This township is joined on the north by Waterford, and on the east by Bloomfield ; its southern and western boundaries being respectively the townships of Farmington and Commerce.

A strongly marked feature in the topography of West Bloomfield is the number, extent, and beauty of the lakes which thickly stud its surface, particularly in the northern part. It is the lake township of Oakland County ; about one-fifth of its area being covered by these bodies of clear fresh water. There are Pine, Black Walnut, Long, Cranberry, and Lord's lakes in the eastern part ; Cass and Pickerel lakes in the north ; Orchard, Upper Straits, Woodpecker, and Morris in the central portion ; and Union, Scotch, Green, Pleasant, and Lower Straits in the western part of the town, besides numerous smaller lakes, many of which are nameless, though beautiful and romantic.

The largest of these, Cass lake, discharges its waters through Pickerel and Timber lakes and the Clinton river into lake St. Clair ; Lord's, Long, Black Walnut, Cranberry, Woodpecker, and Morris lakes discharge through small branches into the river Rouge ; while Upper and Lower Straits, Green, Scotch, and Union lakes send their tribute westward through the township of Commerce to, the Huron river. The Pine lake has the greatest altitude, being very nearly four hundred feet above the level of the river at Detroit.

The only stream of even moderate size in the township (with the exception of the short channel which connects Cass and Pickerel lakes) is a creek, of which the western branch takes its rise in Woodpecker and Morris lakes, and the eastern one flows out from Black Walnut lake, the two uniting on section 26, there forming the main stream, which leaves the township at its southeastern corner. This stream turns several mill wheels in its course through the townships of Farmington, Bloomfield, and Southfield, and in former years furnished propelling power for a saw and a grist mill in West Bloomfield, but they have long since disappeared, and now the little creek flows unobstructed from its sources to the line of Farmington. The surface of the township is uneven, particularly in the lake region, where it is frequently broken into abrupt hills, though these do not rise to any great height. In the southern part it is simply rolling, and this portion was originally much more heavily timbered than was the case among the lakes in the northern part.

Before the coming of the pale-face these forests and lakes were an Indian paradise, a place which they loved more than other hunting-grounds and waters. Particularly was Orchard lake, with its beautiful island, a great central point where chiefs and tribal deputations met in council. Tradition says that it was upon this island that a meeting took place between the chief Walk-in-the-Water and the mightier Pontiac, upon which occasion the latter first unfolded the plan and details of his vast and almost successful conspiracy. And there are legends, too, of tenderer meetings there, between the young warrior and the Indian maiden, which, whether they be true or false, lend an additional charm to a spot already made charming by the hand of nature.

Orchard island, or, as it has more recently been named, Apple island, was an Indian reservation, one of the two which were laid off within the township ; the other being at the south end of Orchard lake, the present farm of R. W. Cummings. Upon these they planted corn, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables, until the time when the lands were sold by government. They also had apple orchards on the reservations, particularly upon the island. These were, of course, cultivated after the careless and slovenly Indian manner, nolh withstanding which they produced a considerable quantity of fruit; and they were nurseries from which, to some extent, the white settlers took trees with which to start orchards for themselves.

On the island there was a populous Indian burial ground, and there was one still more extensive at a spot on the southeast side of Cass lake, now comprised in the estate of Dr. Ward. Various kinds of Indian utensils have been exhumed from these cemeteries, and not only in these, but in muny other localities of the vicinity, there have been brought to light from beneath the surface copper arrowhead, and parts of other weapons, frequently of the same metal. All these facts seem to furnish conclusive evidence of a long continued and numerous Indian occupation.

The earliest entries of lands in the township, now West Bloomfield, but then included with Bloomfield, under Governor Woodbridge's proclamation of June 28, 1820, were made in the year 1823 ; the first being that of James Herrington, of Cayuga county, New York, of the entire southeast section, May 15, 1823. Immediately after, John Huff, from Gaines' Corners, Orleans county, New York, entered the northeast quarter of section 13; upon which, however, he had erected hh cabin and commenced clearing in the fall of 1821, he being the first actual settler within the bounds of the township, and his premises being the same now occupied by W, Worthington. The northwest corner of his tract bounded upon Pine lake, and at this point, upon the shore of the lake, in the year 1824, he built a very large house of hewed logs, upon which he expended much more than the usual amount of labor and care in its construction. He may have expected to spend years of comfort and of plenty within its walls, but if such was his thought, it was never realized, for he died in the autumn of the next year, 1825, while engaged in the enterprise of building a tavern house in the new and rapidly growing town of Pontiac. After Mr. Huff's death, the building was completed by his widow and her brother, Mark Luce, but she soon after abandoned all idea of remaining in the western country, and returned to the State of New York, The property at Pine lake was sold to Charles Kelly, who, however, never occupied it, and, about three years later, it passed into the possession of William Durkee.

Another of the entries of 1823 was that of Benjamin Irish, on the southeast and southwest quarters of section 23, half a mile west of Black Walnut lake, now the lands of William Harris. Upon these he settled in the same year, with his family, consisting of his wife, six sons, and three daughters; the sons being Joseph Merwin Irish, who afterwards married Sarah, daughter of Abel Bigelow ; Thomas Irish, who married a daughter of John Ellenwood ; Rial (or Royal) Iribh married a sister of William Jenks ; Benjamin Irish, Jr., then a youth of nineteen years of age ; Newland Irish, now living in the State of New York ; and Raphael Irish, the last two named being but lads at the time the family came to West Bloomfield. The daughters were Sally, Anna, and Lavina. Mr. Irish died in October, 1825, and Mrs. Irish and one of her daughters also died within three or four years from the time of their settlement. Rufus R, Robinson came in 1823, and settled on section 1, on lands now owned by Henry W. Lord. He died in September, 1825, being one of the three first settlers, Huff and Irish being the other two, whose deaths occurred within two months of each other. After the death of Mr. Robinson, his widow and the family consisting of four sons, Asahel, William, Marshall, and Lewis, and four daughters, Harriet, Louisa, Mary, and Betsey, returned to Pembroke, New York, near Buffalo ; the place whence they had emigrated less than three years before.

