south half of Section 25 and the north half of Section 36. The center is marked by a stake in the middle of Maple avenue, west, and in line with the east side of Pierce street. These four quarter sections were entered under the administration of President Monroe. Patents of title were later issued to those who made the entries."  The paper went on to describe land entries made by Elijah Willits, Benjamin Pierce, John Hamilton, and John West Hunter. [2]

 

(Sources: [1] The jeffersgroup.com.  [2] An Account of Oakland County. Edited by Lillian Drake Avery, published by National Historical Association, Inc., 1925?,  page 33.)

LOCATIONS OF FIRST LAND ENTRIES

Map boundaries:

  • Lincoln St. is on the bottom edge.

  • Adams Rd is on the right edge.

  • Maple Rd is on the middle horizontal line.

  • Pierce St is on middle vertical line, lower half.

 

Map letters:

  • A = Quadrant of land owned by Elijah Willis.

  • B = Quadrant  of land owned by John Hamilton.

  • C = Quadrant of land owned by Benjamin Pierce

  • D = Quadrant of land owned by John W. Hunter.

  • Lower case letters represent locations of the landowners' first houses. 

 

In U.S. survey maps, a section is an area nominally one square mile and a quarter section is 1/4 square mile.  In the above map, which is one square mile, the area above the middle horizontal line covers the south half of Section 25, Bloomfield Township, and the area below the middle horizontal line covers the north half of Section 36, Bloomfield Township.  Each land entry by Willits, Hamilton, Pierce, and Hunter was for 1/4 of a Section, which equates to 160 acres .  

 

(Map Source: Unknown.  I can't find where I first saw this map.  It may have been posted on the Friends of the Birmingham Historical Museum & Park Facebook group.)

LAND ENTRIES

Benjamin K. Pierce: The earliest land entry was made by Colonel Benjamin Kendrick Pierce on January 28, 1819,  for the northwest quarter of Section 36, which involved all west of Pierce Street and south of Maple Avenue.

  • Property: See map, area C.

  • House: Colonel Pierce (a brother of Franklin Pierce, afterwards President of the United States) visited his land several times but never resided on it.

 

John W. Hunter:  The second land entry was made by John West Hunter in spring 1819 for the northeast quarter of Section 36, which involved all east of Pierce Street and south of Maple Avenue.  

  • Property: See map, area D.

  • House #1: See map, area a.  

    • Lacking a proper land survey, Mr. Hunter mistakenly built his first log house on a tract later purchased by Elijah Willets; it  was built near the corner of today's Old Woodward Avenue (then Saginaw Street) and Willits Street.

  • House #2: See map, area d.

    • Mr. Hunter built his second log house on his own land, near today's 138 S. Old Woodward Avenue (former location of the D.U.R. Interurban Waiting Room, which became Olga's Kitchen restaurant).  

 

Mr. Elijah Willits:  The third land entry was made by Elijah Willits on September 25, 1821, for the southwest quarter of Section 25, which involved all north of Maple  Avenue and west of the north and south line.

  • Property: See map, area A.

  • House: See map, area a.  ​

 

Maj. John Hamilton:  The fourth land entry was made by Major John Hamilton on September 27, 1821, for the southeast quarter of Section 25, which involved all north of Maple Avenue to the stake in the middle of Maple at the center of the village.

  • Property: See map, area B.

  • House: See map, area b.

 

(Sources: From a 1919 paper described in An Account of Oakland County, edited by Lillian Drake Avery, published by National Historical Association, Inc., 1925?,  page 33. [2] Wikipedia)

Benjamin Pierce

John W. Hunter

Elijah Willits

John Hamilton

(stand-in silhouette)

ALTERNATE PROPERTY MAP

Each land entry by Benjamin Pierce, John W. Hunter, Elijah Willits, and John Hamilton, was for 1/4 of a Section, which equates to 160 acres. 

 

Given that (1) each landowner’s property was 160 acres and (2) in U.S. Land surveying a quarter section is 160 acres, it’s likely that each of their properties extended to the outer boundaries of each quadrant.  This would result in each of their properties being in the shape of a square rather than a fan shape as shown in the previous green and white map. 

