 
Alley
Member
Username: Alley
Post Number: 55
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 7:06 pm: |    |
loving this thread!
(this isn't 'Detroit' per se, but still some interesting insight into the whole 'French and Indian' thing in the general area)
http://www.gpwmi.us/aboutus/ci tyhistory1.html |
Ronaldj
Member
Username: Ronaldj
Post Number: 3
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 7:29 pm: | |
Did some checking on Bethune/Duffield. George Duffield D. D. was the minister of First Presbyterian. Was encouraging in the development of Fort Street Presbyterian (2nd Presbyterian) and was instrumental in the creation of what is now known as Children's Aid Society. |
Hpgrmln
Member
Username: Hpgrmln
Post Number: 375
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008 - 7:14 pm: | |
"That used to be a nice place back in the day, as Mobile Home Parks go. Now it's a bit of a pit like the rest of them, and many of the lots are empty."
Its not called chateau anymore. They sold all their parks. Theyre called hometown now.
The biggest one is off m59 in macomb and the one in Clinton Twp. is huge too. All have french street names. They raised their lot rents too high and neglected the parks, so now all are virtually abandoned. Lots of vacant sites everywhere.
"The corner of Florence and Ballard in Ypsi."
Curtis Mayfield, legendary soul singer, has his own intersection in Livonia. Its west of Merriman, bordering the Rotary park. |
Ggores
Member
Username: Ggores
Post Number: 24
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008 - 8:33 pm: | |
telegraph eventually intersects with detroit street in Toledo. the area looks very much like a D neighborhood too. |
Parkguy
Member
Username: Parkguy
Post Number: 239
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 10:32 am: | |
The state has maps of just about every subdivision ever platted in Michigan, with street names. For instance, the original plats of Rosedale Park shows totally different street names. Fenkell was 12th Street, Glastonbury was Harrison, Artesian was Franklin, Warwick was Rosedale Blvd., and Westwood Blvd. was still shown north of Chalfonte in those pre-Outer Drive days. Here's a link to that page.
http://www.cis.state.mi.us/pla tmaps/dt_image.asp?BCC_SUBINDE X=2600
You can search here for other plats.
http://www.cis.state.mi.us/pla tmaps/sr_subs.asp
You have to allow your browser to install an applet to view the files.
The 'fine print' on this plat stipulates no vehicle traffic in the utility easement behind the houses (no alley). Also interesting to note that the final county approval came 90 years and one month ago today! Note the 'county ditch' that runs along the street and into some of the lots on Stahelin. |
Fishtoes2000
Member
Username: Fishtoes2000
Post Number: 444
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 11:34 am: | |
I'd like to note the cluster of "Lawn" streets that Detroit has. There's the five running North-South between Livernois and Wyoming: Greenlawn, Roselawn, Cloverlawn, Northlawn, and Cherrylawn. Then there's the four running East-West between Plymouth and W. Chicago and west of Wyoming: Maplelawn, Orangelawn, Crocuslawn, and Violetlawn. It appears the two lawn clusters come close but don't intersect. |
Neilr
Member
Username: Neilr
Post Number: 670
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 09, 2008 - 11:49 am: | |
The Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society (http://www.fhwgs.org/index.htm) in 1987 published a booklet, Detroit Public Sites Named for Blacks. In it, the author writes that the first Detroit street to be named for a Black person was Rosa Parks Blvd. in 1977. The booklet is no longer in print. |
Gertrude
Member
Username: Gertrude
Post Number: 36
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 1:40 am: | |
Family lore maintains that Apple and Martin Streets in SW Detroit were named after my mother's maternal grandparent's family. Her maternal grandfather was named Martin and he had an apple farm at the turn of the last century so it seems probable.
I've always wanted to prove that but the streets are too small to be remarked upon in most online collections. |
Mikeg
Member
Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 1503
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 4:26 pm: | |
Page 943 of the Silas Farmer book indicates that Martin Avenue was named in 1878 after "Stephen Martin, old citizen." |
Gertrude
Member
Username: Gertrude
Post Number: 37
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 1:09 am: | |
Mikeg, that would have been either my great-great grandfather or a great-great-great uncle. I'll check with my mom next time I talk to her. Thanks! |
Historyguy
Member
Username: Historyguy
Post Number: 19
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 4:28 am: | |
Lahser Road was named for Charles A. Lahser, president of the Redford State Savings Bank. Mr. Lahser was the longtime postmaster of the village of Redford and owned a general store there.