In 1823, William Aunett entered the southeast quarter of section 22, and settled upon it in the fall of the same year. W^ith him came a youth named George Covin, who was a good hunter, and kept the family well supplied with venison. Mrs. Aunett died about 1829. During the remainder of his life Mr, Aunett lived upon the farm where he settled, and which is now the property of his daughter, Mrs. Hartwell Green.

Peter Richardson came in 1824, and settled on the southwest side of Black Walnut lake, in the northwest quarter of section 25, where is now the farm of Mrs. Haskins. His brother James also came in and settled near him. Peter was a bachelor, and for a time kept his hall there in regulation style, but soon after married Pamelia Haynes, a sister of Mrs. Josiah Barkley.

Harry Bronson settled in 1824, on the town line, in the northeast quarter of section 36, this being a part of the "Herrington tract." His house stood on the site now occupied by the new brick residence of Henry Grinnell, Mr. Bronson is now living in Stratford, Connecticut, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

In May, 1825, Samuel Eastman came from Orleans county. New York, bringing with him a wife and one son, Horace, then but a child, and settled on the west side of Black Walnut lake, upon lands now owned by Mr. Stodgell. At about the same time Linus Parker came in with his sons, Chauncey, Linus, and David, The elder Linus settled on the northeast quarter of section 34, now the farm of J. J. Deconinck, and Chauncey took land in the northwest quarter of 35, adjoining his father. He afterwards sold to Mr. Armstrong.

In the following month, June, 1825, there arrived in West Bloomfield one who afterwards became probably as well known as any man in the county of Oakland, Rev. Laban Smith, a circuit preacher of the Ohio conference, who in the succeeding quarter of a century officiated at meetings for worship in school houses, churches, dwellings, barns, shops, and in the open air, as well as at funerals and weddings, times almost without number, and who has left behind him a religious impress upon the sentiment of the community which will not soon be obliterated. He settled in the northwest quarter of section 13, the present farm of Alva A. Smith, on the south side of Pine lake.

Stephen Smith was a brother of the Reverend Laban, and came in at the same time. He also settled on the southern shore of Pine lake, on lands now owned by M. McCallum. With these brothers came also their mother, a most kind hearted old lady, who was well skilled as a botanical doctress, and was always ready and willing to give her assistance in cases of sickness, which were by no means few nor infrequent in the four or five years which succeeded the time of their settlement in West Bloomfield.

The pecuniary resources of the brothers Smith were not great, nor was the ministerial vocation of Laban productive of much revenue to him, but both he and his brother are said to have been excellent trappers, and the lake was at that time teeming with muskrat, and of these they caught sometimes as many as a dozen in a single night. Each pelt readily brought four shillings, a sum greater than could at that time be realized for two bushels of the best wheat; and by this means they procured the few necessities which could not be obtained by barter, but which required cash, a commodity which neither their husbandry nor Uncle Laban's preaching would then furnish

Abel Bigelow settled in the year 1825, on the Herrington tract, in the extreme southeastern corner of the township. He came from Manlius, New York, and was accompanied by three sons, Jotham R., Levi, and T. Allen Bigelow, which last named is still living on the same farm. A great portion of Mr. Bigelow's farm proved to be under laid with clay of excellent quality for brick making, and he was the first person in the township who engaged in their manufacture. The business is still prosecuted by T. A. Bigelow at his water power, which, however, is just across the township line, in Farmington.

Edward Ellerby, an Englishman of considerable means, had come into the township in the year of the first entries, and had purchased from government thir- teen eighty-acre tracts, partly in this and partly in the township of Bloomfield, He had at first come to this country from England in the company of Robert I. Owen, of Glasgow, the father of the well-known Robert Dale Owen, and having absorbed some of his (Owen's) peculiar ideas upon the subject of colonization, he had purchased these tracts with the purpose of settling them by colonists from his native country, and with this intent he had returned thither soon after making his entries to prepare for the consummation of his scheme. In the early part of 1825 he returned to Michigan, having with him the first detachment, the pioneer corps of companies yet to come. Those whom he brought were a Mr. Rake, Michael Skinner, a cabinet maker, and a cask of brandy. Having now his forces on the ground, one of the first things to be done was to complete a very large log house, for which preparations had been made at the time of his previous visit. This was to be his manorial residence; and as he had funds at command he had no trouble in pushing the structure to an early completion. It stood on the site now occupied by the neat little frame house of George Richardson, just east of Black Walnut lake, on the town line, in the southeast corner of section 24. When finished, it was so satisfactory to him, and so imposing in appearance, that he named it "Ellerby Castle." Connected with the main building there was a wing of large size, and in this wing Michael Skinner had his residence and workshop ; one of the first jobs which he performed in the line of his trade being the manufacture of a coffin for the wife of his fellow colonist, poor Mrs. Hake, who died in the wilderness, away from home and friends, in the October succeeding her arrival.

Ellerby never achieved success in his scheme of colonization, although he afterwards made several trips to England for the purpose ; and he did not take his final departure from West Bloomfield until about 1885. Even then he had not abandoned the idea of the promotion of emigration from England to the United States, and it is said that he afterwards arrived in this country with a colony of considerable size, bound for New Harmony, Indiana (where Mr. R. I. Owen was similarly engaged), but that he never arrived with them at their destination, as they all deserted his leadership during the passage through the State of Ohio.

John Ellenwood came to Michigan with his family from Ridgeway, Orleans county. New York, in 1825, and arrived in Pontiac on the 28d of September. They were moved up from Detroit by the horse teams of Diodate Hubbard and John Hamilton (who, indeed, seem to have "moved" nearly every other family who came into this and the adjoining townships in those years), and, with but a short halt in Pontiac, they proceeded without delay to their place of destination and settlement in the southeast quarter of section 12, on the eastern shore of Pine lake, to and beyond which point a kind of road had already been cut through, running to the westward of the present road, and close along the edge of the lake. The land of Mr. Ellenwood laid immediately north of and adjoining the farm of the first settler, John Huff, who, at this time, was engaged at work in Pontiac; and, as there was plenty of room in the large log house already mentioned as having been built by him upon the lake shore, the Ellenwood family moved into it as their home until a house could be reared upon their own farm.

