History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

BLOOMFIELD CENTER
Judge Amasa Bagley had settled at what became known as "Bagley's," or Bloomfield Center, where both he and his son-in-law, William Morris, operated a popular tavern. There the township meetings
were held for many years. Near by, on the east side of the turnpike,
George W. Morris commenced to make bricks. Again, in 1828, William Morris put the first gristmill in operation, and still earlier (in
1825) Corbett & Monroe, of Detroit, had erected the first sawmill in
the township on the west branch of the Rouge, about two miles northwest of Birmingham. In that vicinity were also built, in 1833, the Young
sawmill, and more than thirty years afterward the Opdyke flouring
mill was erected upon the old property.
In 1834 Edward Matthews, an educated and an energetic Irishman
from New York, planned to build a flouring mill section 31, in the extreme southeastern part of the township, the water power to be furnished by the stream which is the outlet of Black Walnut lake in West
Bloomfield township. The young man got into financial difficulties and
bad habits as well, and the enterprise was taken up in 1837 by Colonel
Peter Van Every, of Detroit, who completed the mill and also erected a
distillery during that year. Both did a good business, and for several
years the Van Every mill was the only establishment of the kind in Oakland county.
Thus it was that many of the most important business and industrial
enterprises originated outside of Birmingham in the early period of
the township's history.
The first industries at Piety Hill were the tannery built by Elijah
Willets in 1827, which stood on the west side of the Pontiac road near
the north end of the present village, and John W. Hunter's foundry,
built in the following year and located a little back from the main
street. The latter developed into a prosperous establishment and the
plant was burned in I854.
The first merchants were a Mr. Dennis and Sullivan R. Kelsey, who
formed a partnership in 1833 and opened a general store in front of
the Hunter foundry. The latter entered politics and became a judge
of Shiawassee county, but remained in business until I843, his partner having withdrawn. Orrin Poppleton succeeded to the business and
to a new store, which Mr. Kelsey had erected. J. B. Simonson and R.
T. Merrill were also engaged in merchandising in the early forties. The
latter built the first brick store in Birmingham in 1841, and in the following year T. A. Flower displayed his stock of goods therein with due
eclat. Mr. Merrill was quite "an energetic citizen, being proprietor of
the original village plat. Among his other enterprises was the public
house which he opened in I834. He operated it for some time himself,
and it was maintained for years afterward by various landlords.
BIRMINGHAM VILLAGE PLATS
The original plat of the village of Birmingham was surveyed and
dated August 25, 1836; location, northwest quarter of section 36; pro