Tireman was named after a family that owned a farm in the Grand River/Grand Boulevard area.
Fenkell was named after George Fenkell, who was the general manager of the city's water department.
Seebaldt and Martindale streets were named after families who owned farms in the Grand River/Grand Boulevard Avenue.
Oakman Boulevard was named after Robert Oakman, who planned and developed the street. In fact, Oakman is virtually a connector between the Ford Rouge and Highland Park plants. |
Historyguy
Member
Username: Historyguy
Post Number: 20
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 4:33 am: | |
The library on Grand Boulevard a few blocks west of the Fisher Building is the Divie Bethune Duffield branch. |
Goldensunshine
Member
Username: Goldensunshine
Post Number: 82
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 7:39 am: | |
There are some streets in & around Detroit with Random names that I used to wonder about as a child:
Log Cabin
Tuxedo
Electric Street (Ecorse)
Eureka
Argyle Circle (Palmer Park)
Prince Hall (named after the Masons?)
Dragoon |
Neilr
Member
Username: Neilr
Post Number: 671
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 9:00 am: | |
From the booklet I cited in my post #670.
Prince Hall was born in 1735 in Barbados, British West Indies to a free black mother and an English father. After moving to Boston, he served in the Continental Army. In 1787 he became the founder of Negro Freemasonry in the USA. |
Japes
Member
Username: Japes
Post Number: 39
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 1:31 pm: | |
Electric runs along the DTE (Now ITC) easement it is also in Wyandotte & Riverview.
Eureka was named for the Eureka Works that was in Wyandotte. |
Jgavrile
Member
Username: Jgavrile
Post Number: 54
Registered: 09-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 3:01 pm: | |
Goldensunshine, I know that Log Cabin was named for the log cabin that is in Palmer Park.The street dead ends into Palmer park golf course, called Detroit Golf Club.
Tuxedo , might have something to do with the telephone exchange name (88)or TUxedo that used to be in that area. or Vice versa?? |
Stinger4me
Member
Username: Stinger4me
Post Number: 206
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 3:34 pm: | |
Historyguy; Back in the 60's the branch of the DPL you referred to was simply the Duffield Branch. I believe there was a Duffield Elementary school in Detroit as well. |
Neilr
Member
Username: Neilr
Post Number: 672
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 4:16 pm: | |
Goldensunshine, in the neighborhood of old Fort Wayne many of the streets have names that are armed forces related: Army, Infantry, Cadet, Military, Regular, Bivouac, Hussar, Cavalry, and the one you mentioned, Dragoon. |
Goldensunshine
Member
Username: Goldensunshine
Post Number: 84
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 5:36 pm: | |
Thank you all for your answers! Very Interesting!
KM |
French777
Member
Username: French777
Post Number: 357
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 8:04 pm: | |
What about Crooks road? (Rochester-Troy) |
Detroitej72
Member
Username: Detroitej72
Post Number: 684
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 9:19 pm: | |
Another interesting street name is "Lucky Place", which is off of Grand Blvd, just south of Poletown
______________________________ ___________________
I have read in the book "Poletown, Community Betrayed", that city council gave that name because it acknowledged the multiple curses uttered by Poletown residents and the haunting loss of the community. |
Jrvass
Member
Username: Jrvass
Post Number: 509
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 10:10 pm: | |
I thought Tireman was named after the Michelin Man. |
Historyguy
Member
Username: Historyguy
Post Number: 21
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 2:27 am: | |
According to "Pathways of History Through Troy" (by Lois Lance), Crooks Road was named either for an early Troy Township settler named Riley Crooks or because the road followed the terrain of the area. |
Eastsiderules
Member
Username: Eastsiderules
Post Number: 42
Registered: 01-2008
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 2:50 am: | |
"Don't know how true this is, but I remember reading somewhere that Territorial Judge Augustus Woodward claimed that he named the main thoroughfare that way because it was heading into the woods... hence Woodward... how convenient!"