The family of John Ellenwood consisted of his wife, two sons, Eben and John M., and two daughters, Jane and Ismena. Calvin Ellenwood, another son, had a family of his own, but came with his father, and remained with him on the farm at Pine lake for two years after their arrival. Eben also married in about two years, and settled just north of his father, upon what is now the Coates farm. The old log house into which he moved, with his bride may still be seen on the west side of the road, and near the bank of the lake, windowless, dilapidated, and desolate. John M. Ellenwood, the youngest son, was then but a lad of eleven years, and he is still living on the same place where they settled fifty-two years ago. The daughter, Ismena, afterwards married Thomas Irish. Another daughter was the wife of Nathan Herrick, who came in soon after, and he, too, moved into the Huff house for a temporary home, as did also Timothy Kennedy's family, all at the same time that it was occupied by the families of John and Calvin Ellenwood. Nathan Herrick took land upon Pine lake, just south and west of that of his father-in-law, it being the east half of the northwest quarter of section 13.

As may be supposed, the pecuniary circumstances of Mr. Ellenwood were not of the best on his arrival in Michigan. It was not convenient for him to purchase a cow, so in the fall he bargained with one of the Bloomfield settlers to take one of his cows and keep her through the winter, which he could easily do, as the “blue-joint" grass grew in great abundance all along the lake. In the same season he harvested a field of fifteen acres of wheat upon shares, and by this means procured breadstuff for his family, while John, the youngest son, who had already become an expert deer slayer, had no trouble in keeping them well supplied with venison, having sometimes as many as six carcasses hung up in reserve at one time. The next spring he bargained with Ezra Rood and Asa B. Hadsell, of Bloomfield, to break and prepare four acres of ground for an orchard, Rood having a horse team and Hadsell a yoke of oxen. This he set out with trees, many of which he procured from the Indian reservation at Orchard island, and he also sowed the ground among them with wheat.

Pomeroy Stiles came in the spring of 1826, and entered on the northeastern section of the township, but did not settle upon it for three years, during which time he boarded in the family of Mr. EUenwood, with whom, during the first season, he joined purses for the purpose of procuring a yoke of oxen, which with their united funds they succeeded in purchasing of Harvey Seeley, the price being forty dollars. To feed them they bought two stacks of wheat of Thomas J. Drake (afterwards Judge Drake), administrator of the estate of Rufus R. Robinson, who had died the previous autumn, and this wheat they had ground into feed at the Pontiac mill, less than four miles distant. Wheat in this section and at that time was so plenty, and the means of transportation so limited, that it absolutely could not be sold, no matter how fine the quality, and it was therefore used as food for cattle. The muskrat skins which an expert trapper like Uncle Laban or Stephen Smith could take from the lake in a season would then be of far more commercial value than the wheat crop of the best farm in the township.

Among those who came in the year 1827 was Ebenezer F. Smith, who settled in the northeast corner of section 33. Mr. Colby also came in that year, and purchased the east half of the northeast quarter of section 26, which he afterwards sold to Andrew Simpson. Daniel Powell settled about the same time at Black Walnut lake, and John Powell (not a brother of Daniel) on the Herrington tract.

The Indian reservations were sold at auction by the government in September, 1827, and were purchased, at the price of eleven shillings per acre, by George Galloway, of Palmyra, New York, an uncle of Captain Joshua Terry, who afterwards kept the public house between Orchard and Cass lakes. These reservations were one hundred and seven acres at the southern end of Orchard lake, now the farm of R. W. Cummings, and Orchard island, in Orchard lake, about thirty-eight acres, now the property of Colin Campbell, of Detroit.

One of the earliest settlers in the western portion of the township was Eldad Smith, from Camden, Oneida county. New York, who, on arriving in Michigan, had stopped for a time in Bloomfield, but came into West Bloomfield soon after 1828, and settled in the southwest quarter of section 30, on lands at present owned by T. C. Severance. Henry Dodge came in about the same time, and settled in the northeast quarter of section 30, and Henry Allen, a cabinet maker, from Seneca county. New York, purchased and settled on the southeast quarter of section 32. Mr. Simpson and his sons, Robert, Andrew, and James, came in the year 1829, and bought from Colby, as mentioned above; the tract being the same now owned by Robert Kyle. Nelson Rosevelt was another who came near the same time, and he located his log dwelling on the north line of section 27, in its northeast quarter.

In the fall of the year 1829, William Durkee came from Vermont, and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land purchased of Charles Kelly, this being the Hoff tract at Pine lake, on which the first house was built in the township. Erastus Durkee, a son of William, also came at the same time, and settled at the west end of Long lake, in the northeast quarter of section 12. Jedediah Durkee, another son of William, came in 1830, and settled on the southwest quarter of section 13, the Douglas Harger farm. Mr. Durkee is now a resident of Pontiac. In his "Reminiscences from an Old Pioneer," recounted to the Society of Oakland County Pioneers, he says : "I built a log house, and to aid those who had no dwelling, I took about twenty newcomers in the one new house. To pay expenses I used to go four or five miles a day to work, and had one dollar per day with oxen, and fifty cents for self I wanted then, as ever since, to keep out of debt. I was often without meat, but occasionally killed a deer or a bear. I have seen as many as three wolves cross on the ice of Pine lake at one time. After three years I built a good frame barn. To get one thousand feet of lumber I worked a week with oxen to pay for the same. . . . For a quarter of a pound of tea I worked about one day. . . . Then my wife used to be left alone for a week at a time with three small children. Wolves were so numerous that I had to build high enclosures to save my sheep from their ravages. After they had killed forty sheep near our place, a hundred men turned out in pursuit of them. I used to go three or four miles and split rails at four shillings per hundred, and went often a number of miles to help at a raising. . . . Esquire Ellenwood lost, by fire, his house and all its contents, and I took him and his family of twelve persons into my house, making twenty-four inmates. They lived with us about two months, till he could build."

