“That’ll be a penny sir,” said young Thomas Edison as the train pulled into the New Baltimore Station.  “What else do you sell besides newspapers and magazines?” asked the passenger, whose New York accent gave away his origins.  Many of the passengers on the train had moved from or were moving to Michigan from New York, now that the Erie Canal had opened up the area. “Just the finest cigars in the northwest, and postcards of Port Huron, Detroit, Mount Clemens, and some of the other places we’ll be going through,” replied 15-year-old Tom, who by this time was an old hand at being a “news butch…

Gather around, kids. It’s just about that time of year when old Al cranks out the ghost stories. This year’s tale is about a variation on the spirit theme-ghost towns. A ghost town is an area that was once populated but for some reason the settlement has been abandoned by its inhabitants. In the Upper Peninsula, this was usually because a mine had run dry or a company had left the area. In Macomb County, one of the main reasons for an area’s decline usually was a railroad stop being discontinued, as many early settlements in this area grew around transportation, either water or railroad.   …

Metro Detroit roads may have familiar names, but their origins are wide-ranging and rich with history. For instance, Gratiot Road was originally built as a military road to connect Fort Wayne and Fort Gratiot, which was near Port Huron. It was named for Charles Gratiot, who selected the Fort Gratiot site and designed the fort at the mouth of Lake Huron to guard against Native American attacks. In 1829, Gratiot Turnpike was established as a federal highway and partly constructed over an old Native American trail that went roughly from Detroit to Mount Clemens. Some roads were extended from …

There have been many settlements, hamlets and former villages in Macomb County. Many grew around the railroad lines and were very prosperous for a time. Most of these listed here had a U.S. post office at one time. Some, like Warsaw (now part of Mount Clemens) and Beebe’s Corner (now part of Richmond) were absorbed by other settlements. Some were abandoned due to a natural disaster, such as the flooding of Belvidere. In many cases, remnants of the old settlement remain, such as a cemetery, schoolhouse converted to a residence (Prestonville) or old general store being used as a party store (…

There have been many settlements, hamlets and former villages in Macomb County. Many grew around the railroad lines and were very prosperous for a time. Most of these listed here had a U.S. post office at one time. Some, like Warsaw (now part of Mount Clemens) and Beebe’s Corner (now part of Richmond) were absorbed by other settlements. Some were abandoned due to a natural disaster, such as the flooding of Belvidere. In many cases, remnants of the old settlement remain, such as a cemetery, schoolhouse converted to a residence (Prestonville) or old general store being used as a party store (…

The oldest school in Chesterfield Township is usually considered to be  Green Elementary School near Cotton and Sugarbush roads. However, it hasn’t always been located here. At the dawn of the 1900s, it could often also be found on Sugarbush, halfway between Hall Road and Cotton Road. (At one time, Sugarbush went all the way to Mount Clemens before Selfridge Air Base cut it off.) How could a school be in two different places? Well, if you think that sounds like the beginning of a joke, you are close to being right. It was actually moved as a prank by the French settlers to their area of the …

The first French explorers and missionaries came to the area around 1611, naming the dominant waterway Luc Ste Claire on August 12, 1687. Now called Lake St. Clair, reports vary as to how the lake received its name. Some say it was named for General Arthur St. Clair who was governor of the Northwest Territory from 1787 until 1800. But because the lake was called St. Clair since 1687, it is believed that the lake was named for the French Catholic Ste. Clair, whose feast day is Aug. 12. (Other French water names in the area include the rivers “Aux Vases” and “Crapeau.”) Settling in Macomb …

The first inhabitants of the Chesterfield Township area were Native American tribes who came to the area 5,000 to 10,000 years ago. The waters of the last Ice Age began to recede about 11,000 B.C. and the Great Lakes basins were ice-free by 6,000 B.C.  At about this time the first Paleo-Indians arrived, probably from crossing the Bering Sea land bridge. The Native American tribes that chiefly occupied the general Chesterfield Township region were the Chippewa/Ojibwas. One of their most well-known trails was simply called The Trail. It was the ridge of the original glacier, and this trail, …