Brightons first electric lighting plant was built in 1897 by Carl Conrad. He installed wiring in local homes virtually free of charge to encourage the use of electricity for lighting and operating small appliances. On all but moonlit nights, the streets of downtown Brighton were soon illuminated by arched strings of light bulbs. The Brighton […]
The Indians were the first to feel the effects of the migration of people into the Brighton area, the first to be displaced by an influx of newcomers. Most who have lived here for the past 50 years are very aware of the changes which have taken place more recently. The flood of people moving […]
Struggling through the wet area in the southeast corner of Genoa Township (at that time the north half of Hamburg Township) around the lake (Lime Lake), it was with relief Henry Earl arrived on higher ground. But what a steep hill to climb! Henry Earl examined the 160 acres he had purchased from the U.S. […]
The settlers who came to Michigan Territory in the early 1830s must all be considered entrepreneurs. They came with the intention of staying (in the wilderness), developing a livelihood and assuming all the risks, management, capital and labor. Many came because there was no future for them in the east. The most for which they […]
Truman B. Worden is recorded as a First Land Owner in Genoa Township, Section 25, in the spring of 1835. The Genoa Township parcel included most of the lake, which now bears his name. He also purchased property in Brighton Township, Section 31. (However, he didnt live on that property; he apparently lived in a […]
The 1880 census is the first that records the John Duckering family in Livingston County. By then they are well settled into their home on Pleasant Valley Rd., south of Hyne Road. The household includes John (38), his wife Emily (or Erma, 33) and four children, two boys and two girls ages 2-10. (Two more […]
The first settlers in this area lived in a primitive manner. Any tools they used were brought with them. When axes became dull, plows would break or a horse had thrown a shoe, the need for a blacksmith was acutely obvious.
One of this countrys earliest ski jumping meets was held at Ishpeming, MI in 1892; the origin of the National Ski Association, 1904. A Norwegian immigrant, Mikkel Hall was living in Ishpeming when the first of six sons was born; Henry, February 27, 1893. At a very early age, on home-made barrel staves, he and […]
Stephen Lee arrived in Green Oak Township from New York State in the fall of 1830. Benjamin Curtis and his family also arrived about the same time. In June, 1831, the Curtis family joined with the Lees at the Lee home (just south of town) and were led in a worship service by Rev. Moses […]
The history of St. Pauls Episcopal Church dates from the 1830s when the Rev. Wm. A. Clark, D.D., rector of All Saints Church of New York City journeyed to the West and visited this part of the territory of Michigan. Being pleased with the area, he took up land in Brighton Township and moved his […]