From about the year 1830 the immigration became much more rapid. The following were among those who came in near that time: Wm. A. McAlpine settled on the northwest quarter of section 36 ; Robert Carhart, on the northeast quarter of same section ; Henry Keyser, on the north side of Pine lake (lands at present owned by O. C. Morris) ; Case, also on north side of Pine lake, now called Lakeland place, and owned by Q. W. Howard; John Case, in the southwest quarter of section 26; Thomas Beatty, from Orange county, New York, on the southeast quarter of section 25 ; David Kyle, northeast quarter of section 26; Morgan L. Wisner, northwest quarter of section 36 ; Wm. Harris, a machinist, in the southeast and southwest quarters of 23 ; Halsey Whitehead settled near David Kyle ; Dickinson, in the southwest quarter of section 27, now Hosner's place ; Laban Jenks purchased the lands of Rial Irish ; Bachelor settled in southeast quarter of section 28 ; James Stoughton, on the Herrington tract, and near him Bentley Sabin, southeast quarter of section 36; Joseph Griffin, northwest quarter of section 26 ; John Williams, in the southeast quarter of section 34 ; John Robinson, a brother-in-law of Wisner, settled on the town line in section 35 ; Nathaniel I. Daniels, in the southwest quarter of section 34 ; Mr. Wells, step-father of Nelson Rosevelt, settled in the northwest quarter of section 26 : Mr. Armstrong, father of Theodore C. Armstrong, in the northwest quarter of section 35, on land bought of Chauncey Parker, who then purchased upon the town line in section 35, now the farm of G. W. Benjamin. Also about the same time Loomis and Schurtz, brothers-in-law, from New Jersey, settled on the southeast quarter of section 13, now the Strong farm ; John Coe, in the northeast quarter of section 31 ; Theron Murray, in the southwest quarter of section 32; Sidney Hinman, in the northwest quarter of section 27, now farm of D. Root; and Henry Ewing, Joseph Miller, John Runyan, Mr. Green (father of Hartwell Green), Roswell Ingram, Sidney S. Campbell, Isaac Hillard, Haran Haskins, John Austin, James Goodenough all came into the township not far from the year 1830.

James Dow, the first settler in the "Scotch neighborhood," as it was called, came from Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1830, and purchased lands on the isthmus between Orchard and Cass lakes, in sections 9 and 10, two hundred and seventy acres. He brought three sons, George. William, and Peter, and one daughter, Elizabeth. On their arrival, the family occupied Erastus Durkee's house, at Long lake, until one could be built and made ready on their own land. It was finished so that they moved into it on the day before Christmas.

The elder Dow was by trade a carpenter, but had carried on the business of agriculture in a small way in Scotland, having held a lease of land upon the estate of Sir Walter Scott, at Loch-awe. He never gathered a harvest from American soil, for his death occurred only a few months after his settlement, July, 1831. George, the eldest son, died December 23, 1876, aged seventy-three years; William died January 2, 1862 ; and Peter, the youngest, is still living in plenty on the farm which his father located forty-seven years ago. He has several times been elected to offices in the township, and was also elected to the State senate in 1862. Elizabeth Dow married Dr. Robert Burns, who is said to have been a cousin of the poet of the same name. He came from Scotland with Mr. Dow, and settled on the north side of Pine lake, in the northwest quarter of section 12, now the Howard place, one of the best locations upon the lakeshore. A Mr. Case had built his habitation on the place, and although it is said he was only a squatter upon the laud, yet Burns purchased his interest, whatever it may have been.

Morris Blakeslee came in 1831, and established his bachelor's hall on the town line in the southwest quarter of section 33. He continued in this condition until February 11, 1833, when he was married by John Ellenwood, Esq., to Miss Betsey E. Gould, a sister of Mrs. R. Green. He died in December, 1876.

William Gilmour came to West Bloomfield in 1831, and settled at the south end of Orchard lake, in the southeast quarter of section 15, the location now owned by F. A. Emmendorfer, The first township meeting under the State government was held at his house. He died in Nebraska, aged seventy years.

Hugh Cuthbertson, from Ayrshire, Scotland, the second comer to the Scotch settlement, arrived with his wife and three children in 1831, and located on the west shore of Orchard lake, in the southeast quarter of section 9, and his tract also including an extremely small fragment of the southwest quarter of section 10. It had been his intention to go to Monroe, but, by some misunderstanding he was carried to Detroit, where, upon stating his case to Major Kearsley, the latter assured him he could not do better than try Oakland County, and kindly gave him a letter to his countryman, James Dow. As a result of the advice and the letter, he selected the fine, fertile farm upon the lakeshore, where he has spent forty-six busy and prosperous years.

William Merithew, a brother-in-law of Governor Wisner, came about 1832, and purchased in the southwest corner of section 22 ; and Sylvester Stoddard located west of Orchard lake, in the Scotch settlement, where now is the farm of A. McCallum.

In October, 1832, Samuel Andrews, from Oneida county, New York, purchased in section 28. He was one of the justices of the peace under the Territorial government. Joseph Coates came in the fall of the same year, and settled at the east end of Pine lake. Afterwanis, for a long period, he was stenographer to the Michigan house of representatives, and was also elected a member of that body. He died in 1876, at the age of eighty-seven years.

Zephaniah R. Green purchased eighty acres from government and eighty acres from John Coe in the southeast quarter of section 31, and settled on his land in July, 1832, His family remained at Henry Ewing's cabin until their own log house was erected and ready for occupancy. He at once proceeded to clear his land, and succeeded in putting in three acres of wheat the same fall, though a portion of the time he was obliged to go to his work on crutches, on account of having cut his foot very badly in chopping. Upon one occasion, about this time, he came very near losing his life while rolling logs in his clearing. The chain by which his oxen were hauling the log became displaced, and the log rolled back upon him, and in this position he was held during more than half the day, until most opportunely discovered by his little son (Addis Emmett Green, now of Farmington), who ran half a mile for help and rescued him, though in a state of insensibility and complete exhaustion from his long protracted peril and pain. He is still living on the land which he purchased there forty-five years ago. His father, Levi Green, of Rhode Island, a soldier of the Revolution, came to West Bloomfield, and died here on the 24th of June, 1851, at the great age of ninety-four years.

