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.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

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decided to "see for himself." He therefore set out from Detroit, accompanied by two or three friends, including Hon. Austin E. Wing.
For some miles out of that city, as they journeyed toward the northwest, their horses wallowed through marshes and bogs, but as they approached what is now Oakland county they commenced to get upon
higher ground, and finally encamped upon an open space under a large
oak tree. This had already been marked with the "H" by the government surveyors. It was this little party, headed by the governor, which
christened the beautiful and stately natural landmark as the Royal
Oak, after its historic prototype in Scotland. To be specific, the old
oak stood on the southeast corner of the northeast quarter of section I6,
a few rods northwest of the junction of the Crooks, the Niles and the
Paint Creek roads, not far north of the present limits of the village of
Royal Oak.
From the Royal Oak the governor and his companions continued
toward the west and the north, and in the course of their trip of about
a week named Wing lake, Bloomfield township, in honor of Austin E.
Wing of the party; Cass lake, to the northwest, in what is now West
Bloomfield; and Elizabeth lake, just north of the latter, after the governor's wife; but, better than all, they carried back to Detroit the
truth about the charming and fertile country through which they had
passed.
SETTLERS OF 1822-1826
L. Luther and D. McKinstry made the first entries in Royal Oak
township on the 6th of July, 1820, selecting section 33, just over the
present southern line, for their claims. The first settlements were made
on the same section by a MIr. White, a shoemaker, and Henry Stephens,
who became prominent in later years, both coming in 1822. In that
year Thomas Flinn also settled, directly on the "base line," south of
Mr. White; he also purchased some lands in Wayne county, so that he
could jump either way according to developments. He afterward chose
Wayne, but finally drifted to the village of Birmingham, where he died
in 1842.
Erastus Ferguson, from Oneida county, New York, also came in
1822, and made a settlement on the southeast quarter of section 9. He
is said to have been the first man in the county to drive a team of horses
through to Saginaw, being employed for that purpose by Doctor Little
who accompanied him, and they were compelled to cut their way as they
proceeded.
Henry O. Bronson settled, in the fall of the year, less than a mile
north of the present village, bringing his family with him and building a log house for their accommodation. He also opened a tavern,
the first in the township, which grew in favor as long as it existed, or
until 1828.
In 1823, Sherman Baldwin settled on the northwest corner of section
6, in the extreme northwest of the township; Josiah Goddard on section
I6; and Diodate Hubbard also on section 6, a young man who had been
in the employ of Mack, Conant & Sibley, of Pontiac, and was widely