 

Further evidence that their properties extended to the outer boundaries of each quarter section is found in the 1919 paper cited in the 1933 An Account of Oakland County, which stated that  John Hamilton's property was bordered by Adams avenue: 

"Major John Hamilton entered southeast quarter of Section 25 September 27, 1821, which involves all north of Maple from Adams avenue to the stake in the middle of Maple at the center of the village, which causes Hamilton's west line to cut the Ford block in two and take in a part of other stores on that corner, and thus north to a point east of the railroad culvert."

LOG HOUSE, 1840s

PIONEER LOG CABINS

Birmingham's earliest pioneers built simple log houses out of rough-hewn logs.  Windows were a luxury often added after the settlers got established.  Within a few years, the log houses were replaced by frame houses.  

 

No photographs of any of the original three log houses built by John Hunter, Elijah Willits, and John Hamilton exist.   However, their log houses were probably very similar to the cabin pictured here, which was built in the 1840s in Frenchtown Township near Monroe.  The cabin was moved to Troy in 1982 and is located at the Troy Museum and History Village.

 

Photo and Text Source: Birmingham: Images of America. By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 14.

Saginaw Road (Woodward Ave.) Timeline 1818 - 1910

  • On December 7, 1818, the Michigan Territorial Legislature in Detroit approved the building of the Saginaw Turnpike (also called the Detroit–Saginaw Turnpike)--commencing at the center of the military square in Woodward Avenue in the city of Detroit.[1], [2]

 

  • On December 15, 1819, Michigan Territory Governor Lewis Cass established by proclamation the building of the section from Saginaw to Pontiac.  The Legislature approved the request to build the southern half, from Pontiac to Detroit, on June 22, 1822.  However, the Michigan government could not find the needed money in its budget to do so.[3]

 

  • In 1826, the Michigan Territory asked for federal money to fund the building of the road.  After months of consideration, the federal government approved the request on March 2, 1827. 

 

  • In Bloomfield Township, in 1830, John West Hunter was appointed the agent for improving Saginaw Road (John West Hunter House: A Report, 2006 Edition). 

 

  • In 1833, the Detroit-to-Flint section was finished.[4]

 

  • In 1841, the Flint-to-Saginaw section was finished.[5]

 

  • In 1848 and 1850, the Michigan government determined it was too expensive to maintain the road and, therefore, turned it over to a private plank company that kept it up, in return for tolls to travel on it.

 

  • By 1849, the Saginaw Road connected Detroit (via Birmingham) with Pontiac.  One tollgate was located at the intersection of what is now Quarton Road and Woodward Avenue.[6]

 

  • In 1910, the leases with the private plank company that ran the Saginaw Turnpike expired and the road was turned back over to state control, at which time all fees were lifted.[7]

 

(Sources: [1] History of Oakland County Michigan: A Narrative of its Historic Progress, its People, its Principal Interests.  Compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.  1912.  Page 234.  [2] Wikipedia.  [3] Wikipedia.  [4] Wikipedia.  [5] Wikipedia.  [6]Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum.  Arcadia Publishing, 2007. Page 20.  [7] Wikipedia.)

Early Oakland County, Michigan

MICHIGAN TERRITORY, 1833

(Source: Lions Clubs District 11-A-2)

Oakland County Founded in 1819

Prior to the first permanent settlers, Native Americans (of many different tribes, Ojibwa, Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi) roamed along the Saginaw Trail and camped at Saginaw Plains, Apple Island, and various other beautiful spots. Much of the original settlement of the county was around three major native American trails: Saginaw Trail--much is now Woodward Avenue, Shiawassee Trail--followed the current Orchard Lake Road , and Grand River Trail.

 

In 1803, the United States acquired the area now known as Oakland County from France as part of a 800,000 square mile agreement, and the area was given the name "Old Northwest."  The Territory of Michigan was formed by Congress on June 30th 1805.  Oakland County was officially organized on January 12, 1819, by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass; sparsely settled Oakland was originally twice its current size.  

 

The county was divided into two townships on June 28, 1820 (by another proclamation). The northern section was proclaimed Oakland Township, the southern section was named Bloomfield Township. Subsequently, on April 27, 1827, the legislative council of the Territory of Michigan divided Oakland County into five townships: Farmington, Bloomfield, Troy, Oakland, and Pontiac.   In 1820 Governor Cass set the county seat in Pontiac--a central location no more than a day's journey from any point in the county.  