It was two or three years later when the Rev. J, J. Young came from Bloomfield, where he had been living for a considerable time, and took up his residence in this township, near Woodpecker lake, in the southwest quarter of section 21. He lived for more than forty years in West Bloomfield, and during that time he was most extensively known as an earnest and devout preacher and an exemplary Christian. It is said that the funeral sermons preached by him far exceeded in number those of any other minister in Oakland County. Mr. Young died on the 26th of December, 1876, at the age of seventy-six years.

It is not claimed that the foregoing memoranda of the early inhabitants of West Bloomfield are complete or perfect. At this late day it would be well near impossible to make them so, yet they contain the names of by far the greater part of those who had settled in the township up to the time of its separation from Bloomfield.

The first road which was cut through into the township of West Bloomfield was that which entered at its northeastern corner, thence passed south, by the west end of both Lord's lake and Long lake, and, striking Pine lake at its eastern end, skirted its margin as far as its southeastern extremity; beyond which point it was not extended until considerably later. This old road, laid out through the influence of Colonel Mack, Judge Le Roy, and others, was cut through and used as early as 1823, and probably, in the preceding year. At Pine lake it did not follow the route of the present road, but ran close along the edge of the lake, past the spot where John Huff built his spacious log house; and it was by this road that he had his communication with the outside world ; though as to the matter of communication, it could be effected through the openings to almost any point in the township ; and the earliest settlers, as they came in, could travel with their wagons, nearly at will, in any desired direction, without reference to roads or marked trails, and with very little hindrance from natural obstacles, other than the lakes and the marshy grounds by which, in some places, they are bordered. On the 23d of June, 1828, an act of the legislative council was approved, which ordered the laying out of the Pontiac and Adrian road, to pass by Orchard lake, Walled lake, and Ann Arbor; and it was not long after that all that part of the route which passed through West Bloomfield was laid out and made passable for travel. In the year 1831 the Commerce road was laid out between Orchard and Cass lakes, and along the southern shore of Green lake, leaving the township near the quarter-post on the west line of section 7.

In the laying out of these roads, as well as of the local roads, at a later time, John Ellenwood, Esq., took a prominent part, both as road commissioner and surveyor ; and it is a fact that today, in the townships of West Bloomfield, Southfield, and Bloomfield, there are but very few roads which were not surveyed by him. There are few roads on section lines in this township; in the northern half, particularly, there is almost an entire absence of them, on account of the obstacles interposed by the numerous lakes. Those which are in existence, however, were most of them laid out soon after the township organization, about the years 1834 and 1835.

The first post-ofiice was established in West Bloomfield in the year 1831. It was called " Pine Lake," and was kept at the house of John Ellenwood, he being not only the first, but the only postmaster, holding the office from the time of its creation until his death, May 9, 1856, after which time it was discontinued. (His tenure of the office of justice of the peace was similar, he holding the office continuously from the time of the first election of justices, in 1836, until his death, a period of twenty years.)

The post office of West Bloomfield was established about 1833, with Nathaniel I. Daniels as postmaster. The 'office was located on the southern line of the township, at its central point, between Bloomfield and Commerce. After the establishment of the North Farmington post office, only a mile farther south, in Farmington township, the West Bloomfield office was removed two miles and a half north and east, to the public house of Mr. Rundel, where it was kept for a number of years, until its discontinuance, soon after 1862, when its business was merged with that of the North Farmington office, which was then moved up to the town line. At present the office, although designated as North Farmington, is located within the territory of West Bloomfield, in the southeast corner of section 33, and the postmaster is Theodore C. Armstrong.

The post office of "Straits Lake" was established in the year 1836, William Beatty being the first postmaster appointed to its charge. Its location is on the north shore of Upper Straits lake, very near the centre of section 17, upon the farm of D. Dickie, who purchased from Mr. Beatty. The business of the office is not very large.

"Orchard Lake" post office was established in 1872, chiefly as an accommodation to the guests of the Orchard Lake hotel, which was first opened in that year. The establishment of the office was accomplished mainly through the efforts and influence of General Joseph Copeland, who was appointed postmaster. The office is now kept at Moody's hotel, on the southeast side of the lake. The inhabitants of the northeastern part of the township, however, where this office is located, having frequent business calls to visit Pontiac, receive most of their mail through the office in that city.

West Bloomfield, although so magnificently watered, yet hardly contains a stream of sufficient volume and fall to be capable of driving machinery, and there are at present no mills within the township propelled by either water or steam.

In past years, however, there have been three difierent mills erected here, the first of these being a saw mill, which was erected in the winter of 1825 and 1826, by Peter Barr and Isaac Castle, on the outlet stream leading from Cass lake to Timber lake. It was well and thoroughly built, and in the spring of 1826 was ready to be put in operation. A large quantity of logs had been hauled there during the winter by the brothers Irish and several other of the inhabitants, but when all was nearly ready, the owners were, by legal process, forbidden to turn the water into their head race. This was done at the instance of Colonel Mack, Dr. Chamberlain, and other mill owners upon the stream below, though it is not known upon what grounds the injunction was granted. It resulted in the abandonment of the mill and the ruin of the enterprise.

The second was a saw mill, built, in the year 1831, by William A. McAlpine, on the northwest quarter of section 36. It was a good mill in times of abundant water, but could not be operated in seasons of drought. It continued in use for about fifteen years, and was then discontinued.

