Shelby Township

by Davis, Hilary

• ISBN13: 9780738584287
• ISBN10: 0738584282
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-01
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

In early 1818, a 36-square-mile area of Michigan known as Town 3 N, Range 12 E was surveyed and opened for sale. Ten years later, Shelby Township, blessed with abundant streams and fertile soils, was well on its way to becoming a prosperous farming community lasting well into the 20th century. One of these farms was a station on the Underground Railroad and, 100 years later, home to boxer Joe Louis. The doomed Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal was dug through the township in 1839, but railroads and the horse and buggy remained the preferred modes of transportation until the advent of the automobile. The Packard Motor Car Company purchased over 400 acres in the township in 1926 and installed a world-class automobile testing facility. By 1960, the automobile had changed the landscape, shifting it from farms to the tract housing, retail centers, and industrial complexes seen today.

Author Biography

Hilary Davis grew up in Massachusetts, where her love of history was honed, but now calls Shelby Township home. She is a member of the Shelby Township Historical Committee, which allowed access to its archives and collection of photographs. Other images were graciously supplied by Shelby Township residents, past and present. The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 6
Introduction	p. 7
Tracing the Pioneers	p. 9
The Villages of Disco and Utica	p. 19
Farms and Families	p. 33
Schools	p. 61
Planes, Trains, Automobiles, Buggies, and a Barge	p. 75
The Packard Proving Grounds	p. 87
Spring Hill Farm	p. 103
Sowing the Seeds of Change	p. 113
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