 

The first official census of Oakland County was taken in 1820, and the final count was 330 persons. Within 10 years the population grew to 4,911. Woodward Avenue and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad helped draw settlers in the 1840s.  By 1840 the population ofthe county was 23,646, and by 1870 it had reached 40,867.  (Sources: OaklandWeb.com and Wikipedia)

SAGINAW ROAD, BIRMINGHAM, MID-1800s

 

In the mid-1800s, the Saginaw Road [now Woodward Ave.] connecting Detroit and Pontiac was a plank road.  A toll had to be paid to its builders.  One tollgate was located at the intersection of what is now Quarton Road and Woodward Avenue.  This buggy shown here is alongside what is now Booth Park could be on its way to the cemetery, farms north of town, or Bagley’s Corners, at what is now Long Lake and Woodward Avenue.

 

Photo and Text Source: Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 20.

WOODWARD AVE., DETROIT

Image date unknown.

“Two Wagons on Woodward Avenue, Detroit.”

 

Early vehicles had to struggle with poorly maintained roads.  Note the railroad tracks to the right of the road.

 

Photo Source: Archives of Michigan.  Via Michigan State University Libraries.

Fur Trading Along Saginaw Trail,  1827

SAGINAW TRAIL MOVIE POSTER,  1953

(Source: The Vintage Poster.Com)

Movie On Saginaw Trail Set in Michigan

There is a 1953 Western film starring Gene Autry named Saginaw Trail, which is set in Michigan during the 19th century fur trading days.

 

Storyline:

Michigan in 1827 was a bit off the beaten path for any B-western, especially one from Gene Autry, so Gene had to shed his Levis (since Mr. Strauss was about 20 years away from stitching his first pair together in San Francisco) and wear a different gun-belt, but the rest of his costume (hat and string-looped shirt) didn't make much of a bow in the authentic direction in this film, which finds the fur empire of Jules Brissac in Michigan's Saginaw Valley wilderness being threatened by advancing settlers.  His right hand henchman, Miller Webb, disguised as an Indian, leads renegade Delawares against the settlers. Captain Gene Autry of Hamilton's Rangers is sent to investigate. Gene and his pal Smiley, aided by Randy Lane and Brissac's niece, Flora Tourney, find evidence pointing to the guilt of Brissac and Webb and round them up to make the region safe for settlers  (Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046266/)

SAGINAW TRAIL MOVIE CLIP, 1953

 Gene Autry Sings "Beautiful Dreamer"

Woodward Ave., Detroit, 1820s - 1860s 

Click on first image for slideshow mode and descriptions.

Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 1860s

NATIONAL HOTEL, BIRMINGHAM, M.

"Now (1951) site of B'ham National Bank.  

S.E. cor. of Woodward & Hamilton"  (Source: eBay)

The National Hotel once stood on the old Saginaw Trail, at 176 North Woodward (then Saginaw St.) at the southeast corner of today's Old North Woodward Ave. and Hamilton St.  This was later the same location of the First National Bank of Birmingham

The National Hotel, Saginaw Street
(Today's Old Woodward Ave. & Hamilton St.)

Because the settlement (variously known as “Hunter’s,” or “Hamilton’s,” or “Willits” or  “Piety Hill”) was a day’s journey from Detroit, all three of the original settlers—John Hamilton, Elijah Willits, and John Hunter—opened taverns in their homes to serve travelers on wagon or horseback on what became known the Saginaw Trail (now Old Woodward Avenue).

 

John Hamilton became an innkeeper and by 1827 had constructed the first frame tavern in Bloomfield Township.  Later the inn became the north wing of the National Hotel, which was established in the 1860s by Mr. A. C. Ellis.  In 1865, the National Hotel was purchased by Mr. John Daines, who came to Birmingham from New York state in 1840.  At the death of  Mr. John Daines, the management of the house was assumed by his son, Mr. George E. Daines (For more information about George E. Daines , including a photo, see exerpt from Birmingham and Vicinity: Its Past, Present and Future, 1898, posted below.)

 

(Sources: [1] Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum , 2007.  [2] Birmingham, Mich.: Its Past, Present and Future.  Detroit, Mich.: F.H. Brown pub. Co., 1898. )

Click on first image for slideshow mode and descriptions.

MR. DAINES AND THE NATIONAL HOTEL

(Source: Birmingham and Vicinity: Its Past, Present and Future.  Published by The Fred. H. Brown Publishing Col, Detroit, Michigan, 1898.  Via E-book creation: Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library 2007.)