The third was a grist mill, located below the last named, and on the same stream, near the centre of section 36. It was built by Ezekiel H. Sabins and James Stoughton, in 1835 or 1836. The time of its continuance cannot be exactly given, but it was kept in operation for quite a number of years, and then abandoned. It did very good work during the times of plentiful water, but was unreliable in the dry season. This was universally known as the “Pepper mill." The stream on which these two last named mills were located is that which is mentioned elsewhere as rising in Woodpecker and Black Walnut lakes. Upon it, and below these mills, was the Bigelow mill, in Farmington, and the Van Every mill, in Bloomfield, which is still in operation. Soon after this mill was built by Colonel Peter Van Every, he conceived and commenced to execute the project of increasing the water in the stream by digging a canal from Orchard lake through the farm of William Gilmour (now Emmendorfer's), southeastwardly, to join and feed the mill-stream. It was found, by leveling, that this project was a feasible one, but it is doubtful whether its results would ever have repaid the expense. At all events, the determined opposition of Mr. Gilmour had the effect to prevent its completion

The mechanical trades have never been strongly represented in this township. The first carpenter was Nathan Herrick, and another, who was not much later, was Samuel Eastman. There were at least two cabinet makers who came in early, the first being Michael Skinner, of Ellerby Manor, and another, and probably the next, being Henry Allen, from Seneca county. New York.

The first person to commence the business of merchandising in West Bloomfield was William Henderson, a settler from the State of New York, who came in the year 1833, settled on the north shore of Pleasant lake, where the farm of F. Tremper now is, and in the following year opened a dry goods store at that point. It was kept in a log building, and continued in operation until the dark days of 1837, when it ceased to exist. This was not only the first, but it is also believed to have been the only mercantile establishment ever opened in West Bloomfield.

The first public house in the township was that which was opened by Nelson Rosevelt in the year 1829, in his log house, which stood a mile and a half west of Black Walnut lake, and two miles north of the town line of Farmington. It was at this house that the first township meeting was held in 1834. By the terms of the act which erected the township, approved April 22, 1833, it was ordered that the first meeting "be held at the house of Sheldon Rosevelt in said township;" but by a subsequent act of the legislative council, approved March 7, 1834, it was directed that it be held "at the house of Nelson Rosevelt in said township, any law to the contrary notwithstanding."

After Rosevelt, the house was next kept by his step father, old Mr. Wells, and after him came Mr. Rundel, who also had the post mastership, as has been mentioned. The tavern sign was taken down, and it ceased to be a public house before the death of Mr. Rundel, which occurred in 1863.

On the northeast side of Orchard lake, at a point on the south side of the Commerce road, opposite where now stands the residence of Br. David Ward, a Scotchman named Kendall built a large and fair looking frame house, which he opened as a tavern in the year 1832. At the end of two years, not having found his enterprise successful, he sold to Captain Joshua Terry, of Pontiac, a nephew of George Galloway, the purchaser of the Indian reservations. Terry at once moved into the house, but he found no more success than Kendall had realized. The township elections of 1836 were held there during his proprietorship, and there was a militia " training" or two in its vicinity, but the place steadily lost what little business it ever had, and from the hands of Terry it passed with the tract on which it stood into the possession of Lewis Mann, and its days as a public house were closed forever.

In 1833 or 1834, William Gilmour, at the southeastern extremity of Orchard lake, opened his house as a house of entertainment, but never reared a tavern sign. The town meetings were held there several times.

Sylvester Stoddard raised the sign of a public house in the Scotch settlement in October, 1835. It stood on the south side of the Commerce road, upon land now owned by Angus McCallum, in the obtuse angle of the roads opposite the school house of district No. 2. It shared the fate of the others ; failed of business success, and was closed at the end of two years.

Pomeroy Stiles opened a public house soon after, at his place on the Pontiac and Orchard Lake road, in the northeast section of the township, and about three miles out from Pontiac. The period of its duration as a tavern is not known.

At Orchard Lake there are at present two hotels, known as the Orchard Lake House and the Orchard Lake Hotel, and located respectively on the southeast and northeast shores of the lake. The former was built about the year 1865, by Smith. From his hands it passed into the possession of Harvey Weston, who was its landlord for a few years, and from him it came into the possession of the present owner, Robert Brown. Here is now kept the post office of Orchard Lake.

The Orchard Lake Hotel stands a few rods east and south of the spot where Captain Joshua Terry's tavern stood forty years ago. The central portion of the structure was erected as a private residence by General Joseph Copeland, in the year 1858. It is a substantial brick building, which has the appearance, both without and within, of having been constructed without regard to economic considerations, and with the simple and single view to make it such, in every particular, as a gentleman's private residence should be ; and that idea seems to have been successfully carried out in all details, from the thick and secure foundations to the elaborate finish of solid oak which is seen in every portion of its interior.

It having been decided to change this dwelling into a summer resort for the better class of health and pleasure seekers, there was added in the year 1871 a northern wing, one hundred and fifty feet in length, and upon the southern side a smaller one, as a ball room, billiard hall, etc. The house was opened to the public at the commencement of the season of 1872 by G. W. Beekman & Co. In 1873 it was carried on by M. Duffie ; in 1874, by J. H. Stevenson ; in 1875, by Messrs. Copeland & Wells; and in the present year, 1877, by Sprague & Rogers ; not having been opened in the summer of 1876. There are few spots, whether in the mountains or by the shore of the ocean, which offer more attractions as places of summer recreation than are found in the lake region of West Bloomfield.

By an act of the legislative council, approved April 22, 1833, township 2 north of range 9 east was set off" from Bloomfield and erected a separate township, with the name of West Bloomfield. The boundaries of the township as then set off" were the same as at present.

At the first annual meeting of the voters of the township of West Bloomfield, held at the house of Nelson Rosevelt, April 7, 1834, present, Roswell Ingram, moderator; William A. McAlpine, clerk pro tem., and John Ellenwood and Sidney Hinman, justices of the peace. The following officers were elected by ballot, namely : Daniel Benjamin, supervisor; Sidney S. Campbell, township clerk ; Sylvester Stoddard, N. I. Daniels, and Robert Carhart, ai^essors; Pomeroy Stiles, collector; Laban Smith and Peter Richardson, directors of the poor ; Calvin Ellenwood, Morris Blakeslee, and Halsey Whitehead, commissioners of highways; Pomeroy Stiles and Ebenezer F. Smith, constables ; John Elleowood, N. I, Daniels, and Haran Haskins, school commissioners ; Roswell Ingram, Haran Hoskins, and Isaac Hillard, School inspectors, and John Ellenwood, J. Tucker, Sylvester Stoddard, William Gilmour, P. Frisbey, Andrew Simpson, D. Stoughton, Z. Dickson, Jolin Austin. Robert Carhart, James Goodenough, Benjamin Irish, Morris Blakeslee. and H. Moore, overseers of roads.

