  Exmotowner Member Username: Exmotowner Post Number: 460 Registered: 06-2005 |
Was just wondering how a lot of the streets got their names. I know Joy Rd was after the car guy and of course all the obvious MLK, Rosa Parks, etc., but what about Gratiot? Was there a guy named gratiot? Telegraph, was it after Telegraph hill? Woodward? Etc? What about Boston and Edison, Virginia park etc. how did they get their names? As most of you know, I now reside in Nashville (YUCK) and I've always wondered why no Johnny Cash Street or Loretta Lynn Blvd. etc. I know a lot of the names are for the first settlers as are most city street names. Will be interesting to find out about some of the Detroit streets. Sorry if there was an old thread on this, I did a search and didnt find one. Thanks. EX | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1975 Registered: 07-2004 |
In Detroit, a lot of the North-South street names within a mile or two of the river are taken from the name of the owner of the land when it was still a farm (Cass Avenue was the east end of Lewis Cass' property), esp. the French ones: Joseph Campau, Brush, etc. | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 4120 Registered: 11-2003 |
Woodward comes from Augustus Woodward, sent from DC to rebuild the city after the fire in 1805 or so. | ||
Chuckjav Member Username: Chuckjav Post Number: 420 Registered: 09-2007 |
The dividing lines found on some of Detroit's roads are not - I repeat - are not named for the Detroit recording group known as The White Stripes. | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 147 Registered: 02-2005 |
Off the top of my head: Cass Ave: Lewis Cass, mentioned above. John R: for Governor John R. Williams. Woodward: for Judge Woodward. http://info.detnews.com/redesi gn/history/story/historytempla te.cfm?id=205 | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 4121 Registered: 11-2003 |
I wonder what Indian Village is named for?? | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1978 Registered: 05-2005 |
quote: the two main streets of IV are iroquois and seminole. (Message edited by gravitymachine on March 04, 2008) | ||
Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 603 Registered: 11-2003 |
Alter was for (I believe) John Alter - a ribbon farm owner... Griswold was for a governor of Connecticut; Brush was Detroit second appointed mayor and held a variety of other posts; Fort and Shelby were named after Fort Shelby and Shelby was governor of Kentucky who sent troops to Michigan in the war of 1812; Randolph was a statesman in Virginia; John R. was a bank president and he named the street after himself (no mention of him being governor in this article - I didn't think he was one but could be wrong) State was named that because it was created in 1835 and the state capitol used to reside on it; Bagley was a former MI governor; Chandler was a former mayor and founder of the Republican party; Gratiot after Fort Gratiot up near Port Huron; Larned was a war of 1812 general... more here: http://info.detnews.com/redesi gn/history/story/historytempla te.cfm?id=199 | ||
Single_malt Member Username: Single_malt Post Number: 13 Registered: 02-2008 |
I think...and repeat I think Dequindre and Van Dyke were both ribbon farm owners too. If they only knew how popular their names would really be. | ||
Wsu98 Member Username: Wsu98 Post Number: 17 Registered: 03-2007 |
Elizabeth was the daughter of John R | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 7771 Registered: 10-2003 |
http://www.geocities.com/histm ich/streetname.html | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 148 Registered: 02-2005 |
My mistake. He was a mayor of Detroit, not governor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J ohn_R._Williams | ||
Anniedawg25 Member Username: Anniedawg25 Post Number: 4 Registered: 02-2008 |
I have always wondered about John R. I mean, why not a last name? So random! Thanks for link digitalvision....it was great | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2789 Registered: 04-2006 |
Second Avenue was named after the number 2. | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 149 Registered: 02-2005 |
John Lodge was also a mayor of Detroit. | ||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 1486 Registered: 12-2005 |
Silas Farmer's 1884 "The History of Detroit and Michigan" devotes Chapter LXXXVIII to Detroit Street Names and their Origins. You can read it on-line at Google Books by clicking here and then typing the page number "937" in the box at the top of the reader window. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1144 Registered: 12-2006 |
Let's talk E-W streets on the west side. I'm thinking of all the mile and half-mile roads that aren't just X Mile Road: Warren, Tireman, Joy, Chicago, Plymouth, Fullerton, Schoolcraft, Lyndon, Fenkell, Puritan, McNichols, Curtis. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was an explorer who discovered the source of the Mississippi River and named several of Michigan's counties. Fr. William McNichols was president of U of D when it bought the land at the current McNichols - Livernois campus. How about the others? | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 150 Registered: 02-2005 |
I’ve got a question. I know Woodward is M-1 and Gratiot is M-3. Which road is M-2? Is it in Detroit? Also, I thought I saw a book at the DPL that was about the stories behind Detroit’s streets. Can’t remember the title, though. | ||
Deteamster Member Username: Deteamster Post Number: 92 Registered: 07-2007 |
Ironically, John Lodge(Mayor 1927-1928) never owned a car or had a drivers license. | ||
Alan55 Member Username: Alan55 Post Number: 1297 Registered: 09-2005 |
I have heard that Williams Street was also named after John R. Williams. | ||
Macknwarren Member Username: Macknwarren Post Number: 16 Registered: 10-2007 |
Gratiot (and Ft Gratiot) are named after Col. Charles Gratiot, who helped drive the British out of Michigan in the War of 1812 and later headed the Detroit garrison. There's a lot about street names on pages 239-242 of the Detroit Almanac. The DPL main branch has an old book, by a Catholic nun -- Sr Rosalie or something like that -- which also gives the histories of many streets. | ||
Macknwarren Member Username: Macknwarren Post Number: 17 Registered: 10-2007 |
Detroit: the story of some street names Rosalita, Sister, 1892- Publisher: Wayne Univ. Press Pub date: [1951] Pages: 20 p. Item info: 6 copies available at Main Library | ||
1st_sgt Member Username: 1st_sgt Post Number: 140 Registered: 11-2006 |
You can look here. http://www.historydetroit.com/ streets.asp | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 5432 Registered: 10-2003 |
My ears keep ringing. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1145 Registered: 12-2006 |
Evelyn, There is no M-2, possibly because there is a US-2 in the Upper Peninsula. Prof. Scott | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 2168 Registered: 11-2003 |
Crooks out in Birmingham was named after some lawyers I know. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 5433 Registered: 10-2003 |
 The Nixon/Bluett intersection in Ann Arbor. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 5434 Registered: 10-2003 |
This one isn't around here, but the sign for "Big Bone Lick" on I-75 in Kentucky always gives me a sophmoric chuckle. | ||
Funaho Member Username: Funaho Post Number: 23 Registered: 11-2007 |
M-2 was also briefly used to describe a planned expansion of West Rd. downriver into a full highway or freeway linking I-75 and I-275. That plan was quickly killed by the people living along that corridor. Telegraph Rd., as I understand it, is just named that because that's was a major path for telegraph wires at one time. It's a pretty common road name for that reason. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 848 Registered: 08-2007 |
This is a bit off topic, as it doesn't directly apply to Detroit, but ... The link here is from the state archives. There are a bunch of early 20th century maps. On the Goodrich map you'll find some pretty wacky directions, like: turn right at lumber yard 1.7 miles, take left veer 2.1 miles to old barn, cross bridge take right fork ... These kind of directions were standard stuff before roads were actually given names. Out in Commerce Twp, I had some ancestors that lived on a road that didn't get a real name until the 1940s. The real push to name rural roads was an effort by AAA ... the road service and insurance guys. |