SIDE NOTES:

Mr. John Daines is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Birmingham, Mich.  Photos of the headstones are are online at Find-A-Grave.com.

 

Mr. George E. Daines MAY be buried in Saint Johns Norway Cemetery, Toronto, as there is a person of that same name buried there whose birth death dates are within the scope of possibility for being the same person.  A photo of the headstone is online at Find-A-Grave.com

NATIONAL HOTEL,

George E. Daines, Prop.

East Saginaw Street.

(I added paragraphs for easier reading):

 

THIS POPULAR HOTEL was established early in the '60s by A. C. Ellis, and was purchased in 1865 by Mr. John Daines.  Mr. Daines was born and reared in Penn Yan, New York State, and came to Michigan in 1840.  He established a pottery at Bloomfield Center, Mich., and being a first-class potter, his business was a success from the beginning.  Mr. Daines was the second man in the United States to start the manufacture of drain tile, and his product in this line was of such a superior kind that it received high awards at the national exhibitions of those times.  In 1865 Mr. Daines disposed of his pottery and engaged in the hotel business as above stated.  His enterprise and business ability enabled him to command success in his new undertaking, and until his death in 1871, his hotel business flourished.  At the death of Mr. Daines, the management of the house was assumed by his son, Mr. George E. Daines, the present Proprietor.  

 

Mr. George E. Daines was born at Bloomfield Center and received his education there.  Previous to assuming the hotel management, Mr. Daines clerked in the drug store of Frank Hagerman for seven years.  The business experience gained by Mr. Daines while in the employ of Mr. Hagerman was of great value to him in his new undertaking.  That Mr. Daines was, for many years past, managed the house to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of Birmingham and the traveling public, no one will deny.  The neat, tidy rooms, the clean, wholesome and bountiful table, and the quiet, orderly bar all reflect great credit upon the proprietor.  

 

The hotel is a large two-story wooden structure, with a frontage of one hundred and thirty-five feet deep, containing twenty rooms.  Mr. Daines is now making extensive modern improvements, such as bath, toilet rooms, etc.  Mr. Daines’ enterprise and progressiveness is not confined to his hotel, as he is the proprietor of a large furniture warehouse located on Saginaw street, and a first-class undertaking establishment on Maple avenue east.  He has been a Trustee of the town over twenty years, which shows that his sterling business qualifications are fully appreciated by his fellow citizens.  Mr. Daines is a genial host, has a staff of efficient and courteous assistants, and a wide circle of friends.

 

THE HILL, WOODWARD AVE, BIRMINGHAM

Description: “Unpaved tree-lined residential street with utility poles and two figures under trees.  Handwritten on front: ‘4 - The Hill - Woodward Ave. at Birmingham.’  Handwritten on back: ‘C.E.F. Clark - 12-24-64.’ White substance across sky in middle of picture.”

(Source: Detroit Public Library, Digital Collections)

 

CIVIL WAR MONUMENT, BIRMINGHAM, DEDICATED 1869

Intersection of  (Old) Woodward Ave. & Maple Rd.

  •  Note the National Hotel on the right.  The hotel faced Saginaw St. (today's Old Woodward Ave.), but the distance from the hotel to Maple Rd. appears have been decreased in this drawing given other accounts of the hotels location (a block north of Maple Rd.)

(Source: Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p 27.)

 

SIDE NOTE: In 1869, the citizens of Troy, Bloomfield, Royal Oak, and Southfield erected a memorial monument in honor of the soldiers from these townships that had died in the Union service during the Civil War.  The 1877 History of Oakland County described the monument as "enclosed by a handsome iron fence" and stated, "The cost of all was sixteen hundred dollars."  The obelisk was originally at the intersection of Maple Road and what is now Old Woodward Avenue, but relocated to Greenwood Cemetery in 1900 because it interfered with traffic.  Later, the monument was moved in front of the Birmingham Municipal Building.  Today, you’ll find it newly restored in the southeast corner of Shain Park.  

 

Michigan sent around 90,000 men to defend the Union. More than 400 Oakland County residents died in the Civil War.  Of the men who served from Bloomfield Township and didn't return, 29 are recognized on the memorial.  Six were killed in action while the rest died of disease.  