In the years succeeding that of the first township election the following named persons have been elected to the office of supervisor of West Bloomfield : John Ellenwood, in the years 1835, 1836, 1837, 1839, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1848; Daniel Benjamin, in 1838; Lyman Humphrey, in 1840; George Dow, in 1845, 1846, 1847; Rev. John J. Young, from 1849, continuously, to 1856, inclusive, and again in the year 1861 ; Archibald G. Benedict, in 1857 and 1858; Peter Dow, in 1859, 1862, and 1872; Charles B. Boughner, in 1860, 1863, 1864, 1866. 1867, 1868, 1871, 1876, and 1877; Theodore C. Armstrong, in 1865 ; Joel P. Harger, in 1869 and 1870; and George German, in 1873, 1874, and 1875.

The incumbents of the office of township clerk have been : William Merithew, elected in IS35; Haran Haskins, in 1836, 1838, 1840, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, and 1851 : Joseph Coates, in 1837; Daniel Rich, in 1839, 1841, 1842, 1843; William Gilmour, in 1844 and 1845 ; John M. Ellenwood, in 1850 ; Charles B. Boughner. continuously from 1852 to 1858, inclusive; Alanson Sleeper, in 1859 and 1860; Lewis M. Hunt, in 1861, 1862, and 1863; Francis C. Tanner, in 1864. and then continuously until, and including, 1872; Robert W. Malcolm, in 1873 and 1874; Angus McCalium, in 1875 and 1876; and Robert S. Cuthbertson, in 1877.

The first election of justices of the peace was held in 1836, and resulted in the choice of John Ellenwood, George Dow, William A. McAlpine, and Joseph Griffin. Since that time the office has been filled by election, as follows: John Ellenwood. in 1837. 1841, 1845, 1849, and 1853; Joshua M. Cowley, in 1838; John Hibbard. in 1839; Lawrence Crumb, in 1840; William Gilmour, in 1842; Andrew Moore. in 1843; Nathaniel I. Daniels, in 1844; Morgan L, Hunt, in 1846 ; Samuel N. Bachelor, in 1847; James Richardson, in 1848; George Malcolm, in 1850, 1854, and 1858; Zachariah L. Seeley, in 1851, 1855, and 1871 ; William A. McAlpine, in 1852 and 1856; Henry W. Lord, in 1857; John A. Covert, in 1859; James Richardson, in 1860; George W. Howard, in 1861: John Lawrence, in 1862, 1866, and 1870; Joel P. Harger, in 1863 and 1868; Thomas A. Bigelow, in 1864, and John M. Ellenwood, same year, to fill vacancy ; David Congleton, in 1865 ; David Cummings, to fill vacancy, in 1866 ; John D. Evans, in 1867, and Sumner Bathrick, same year, to fill vacancy; Francis Orr, in 1869; David R. Smith, 1869, to fill vacancy; Jude C. Herrington, to fill vacancy, in 1870, and to full term, in 1872 ; William Borland, in 1873 and 1877 ; Nathaniel Higby, in 1874, and David Dickie, same year, to fill vacancy; Milo R. Campbell, in 1875; and Douglas Harger, in 1876.

Meetings for religious worship were commenced in the township as early as the spring of 1826. There were Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians among those early settlers, but the most amicable feelings existed between them, and the desire to enjoy the privilege of public worship transcended all denominational preference and prejudice; and we find that their first meetings were held in commune at the house of John Ellenwood, who was originally a Congregationalist, but afterwards united with the Methodists, the services at these meetings being conducted alternately by Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, of Pontiac, a Presbyterian with Congregationalist sentiments, and Rev. Laban Smith, of Pine Lake, a Methodist ; and that to them came, irrespective of creed or sectarian inclination, nearly all the inhabitants of the township to whom the place of meeting was accessible. John Ellenwood and his family, Eben Ellenwood, Nathan Herrick and wife, Harry Bronson and wife, the family of Rev. Mr. Smith the preacher, Stephen Smith and his family (for whole families attended religious meetings in a body in those days, Timothy Kennedy and wife, the widow and the very numerous family of Benjamin Irish, Samuel Eastman, Peter Richardson, Pomeroy Stiles, Daniel Powell and family, and John Powell, all these were among the number of those who attended the early preachings ; and as for preachers, there were, besides those already named, many others, who from time to time came to assist in the good work. The Rev. Mr. Frazer and Elders Warren and Costen are especially remembered by the survivors of that congregation as being among the earliest of the preachers at the Ellenwood house. For a few years the meetings continued to be held principally at Mr. Ellenwood's, and were then transferred to the log school house which stood near Zachariah Seeley's, in the northwest corner of section 24.

About 1833 the Congregationalist and Presbyterian elements of the old band, together with such others of their denominations as had in the meantime settled in the township, all under the leadership of Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, effected a church organization, of which the names of the constituent members cannot be accurately given, but which embraced among others Deacon Samuel Andrews and wife, Deacon Kidder and wife, William Gilmour and wife, James Miller, George Dow, Hugh Cuthbertson and wife, and John Elienwood and wife. Their meetings were held at the house of William Gilmour, at the southern extremity of Orchard lake. Among their preachers was Rev. Wells H. Utley, who came to them as a stated supply. After being kept up for about ten years the organization was dissolved, and the members united with the other congregations.