He named the street after himself. He was a raging egomaniac. God, some of you people make me want to
scream at your .... |
Steve
Member
Username: Steve
Post Number: 188
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 4:48 am: | |
If I recall correctly what I read in the Detroit Almanac, Woodward did make that claim, but it was a disingenuous lie. He named the street for himself. |
Frumoasa
Member
Username: Frumoasa
Post Number: 131
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 17, 2008 - 9:36 pm: | |
Around me there is a residential street called Comstock (n. of Holbrook, w. of Conant). E. of Lonyo and south of Warren is another small residential street named Sanger. The streets seem to have both been built up in the 1920's. I find it humorous that two streets would have names relating to birth control. The Comstock law prohibited among other things the sale of birth control devices, and Margaret Sanger was an advocate for a female's reproductive choices. I thought it was funny anyways. |
Hpgrmln
Member
Username: Hpgrmln
Post Number: 383
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 7:39 pm: | |
Frumoasa- Dont forget Trojan street on the westside. No explanation needed.
(sorry, couldnt resist) |
Ilovedetroit2
Member
Username: Ilovedetroit2
Post Number: 6
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 10:14 am: | |
Hmmm I wonder who the Ford Freeway is named after???? |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2048
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 10:53 am: | |
Edsel! |
Detroit_stylin
Member
Username: Detroit_stylin
Post Number: 5630
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:00 am: | |
I wonder who was the genius who came up with the name "emanon" that spelled backwards is literally "no name" off Warren between Schaeffer and Miller Rd in Dearborn.... |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2049
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:55 am: | |
Those military street names intersect so much, you get funny intersections such as:
Annapolis-West Point
Military-Cadet
But some religious names make for fun intersections too:
Puritan-Chapel
But some are political:
Liberal-Crusade
Or industrial:
Railroad-Barron
Historic:
Fort-Dearborn
Or bucolic:
Michigan-Apple
Here's a fun one for fans of non-dolphin-safe tuna:
Eaton-Dolphin
And, needless to say, if you don't snigger when you hear "Felch Street," you don't need to learn why some do.  |
Snoringbeagle
Member
Username: Snoringbeagle
Post Number: 3
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 3:40 am: | |
Downriviera
Member
Username: Downriviera
Post Number: 70
Posted on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 9:17 pm:
In Lincoln Park is the intersection of Dix Rd. and Champaign Street. A popular saying in these parts is, I knew a girl who lived on Champaign and Dix.
That's Funny |
Snoringbeagle
Member
Username: Snoringbeagle
Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 3:46 am: | |
We used to go down on Helen all the time. |
Jrvass
Member
Username: Jrvass
Post Number: 551
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 4:29 am: | |
"We used to go down on Helen all the time."
Where is that, exactly? |
Hpgrmln
Member
Username: Hpgrmln
Post Number: 385
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 7:19 am: | |
"Where is that, exactly?"
He probably means the one on the east side. It runs In broken stretches from Jefferson all the way to 8 Mile. Its a few blocks East of Sherwood.
Im pretty sure theres one in Dearborn too.On the OTHER side of 8 mile, a mile or so over, theres a street called "Helle". Guess a bunch of Satanists must have had a commune or something there. I imagine just by the name alone its pretty hard to sell a house there. |
Danny
Member
Username: Danny
Post Number: 7206
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 7:55 am: | |
The are some Detroit Street names that are named after French settlers:
Chene, Beaufait, Livernois, Beaubien, Cadieux St. Aubin, Lambert, Hendrie, Prarie, Bellevue, Charelvoix, Lafontaine, Lafayette,, Marseilles, Sanilac,, Courville, Seymour, Montclair,Manistique, Fournier, Algonac, Dubois, St Antoine, Clairmount, Blaine, Braile, Ponchartrain, Casgrain,Renville, Chamberlain, Lambert, Cadillac,Cabot, Vancourt, and many more. |
Mikeg
Member
Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 1527
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 10:26 am: | |
More streets that were named after French settlers:
Leander Rivard and Sophie Dubay each had farms in the area bounded by what is now Van Dyke, McNichols, French and Lynch.
Leander St. and Dubay St. are named after them and they run through what used to be their farmland.
Here is an 1876 map showing the farms in that area:
(Message edited by Mikeg on March 23, 2008) |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 1122
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 11:42 am: | |
Mikeg - where can I find maps like that? Or could you post more pieces of maps from that area? Thanks |
Mikeg
Member
Username: Mikeg
Post Number: 1528
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 12:54 pm: | |
I found the 1876 map of Hamtramck Township (east) in the University of Michigan Library's Michigan County Histories and Atlases.
Here are the results of a search of all Wayne County Atlases in their collection. They have Wayne County Atlases from 1876, 1885, 1904 and 1914 in their collection. Click on "List of all pages" to bring up an index of links to the digitized pages for a particular Atlas.