 

(Sources: [1] History of Oakland County, Michigan. By Samuel W. Durant, L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1877.  [2] Birmingham: Images of America, by Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 27.  [3] Bloomfield Historical Society.Org  Legacy: A newsletter of the Bloomfield Historical Society.  Fall/Winter 2010 Volume 5 Issue 2.)

"Piety Hill"
(Today's Birmingham)

Because the settlement of what is now called Birmingham was exactly a day’s journey from Detroit, all three of the original settlers—John Hamilton, Elijah Willits, and John Hunter—opened taverns in their homes to serve travelers on wagon or horseback on what became known the Saginaw Trail (today's Old Woodward Ave.). [1]

 

Hunter's tavern ("public house") did not continue for very long, but Hamilton and Willets continued a rivalry for many years, competing with each other for business from travelers on Woodward Avenue between Detroit and Pontiac. The result of all this was that the settlement was variously designated as "Hamilton's," "Hunter's" or "Willets."  It  was later known as "Piety Hill." [2]

 

In 1820, the entirety of the area we now call Oakland County had on 53 families.  For several years, the first three families -- Hamilton, Willits, and Hunter -- were the only settlers in the immediate area now called Birmingham. [3]

 

Local lore suggests that the high area that formed the crossing of the old Saginaw Trail (today's Old Woodward Ave.) and the hill (today's Maple Rd) built a reputation of piety and, possibly, puritanical rules. The height of the crossing would frequently take its toll on both people and horses, the climb being considerable, so “Hill” is understandable. The attitude of the people the travelers met there soon led to “Piety,” perhaps in sarcasm. At any rate, “Piety Hill” was in general use by 1825 until the settlement was incorporate as a village in 1864.[3]

 

The History of Oakland County, 1817-77, indicates that “James Stoughton comes in the year of 1825 and made settlement which, however, did not prove to be a permanent one, on John Hunter’s land at Piety Hill.”  The name appears to have been well established by 1827 when Elijah Willets built the first industrial enterprise, a much needed tannery.   A meeting was held in 1832 to finally name the community and none was agreed upon. However, a sign saying BIRMINGHAM appeared the next morning at Mr. Merrill’s foundry, suggesting the hope that the area would become an industrial center like Birmingham, England. The name stuck and the community has been called "Birmingham" since that time. [3]

 

(Sources: [1] Images of America: Birmingham.  By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum.  Arcadia Publishing, 2007, p.  7.  [2] History of Oakland County, Michigan. By Samuel W. Durant, L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1877.  [3] Piety Hill Chapter of the DAR, Birmingham, Mi.)

 

Woodward Ave., Detroit, 1870s 

Click on first image for slideshow mode and description.

Birmingham Maps of Woodward, 1870s

NAME CHANGES: WOODWARD AVENUE AND HUNTER BOULEVARD

In 1996, Birmingham changed the name of its original Woodward Avenue (a.k.a. Saginaw Street, Detroit United Woodward Trailway Avenue) to Old Woodward Avenue.  

 

Just to the east of Birmingham's original Woodward Avenue was  an interurban rail right of way (a.k.a. Detroit and Pontiac Railroad, Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad).  In 1931, the Grand Trunk Western Railway (GTW) moved the railroad tracks about a mile east in order to widen Woodward.  For a number of years, the abandoned Grand Trunk right of way in the heart of Birmingham lay dormant. Then, in 1939, an eight-lane superhighway was constructed where the trains once puffed through town. For over a half century this impressive thoroughfare was known as Hunter Boulevard.   In 1996, Birmingham changed the name of  Hunter Boulevard to Woodward Avenue.

Woodward Ave., Detroit, 1880s

WOODWARD AVENUE, DETROIT, 1880s

(Source: localwikie.org/detroit)

DETROIT IN THE 1880s

 

In 1880, the city’s largest employers were clothing, lumber, tobacco, shipbuilding, and food, each claiming at least a thousand employees spread across 60-100 small establishments in each category.

 

Nearly a third of the population was German, a fifth American, and the rest mostly white. Employment was structured mostly by race: significantly more native-born Americans had white-collar jobs than any other ethnic group. Ethnic groups also tended to center around a particular type of work; the Germans, tobacco; Americans, schools and printing, for example.