The Methodists also became organized as a church under Rev. Mr. Smith, and among its members were Philo Farnham, Robert Simpson, James Simpson, Stephen Smith, Mrs. Washburn, William Harris and wife, David Kyle and wife, and John Ellenwood and wife, who had united with this after their connection with the Congregationalist church. They met in the frame school house, near William Durkee's, commencing about the year 1838. We are unable to give a minute history of the church's mutations from this down to its dismemberment, which was brought about by differences arising out of the question of slavery. Nor can there be given a list of the preachers who served it other than its founder, "" Uncle Laban" Smith. Of him it may with truth be said that no other minister has ever been more extensively known throughout this and the adjoining counties, or more distinguished for untiring devotion in the interests of religion and of the church of his choice. He served the conference for twenty-five years in the itinerancy, and until old age compelled him to be placed on the superannuated list. He died at his home at Pine Lake, February 23, 1867. Methodist worship is at present held at the "Green school house," near Morris lake, once in every two weeks, under charge of Rev. Mr. Allen, of Pontiac.

The Christian church of West Bloomfield, perhaps better known as the Campbellite church, was organized in the year 1873, mainly through the efforts and influence of Mrs. Colin Campbell, of Detroit, whose summer residence is at Orchard lake. The number of original members was small, probably not exceeding twelve or fifteen. Their house of worship, the only church edifice in the township of West Bloomfield, is situated on a lot of one acre of ground, donated by Peter Dow, Esq., upon the Commerce road, a short distance west of his residence on the northwest shore of Orchard lake. The site is a beautiful one, a gentle rise of ground, covered with forest trees, with Orchard lake shining close behind it, while the waters of Cass lake are seen only a little farther away in its front. The church is a Gothic, frame building, stone colored, and unusually neat and attractive in appearance. It was erected in the year 1874, at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars, and was dedicated in that year by Rev. Charles Louis Loos. Twenty years before the church organization was effected, members of this congregation, and some who have now passed away, were accustomed to meet together, first at irregular intervals and afterwards stiltedly, for religious worship. Of the preachers who ministered to them, the first was the Rev. Mr. Smeadmere, and following him at various times there have been Revs. Isaac Erritt, Gilbert J. Ellis, Mr. Butler, of Detroit, Charles L. Loos, of Bethany College, West Virginia, and others. Their desk is at present supplied by Rev. Wells H. Utley.

This was formerly called the Pine Lake burial ground. It is located on the southeast side of the road, between Pine and Black Walnut lakes, near the residence of Douglas Harger, Esq. The first use of this ground as a place of burial was for the interment of Eben Ellenwood, in January, 1831. The tract, three-fourths of an acre, had been donated by Jedediah Durkee for cemetery purposes. Soon after, and probably the next, came the burial of Erastus Durkee, brother of Jedediah.

The ground was enlarged in the spring of 1872 by a purchase of an adjoining half-acre, by the township, from Douglas Harger, Esq. The ground is well fenced and cared for, and has, to some extent, been planted with evergreens. Within it lie buried John Ellenwood, Esq., William Durkee, Revs. Laban Smith and John J. Young, and many other of the old and respected inhabitants of West Bloomfield.

There were no school districts laid off nor general system of public education inaugurated in West Bloomfield until after the organization of the township, but schools had been taught among the settlers as early as the year 1828. The first of the houses in which these were taught was a small log building, which stood in the southwesterly angle of the road, near the house of Zachariah L. Seeley, between Pine and Black Walnut lakes. This was, for a comparatively long time, the only one in the township. The next was a log school house in the Scotch' settlement, near the site of the present one in district No, 2. The third in date of erection was at Black Walnut lake, near Peter Richardson's house ; and the fourth was the stone structure known as the Harger school house, in district No. 4.

The early schools were crude, and only elementary, after the universal pattern of schools in agricultural communities in those days ; and yet there are many instances of thorough educations acquired, of which the foundations were laid in those same log house schools.

At present there are seven public schools in the township, none graded. The school house accommodations are sufficient, and in every way creditable. The terms taught are of four months each, summer and winter. The male teachers receive forty dollars per month, and the female teachers three dollars and a half per week, with board at the different houses in the district.

The township superintendent of public schools for the present year (1877) is Francis Orr. Douglas Harger was elected public school inspector, but declined to qualify for the office.

The plan of a military institute, under the above name, having been perfected, the necessary pecuniary arrangements completed, and a location at Orchard lake, in West Bloomfield, most sensibly determined on by the officers in charge, the 17th of the present month (September, 1877) has been definitely fixed on as the day on which the school is to be opened, with a full corps of academic and military instructors, and with all the necessary appliances in the way of healthful and well-furnished quarters, and with all the equipment and scientific apparatus requisite in a school of the highest grade and character, such as its projectors are determined that this shall be.

The gentlemen in charge explain that their technical methods of teaching are those which are in use in the famous schools of Prussia, and that these are to be combined and blended with the most thorough military discipline, and that in this particular it will be the only school of the kind in America.

It is to be an especial feature of the system that students will be so educated as to fit them for the practical duties of life, as engineers, as skilled artisans, or as teachers in the branches which they pursue. The engineering department is to constitute in reality a school of mines, which, considering the immense mining interests of the State of Michigan, makes it a most important and necessary adjunct to the educational system of the State.

The military department has been placed under the supervision of experienced officers of the regular army, and it is intended that in this the course of instruction shall be as minute and as perfect as at any of the first military schools of Europe. The academy is purely and strictly non-sectarian, the list of its trustees including leading men in all denominations.

The founders have erected a high standard, and if their intentions and expectations are realized (as there is no reason to doubt they will be) the institution will be one of which the township, the county, and the State may well be proud. Their selection of a location has been eminently judicious. Neither in Michigan nor in the United States could a more beautiful or appropriate one have been chosen.

The thanks of the publishers are due to the following named gentlemen for valuable assistance afforded in the compilation of the history of West Bloomfield: John M. Ellenwood, Esq., Major Rogers, Peter Dow, Esq., and Hugh Cuthbertson, of West Bloomfield ; W. L. Coonley, Esq., of Farmington ; Peter Van Every, of Southfield ; J. Durkee, Esq., of Pontiac ; and Hon. Alanson Partridge, Br. Ebenezer Raynale, and Mr. Benjamin A. Thorn, of Birmingham village.