The 1876 Hamtramck (east) map is shown on page 14 of the first atlas listed in the search results.
When I want to save an atlas image or just examine it in detail, I change the drop-down menu from "Format: image" to "Format: pdf".
Here is another good source of old and recent Michigan related maps:
Michigan eLibrary (MeL)
I'm afraid that more than a few folks will be spending their Easter looking at all of these beautiful old maps instead of spending time with their family and friends! |
Eastsidedame
Member
Username: Eastsidedame
Post Number: 208
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 7:02 pm: | |
Here's also a good "at a glance" reference.
http://www.geocities.com/histm ich/streetname.html |
Grumpyoldlady
Member
Username: Grumpyoldlady
Post Number: 69
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 8:41 pm: | |
It isn't a Detroit street, but we have a rural country road near here named OINK JOINT ROAD. It has been posted on various strange roadsign sites on the internet. I'd love to know the story behind that name. Maybe there used to be a pig farm on the road????
Also I'd like to know the origin of the Detroit street name Wayburn. |
Alley
Member
Username: Alley
Post Number: 56
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 9:08 pm: | |
this Oink Joint Road is in Wadena, MN |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 6003
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 9:22 pm: | |
Dix apparently has a bit of urban legend about it, and it gets confused sometimes with another Dix who founded Dixboro, which Ann Arbor essentially impoverished when the railroad didn't come through there.
Stair Street was named for the principal owner of the Free Press. And nearby Honorah Street was named after Hanorah Burns--the misspelled name of the mother of Wayne County sheriff and the second owner of the Detroit Tigers. The Burns family ran SW Detroit brick yards near Central and Kronk.. |
Alley
Member
Username: Alley
Post Number: 58
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 9:41 pm: | |
All those lucky girls in Lincoln Park that live on Champaign and Dix... |
Dtowncitylover
Member
Username: Dtowncitylover
Post Number: 77
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 9:52 pm: | |
Does anyone know the history of Crooks Rd.? It's in OC. Runs from Royal Oak to Rochester. My dad always talked about "their" farm being up in Troy, but I can't find anything on the Crooks family. |
Grumpyoldlady
Member
Username: Grumpyoldlady
Post Number: 70
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 12:02 am: | |
Yep, that's the Oink Joint Road I was talking about. Between Wadena and Verndale, Minnesota, intersecting Hwy 10. |
Django
Member
Username: Django
Post Number: 185
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 - 10:03 am: | |
Lucky Place, on the East bound I-94 service drive between Grand Blvd and Mt. Elliot. ??? |
Dtctygrl
Member
Username: Dtctygrl
Post Number: 31
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008 - 4:55 pm: | |
Any idea where Wendell Street got it's name? |
Ronaldj
Member
Username: Ronaldj
Post Number: 9
Registered: 01-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008 - 11:46 pm: | |
If I recall correctly, Lucky Place got it's name because the original Chene Market was located there and was the place of purchase of an incredible number of winning lottery tickets. |
Jcole
Member
Username: Jcole
Post Number: 391
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 10:10 pm: | |
OK, I'm sure this has been asked and asked again, but I missed it.
How did Big Beaver get named?
I'm assuming it's an old Native American place where someone shot a big beaver, but I don't know. |
Historyguy
Member
Username: Historyguy
Post Number: 24
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 12:31 pm: | |
According to "Pathways Of History Through Troy" by Lois Lance, there are two theories about how Big Beaver Road got its name.
One is that there was a large colony of beavers on a creek in the area; the other is that Big Beaver was an Ottawa Indian who passed through the township. |
Jcole
Member
Username: Jcole
Post Number: 418
Registered: 04-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 12:37 pm: | |
thank you, Historyguy. I've always wondered about that. |
Detroitnerd
Member
Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 2262
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - 12:38 pm: | |
Did the Ottawa Indian have a huge vagina? |
Kennyd
Member
Username: Kennyd
Post Number: 12
Registered: 04-2008
| | Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 12:31 am: | |
quote:Woodward comes from Augustus Woodward, sent from DC to rebuild the city after the fire in 1805 or so.
Way back when, I was told that Augustus Woodward was being called out for naming the main north artery after himself. He supposedly replied that he named it Woodward because it runs out towards the woods! |
Bunkster
Member
Username: Bunkster
Post Number: 13
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 9:43 pm: | |
I've heard Livernois way named after an early French family named Livingway who donated property to the city. |
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