Railroad locomotives thundered through this countryside for more than 130 years. The Michigan Air Line Railway was completed in 1884, a branch of the historic Grand Trunk Railway that became a vital shipping network between manufacturing centers of the automotive industry in lower Michigan. As this railway was later abandoned, the rails were torn up and the quiet natural corridor preserved. The West Bloomfield Trail is a 6.83 mile-long portion of the old railway offering remarkable interaction with nature while it enriches the community.
Wayside Sign – West Bloomfield Trail: Exploring the Tale of the Rail
Object ID: 2013-070-011
Date: 2013
Collection: Transportation, West BloomfieldSubjects: Wayside Sign
Wayside Sign – The Orchard Lake Museum and the Treasures of Local History
Object ID: 2013-070-010
Date: 2013
Collection: Orchard LakeSubjects: Wayside Sign
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 – Westacres Community: New Life for Auto Workers
Object ID: 2013-070-009
Date: 2013
Collection: West BloomfieldSubjects: Wayside Sign
Born with great purpose in the Great Depression, Westacres endures as a strong West Bloomfield Community. In 1936, U.S. Senator from Michigan, James Couzens pooled $550,000 of his own money with $300,000 of federal funds to establish this neighborhood of 150 homes for low-income automotive factory workers. Home ownership included an acre of land and encouraged farming for food and self-sufficiency. Oakland Housing Inc. also assisted residents to develop a satisfactory communal life and financed supplemental enterprises.