Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society

Wayside Sign – Remembering Historic Railways on the West Bloomfield Trail

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:18:13 +0000

Two railways came together here. The West Bloomfield Trail follows the path of the Grand Trunk Railroad, built through the region in the 1880s. If you were standing here in 1900, you also would see a light rail trolley line that ran along Orchard Lake Road and turned to run beside this part of the Grand Trunk line. Built in 1899, it was one of many trolley systems in southeast Michigan that were bought by the Detroit United Railway (DUR) in 1901 to carry people and freight within Detroit and between surrounding towns.

Wayside Sign – The Orchard Lake Museum and the Treasures of Local History

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:15:34 +0000

The Orchard Lake Museum has been an intersection where paths cross and people meet. The first building here was a small tavern named the Orchard Lake House, built in 1857 for stagecoach travelers. Various owners rebuilt and enlarged the site, later named the Orchard Lake Hotel, to entertain the growing resort community on the lakes, especially city folks arriving on nearby trolley cars in the early 1900s. In 1939 the building was mostly torn down and replaced by the smaller Orchard Lake Village Hall, now occupied by the museum and the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society.

Wayside Sign – Waiting Room and “The Wye” at the Michigan Military Academy

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:14:16 +0000

To change directions, trolleys had to turn around. At this location, at the back of what had been the parade grounds of the Michigan Military Academy, the Detroit United Railway (DUR) built a “wye.” This Y-shaped track allowed trolley cars to turn to go in the opposite direction along the trolley track that paralleled the Grand Trunk Railroad track. Nestled in the undergrowth here, barely visible, is a trace of the “wye,” a concrete basin where maintenance workers climbed under the trolleys for inspections and repairs. Near the “wye” was a DUR waiting room to shelter patrons.

Wayside Sign – Lakes and Attractions at the Orchard Lake Trolley Stop

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:13:30 +0000

The heart of the lake country was well-served by the trolleys in the early 1900s. No stop in the entire Detroit United Railway (DUR) trolley system was more popular than the Orchard Lake stop located here, where the parallel tracks of the Grand Trunk Railroad and the DUR trolleys crossed Seminary Road. Day-trippers from Detroit and elsewhere could walk to Orchard Lake for activities like swimming or fishing, or walk to Pine Lake to take a steam ferry to the Interlaken Hotel. The trolleys also brought cadets to the Michigan Military Academy for their classes and drills, until the academy closed in 1908.

Wayside Sign – Tracks Over Tracks on the Detroit United Railway

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:12:47 +0000

Transportation transformed the landscape of rural West Bloomfield as electric trolleys and automobiles appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Many people traveled here for the first time from Detroit and Pontiac, and real estate developers sold lakefront lots. For easier access to beach communities north of the tracks, the Detroit United Railway (DUR) built an overpass to carry its trolleys to the other side of the Grand Trunk Railroad.

Wayside Sign – Waiting for Trolleys and Riding Between the Lakes

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:11:34 +0000

The trolleys made it easy to travel through the lakes of Oakland County. In the early 1900s people got off or waited at platforms that were built for access to the track. The Detroit United Railway (DUR) bought land from local farmers for the track and waiting platforms, but taxes on this property forced the railway to charge high fares that later contributed to the demise of the trolley system. Here, where Long Lake Road crossed over the parallel Grand Trunk and DUR tracks, are stairs like those that people used to get on and off the trolleys.

Wayside Sign – Gateway to Nature at the Orchard Lake Beach Trolley Stop

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:10:49 +0000

Many Detroiters escaped to nature on the trolleys of the Detroit United Railway (DUR) in the early 1900s. The Orchard Lake Beach stop was located here where the parallel Grand Trunk Railroad and DUR trolley tracks crossed Orchard Lake Road. It was a very popular stop for people enjoying day trips to Orchard Lake for swimming and picnicking. The DUR highlighted local attractions by building trolley stops at lakes, resorts and amusement parks. Over time, the trolley cars became more luxurious, featuring ornate interiors and dining cars. Fares averaged a penny a mile and the electric trolleys could reach fifty miles per hour.

Wilkins Restaurant Indian

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:06:03 +0000

“Created by Greta Chaney. I am also a sculptor and do the same type of work as my mother, sculpted concrete over steel. Very few people do that type of sculpture. Maybe this has shed some light on one of your displays.” – Alana E. O’Kelly (Chaney)

Wilkins Restaurant Indian

GWBHS — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:04:57 +0000

“We just found an article about a display you have showing the remains of a statue of Chief Pontiac. He was made by my mother, Greta Chaney in 1951 and a second in 1961. I am sending two photos I have of the two statues she made for the same Restaurant. They are taken with my iPad so they are not great but they will give you a link to their beginning. If you are interested in more detailed photos, I can take them to be copied professionally. Please let me know if you are interested.” – Alana E. O’Kelly (Chaney)

Discovered Horse’s Shoe Forrest Dandison Farm

GWBHS — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 04:01:06 +0000

Located at the current Scotch School.