 

Because of low density in the city, there was plenty of room to expand. Each new community has its own story of finding mild acceptance — or creating its own built environment in the city. Poles arriving in the late 1800s settled far towards the easter and western edges of the city. Germans in Detroit settled in several distinct areas. Russian Jews built synagogues on the east side of the city. Native-born Americans tolerated British and Canadian neighbors. Only 1.5% of the population was Black.

Click on first image for slideshow mode and descriptions.

Woodward Ave., Birmingham Maps, 1880s

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF BIRMINGHAM, 1881

(Source: Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.  Labels added by N. Ford.)

To view the original, enlarged map click here.

COMPASS COORDINATES: The top of the photo is west, the right is north.

 

The lowest horizontal street is SAGINAW ST (today’s Old Woodard Ave.)

 

The curved railroad below Saginaw Street is the DETROIT AND MILWAUKEE RAILROAD. 

  • Before 1849, it was the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad.

  • Around 1930, the railroad tracks had been moved a mile east of Woodward Avenue to allow its widening

  • Between late 1939 and early 1940, a bypass to the east of downtwon Birmingham was built where the former railroad tracks used to be.  The bypass was originally named HUNTER BOULEVARD.

  • In 1996, Birmingham renamed Hunter Boulevard to WOODWARD AVENUE and renamed the original Woodward Avenue section to OLD WOODWARD AVENUE

 

DRAWING OF BIRMINGHAM, 1881

I added the blue-and-orange-font street names based on an 1871 map of Birmingham,(Source: The Birmingham Eccentric, 75th Anniversary Edition (1878-1953), 1954 via eBay. 

 

SIDE NOTE: BIRMINGHAM GOVERNANCE

  • On August 25, 1836, the settlement of current-day Birmingham’s original plat was surveyed and recorded. The plat was owned by Rosewell T. Merrill, who also ran the town foundry and the thrashing machine factory. Merrill named his plat “Birmingham” after Birmingham, England, in the hope that the new settlement would similarly become a great industrial center.

  • On January 8, 1864, the Bloomfield Township board of supervisors incorporated the settlement now known as Birmingham as village.  The village of Birmingham comprised a total land area of one square mile.  

  • In 1933, the village of Birmingham broke away from Bloomfield Township and became an independent city.

Saginaw Street, 1881
(Today's Old Woodward Ave.)

COMPASS COORDINATES: The top of the photo is west, the right is north.

 

BUILDING NAMES: The following locations were identifed by 1954 Birmingham Eccentric publication. 1. Contractor & Building, Lewis Simpson

2. Birmingham's 1st Railroad Station (cut-off circle on bottom). 

  • Note that the RR station is on the east side of the tracks.

3. Dentist C. F. Day

4. Foundry

5. Blacksmith & Wagon Shop, F. F. Richardson

6. Drugs, Groceries and Toilet Articles, Whitehead & Mitchell

7. Soldier’s Monument (a.k.a. Civil War Monument)

  • Middle of Maple Rd. and Woodward Ave. intersection.

8. Blacksmith & Wagon Shop, J. Baldwin.

9. General Store, L. B. Peabody

  • Today’s  106-110 S. Old Woodward Ave. (O’Neal Building).

11. Meat Market, Thone and Converse

12. Drugs, Groceries and Toilet Articles, F. Hagerman

  • Today's 100 N Old Woodward Ave. (NW corner of N. Old Woodward Ave and W. Maple Rd).

13. Post Office, Express Office, Masonic Hall and the Grocery Store of H. Allen and Bigelow

  • It is likely that the building drawn on the map is the Bigelow Shain Building, 115 W. Maple Rd, SW Corner of Pierce St. and Maple Rd.

15. National Hotel, George E. Daines Proprietor

  • Today's 176 N. Old Woodward (SE corner of N. Old Woodward and Hamilton St.).

C. Presbyterian Church

D. Advent Church

Woodward Ave. & Birmingham Train Stations, 1830s-1978

FOUR BIRMINGHAM RAILROAD STATIONS, 1839 - 2014

  • 1st Railroad Station

    • Built in 1839.

    • Located on the east side of the tracks where the rail line crossed Troy Steet (Maple Rd).

      • About 1/4 mile east of today's Old Woodard Ave., just north of  today's E. Maple Rd.

  • 2nd Railroad Station

    • Built in 1887.

    • Located on the west side of tracks where the rail line crossed Troy Street (Maple Rd).

