became a State 1837
26, 1837. In Washington, DC, President Andrew Jackson
bill making Michigan the nation's twenty-sixth
was later to become Warren Township didn't come into existence until 1837. Better
and better houses replaced log cabins.
Warren became the 36 square mile square Hickory Township also in 1837.
were replaced with log cabins which were replaced by better and better
Gerald Neil in
his History of Warren states
“On April 3, 1837 an undetermined number of citizens met at the home of
Groesbeck to organize the government of Hickory Township…This first
chose as its Chairman Avery Denison; as its Clerk, Samuel Gibbs; as
Inspectors, Louis Beaufait, Alonzo Haight, and Jenison Glazier.” The first township officers were: Supervisor
was Samuel Gibbs, Clerk Alonzo Haight; Justices of the Peace, Alonzo
Lyman Rhodes, Samuel Gibbs, and John Barton.
The town board was made up of Samuel Gibbs, Alonzo Haight, John
and Lyman Rhodes. There was no treasurer
for the first two years. This
information is from the Village records and also recorded in Gerald
legislature gave to Orange Township the east five square mile sections of Hickory Township (Warren).
1838 the five sections were restored and Hickory Township was renamed Aba Township.
Eleven months later
Aba was allowed to adopt the name of Warren Township. We do not
know for which Warren the township was named after.
It could have been named after revolutionary
War Hero General Joseph Warren 1741-1775 who died at the Battle of
or after a warm hearted local reverend. We
think that Harold Stilwell favored the ladder but the big problem in
that people fail to write it down and preserve it.
A stage ran
from Detroit to Utica. Beebe’s
about half way.
A Bielman ran The Warren Hotel located at the northeast corner of Mound
and Chicago roads.
Dyke was a fairly straight dirt road by 1840. The name Van Dyke was
family that had a big farm on Van Dyke further to the South and a
that family James A Van Dyke had been elected mayor of Detroit. It was named that about 1885.
Even later it was named the Earl memorial
population of Warren Township was 249 in 1837, 337 in 1840, and 421 in
new immigrants were mostly farmers, from New England.
following was excerpted from Leeson's History of Macomb County,
“The township of Warren
was erected under the name of Hickory March 11, 1837. Under an act approved April 2, 1838, all
portion of Macomb known as Sections 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36 in Township 1
of Range 12 east, was set off from the town of Orange and annexed to
of Hickory. Under the same act, the name of the township of Hickory was changed to that of Aba. It retained this name until March
25, 1838, when it
received its present title -- Warren. The first town meeting was held at the
Louis Groesbeck, April 3, 1837, with Avery Dennison, Moderator; Samuel
Louis Beaufait, Alonzo Haight and Jenison F. Glazier, Inspectors of
Samuel Gibbs was elected Supervisor; Alonzo Haight, Clerk; Louis L.
Collector; Harris Corey, Loring Hawley, L. L. Beaufait, Assessors;
Gillett, John H. Barton, Loring Hawley, Commissioners of Highways;
Jones and Louis Groesbeck, Overseers of the Poor; James N. Bruce, with
and Corey, were elected Constables. Avery Dennison, Sam Gibbs, Lyman E.
Commissioners of Schools. “
The village of Warren
in this township was settled at an early day. It is twelve miles
southwest of Mt. Clemens and fourteen north of Detroit. Its location is within a half mile of the
B.C.R.R., which renders the place a suburb of Detroit. It is a fine agricultural section, which is
to farming, market gardening, grain, vegetables and fruit. There are
and Lutheran churches, a district school and a steam feed mill and
the hamlet. Its conservatism in respect to population is remarkable.
returns of 1880 credit it with being the center of 150 people. Similar
for years past have accorded to the little hamlet precisely the same
Among the early settlers were the Groesbecks, Joseph Jerome, Harris
Joseph Mosho and George Bolam, many of whom have left families, members
which still reside in the township. Among the business and professional
the village are John Ames, Milo Ames, Oliver Barton, J. L. Beebe, C.
William Cole, D. L. Case, Frink & Murthum, L. Groesbeck, Silas E.
John Hartman, Rev. A Harwood, W. Helzenger, E. Lawrence, F. McCall,
McMullen, Judson C. Mason, E. Mores, C. Sanderson, Edward Tharrett,
Walker, G. Whitten, Rev. William Young.”
Warren Village had wooden planked sidewalks and the streets
with gasoline lamps that required the services of a lamplighter. A.C. Lyons and Frank J. Licht both served in
this capacity. They were replaced with
electric lamps in 1913.
1849 Gottlieb and Susan Bunert bought the 80-acre farm now known as the
Bunert-Weier Farm. They built a log
cabin. The brick house was built in
1876, the barn in 1883 and the carriage garage in 1892.
They farmed the land, raised livestock and
had their own sawmill. This was Warren’s last working farm.
the land behind the farm was a long flat hill that long ago may have
Indian burial site. The family also told
Wesley Arnold that after the farm was subdivided some of the new
complained about the farm guinea hens and chickens making noise in the
morning. The neighbors wanted to shut
down the farm. The Weier family
patiently asked them didn’t they not see the chickens running around,
hadn’t they heard about the rooster going cockle doodle do in the
they were in school and so why did they buy property next to a working
that had been working for over 100 years and not expect a few sounds in
late 1840’s the government land was soon sold out and owners of large
land were reselling their original grant lands.
1850 a group representing the Warren Township outpost of St Peters Evangelical Church of halfway met in the old Methodist Church across mound Road.
In 1864 they organized St Paul Evangelical Church. The
impressive building was built in 1894.
It had a steeple that towered 35 feet above the belfry but
destroyed the steeple in 1921. Records
were kept in German just like the sister church St Clement church that
records in German and Latin. See
historian Wesley Arnold's CD of Warren-Center Line Records which has
of all of the old grave stones in both Warren's Union Cemetery and St Clement's Cemetery.
These two cemeteries hold most of the remains
of the pioneers of Warren. The Warren Union Cemetery has 325 graves that date from the 19th
In 1872 Alex J
Groesbeck was born in a
farmhouse near 12 mile and Mound. He later went on to become the 30th Governor
of the State of Michigan in 1921 and the first three term Governor.
noted for "bringing Michigan
out of the mud" by initiating the state's modern system of highways. M-97, also known as Groesbeck Highway is named in his honor. He
died in 1953.
1851 sewing machine invented and by 1860 100,000
1852 cast iron stoves were becoming common.
1854 the first of
Clement churches was built on Van Dyke between Church Street
In 1863 Joseph
built the first general store at Ten Mile and State Road in Center Line
1867 typewriter. 1878 practical light bulb, 1884
1875 Beebe’s corners had two churches a school and several businesses.
The State Road was located on present day Sherwood road. The little settlement located near what is
now Ten mile road and Sherwood was called Kunrod’s corners. The corners became a stage stop between Detroit and Utica. The horse
drawn stage fare was about 75 cents to Detroit or Utica and double that to Romeo.
It is believed that Kunrod’s was settled in
the 1830’s perhaps a little later than Beebe’s.
1850 the population of Warren Township was 700-750.
There was even quicker growth as population figures show. 997 in 1854, 1335 in 1860, 1468 in 1864, 1938
in 1870, 2214 in 1874, 2401 in 1880, 2384 in 1884, 2423 in 1890, 2592