Maple Lawn Farm, on Pleasant Valley Road just north of Buno Road, in Brighton Township stillhas maples in the lawn. A. c.1900 newspaper clipping lists Wm. J. Donaldson as the owner.

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The Brighton Argus, c. 1900, listed a number of farms, with a name and the name of the owner.  Research into location, type of farming and a bit of family background is undertaken.  This study is an attempt to provide an understanding of the early days of the area and its residents. 

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Michael, Hugh, Thomas, Patrick (3), James, Edward and Mathew McCabes and their wives were born in Ireland.  They came to Green Oak, Hamburg, Unadilla and Genoa Township by way of Canada, New York or Illinois, to find a life tilling the soil.  By 1844, several are listed as resident taxpayers in Green Oak Township sections […]

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Making his home in New York, Lewis Crout was killed (1863) while serving in the Civil War. This left his wife, Hannah, with nine sons, the oldest 15 years, to make their way in the world.  Five years later (1868) this plucky widow moved her family to the Brighton Area by means of a lumber […]

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Amrod and Catherine Moon, of Niagara Falls, New York, arrived in Hamburg Township c. 1837.  They came with sons Luther (b. 1824), Alfred (b. 1827), Samuel P. (b. 1829), Hiram (b. 1832) and William (b. 1836).

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The “Old Homestead”, owned by S. Bert Appleton, was located in Section 2, Hamburg Township on the south side of Cunningham Lake Road.  Among the very first settlers in the area were Isaac W. and Lydia (Brower) Appleton.  He and brother Daniel, both from Tompkins, N.Y., scouted land in the SE ¼ of Livingston County […]

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In the 1870 census of Livingston County we find the first evidence of Myron West living in Brighton Township.  He is working for Hiram Nichols who has 120 acres in Section 35, SE ¼ (The present side of Brighton Hospital.  The house, which formed the nucleus of the hospital was moved to its present location […]

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Evergreen Lodge, in Mrs. George W. (Alice) Conley’s name, is the subject of this article.  In the days before Michigan became a state, many from the east traveled the Erie Canal over the Adirondack Mountains; many boarding a boat at Buffalo to cross Lake Erie, to finally arrive in Detroit.  To reserve acre of land […]

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In a report on religious activity in Brighton Township in the 1880 History of Livingston County, writer John Ellis notes the early beginnings of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the area.  March 9, 1873 the Pleasant Valley Congregation was organized, meeting in the log one room Lyons Schoolhouse.  In spring, 1874, it was decided to […]

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