      • About 1/4 mile east of today's Old Woodard Ave., just north of  today's E. Maple Rd.

  • 3rd RR Station

    • Built  1930-31.

    • Located on the Grand Trunk's new line between Detroit and Pontiac, a mile east of its former location.

      • About 1 1/4 mile east of today's Old Woodward Ave, at the corner of S. Eaton and E. Maple (245 Eton Rd)

  •  4th Railroad Station 

    • Built around 1978 as an outdoor shelter.  

    • Located about a block southeast of the old working station. (Villa Road and Lewis Street).

    • On October 13, 2014, the station was closed and replaced by the Troy Transit Center, located about 1,200 feet southwest on Doyle Drive in Troy, Michigan.

 

TRAIN TRACKS MOVED SO WOODWARD COULD BE WIDENED

After a leap in Oakland County's population between 1920 and 1930 and consequent tripling in the number of automobiles using Woodward Avenue, Michigan highway officials pressed the need for a wider right-of-way for Woodward Avenue. [1]

 

In November 1923, the Michigan Legislature passed the “Wider Woodward Act.”  The Grand Trunk Railroad (a Detroit & Pontiac Railroad successor) opposed the new legislation calling for a two hundred-foot width because its tracks ran directly along the eastern edge of Woodward Avenue through most of the route from Detroit to Pontiac. [1]

 

In 1925, Governor Alexander Groesbeck induced the Legislature to adopt legislation threatening to revoke the railroad's charter if the Grand Trunk did not cooperate. The Grand Trunk agreed to abandon its right-of-way and move its tracks a mile east of Woodward Avenue at state expense so Woodward could become Michigan Route (M-1). [1]

 

Between late 1939 and early 1940, a bypass to the east of downtown Birmingham opened, drawing through traffic away from the busy Woodward Avenue-Maple Road intersections.  The bypass, which is located where the railway used to be, was originally named Hunter Boulevard.  In 1996, Birmingham renamed the bypass to Woodward Avenue and renamed the original Woodward Avenue section to Old Woodward Avenue. [2]

 

(Sources: [1] Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Onlin .  [2] Wikipedia.)

SIDE NOTE:  BIRMINGHAM'S  TRAIN SERVICE

 

"In the 1820s and 1830s, Birmingham and nearby Franklin competed to be the major hub in the area. Franklin’s fate was sealed as “the town that time forgot” when the railroad chose Birmingham. "  (Source: Images of America: Birmingham. By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007. p. 22)

Click on above image for slideshow mode and descriptions.

Woodward Ave., Detroit, 1890s

Woodward Ave., Birmingham, c. 1880s-1890s

Note: Because many of the following images are not dated, they've been combined under the years 1880s-1900s. Some images may be earlier or later than these two decades.  Also, the images are  grouped into four geographical locations according to their proximity to the intersection of today's Old Woodward Avenue (formerly Saginaw St) and today's Maple Road (formerly Mill St):

 

WEST SIDE OF OLD WOODWARD AVENUE:​

  • Northwest corner of Old Woodward Ave (Saginaw St) & Maple Rd (Mill St). 

  • Southwest corner of Old Woodward Ave (Saginaw St) & Maple Rd (Mill St). 

 

EAST SIDE OF OLD WOODWARD AVENUE:

  • Northeast corner of  Old Woodward Ave (Saginaw St) & Maple Rd (Mill St). 

  • Southeast corner of  Old Woodward Ave (Saginaw St) & Maple Rd (Mill St). 

Above: Birmingham Map, 1872.  For zoomable map, click here.

NW Corner of Old Woodward Avenue (Saginaw St) & Maple Road (Mill St)
  • Huge Irving Hardware Store (1/2 block north)
  • C.H. Schlaack & Co. Hardware Store (1/2 block north)
  • Huston Hardware Store​ (1/2 block north)
  • Ford Building  (commissioned 1896)
    • Levinson's Department Store
SE Corner of Old Woodward Avenue (Saginaw St) & Maple Road (Mill St)
  • L.B. Peabody's General Store
  • E. A. O'Neal Harness Maker
  • Johnston-Shaw Building (erected 1905)
    • Blakeslee Hardware Store
    • Spencer and Ferguson Grocery Store
    • O'Neal Harness Maker
    • Dr. Daniel M. Johnston, Dental Office
  • John Hanna General Store​

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