NORTHVILLIANS,

We are just coming off the Fourth of July weekend which drew record crowds of over 10,000 people at the parade as well as festivities at the Mill Race Village – all over town, the City was certainly buzzing.

This week as part of our summer series, I will write about our local swimming areas over time. Many Northvillians take refuge by heading “Up North,” while others enjoy swimming spots right around town. Some of our cooling zones include the Northville Swim Club (since the 1960’s), Meadowbrook (110+ years) and local associations’ swimming areas, including Highland Lakes, Lexington Condos, Kings Mill and home pools. Early local history, dating back to the 1870’s, tells us that the Northville Fish Hatchery (the FIRST National Fish Hatchery) provided a swimming spot for Northvillians.

There was also a small pond that is still in the back of Rural Hill Cemetery where many of the local adventurous boys (including my father) swam in the early 1900’s. After WWII until the 1960’s, there was even a county splash park and wading area across from Custard Time.

Before looking at swimming activities, let's see what's going on today:

• Country Garden Club’s 32^nd Annual Garden Walk – 7/8, 9AM–4PM. Link
• America250 Reading of the Declaration of Independence at Mill Race – 7/8, 6PM. Witness the reading of the historic document from the steps of the New School Church by Mayor Turnbull, Supervisor Abbo, and School Superintendent Webber. Link
• Upcoming Music/Concerts/Events – Marquis Link, NOMI Link, Genitti’s Link, Northville Winery Link, Chamber/DDA Concert Series in Downtown Northville Link
• Northville has been abuzz lately with dedications: Ford Field Playscape (Link), the first roundabout in Wayne County (Link), and the Downs River Park ribbon-cutting (Link)
• Northville’s Original Cars & Coffee – 7/11, 8-10AM, 550 W. 7 Mile … since 2019, started by Alexander’s Custom Clothiers & the Mayor (always the 2^ndSaturday of the Month). Bring a car, yourself, a friend. This Month’s sponsor is Precision Motorsports.
• Northville Concours d’ Elegance at Mill Race Village – 7/12, 10AM-3PM. Link

INFO FOR CITIZENS...
TASK FORCE MEETINGS

• Cemetery Renewal Task Force Mtg – 7/13/26, 7PM City Hall (Dave Marold –Chair)
• See Link for information or Link to donate/support.
• Bicentennial Task Force Mtg – 8/12/26, 7PM City Hall (Rick Sharpe – Chair)
• To support our Bicentennial ‘27 by being one of the 200 Families on the monument at Ford Field see the following: Link

PROJECTS AROUND TOWN

• FORD FIELD - The new Playscape has constantly been enjoyed by all ages of Northvillians and beyond. There is now an ADA entry way off of Hutton St, and the views around the placemaking Serenity Point waterfall area have been spectacular … check it out!
• RIVERWALK – The Downs Section of the Riverwalk is open, and the south entry is right across from the Chamber’s award-winning Farmers’ Market. Stop by Custard Time & walk around the park, noticing the intricate attention to detail, the 1400 trees and native plants along the riverbanks.
• DOWNS INITIATIVE – The FIRST Wayne County Roundabout for better ingress/egress on 7 Mile & Sheldon had its ribbon-cutting last month. Also, 58 town homes and 12 houses have been sold. The US postal service just set up 48 mailboxes for new residents.
• NORTHVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET AREA – The Northville Chamber Farmers’ Market is open every Thursday, Car Show 2^nd Saturdays 8AM-10AM (next one July 11^th)
• GRANTS that Support Northville’s Initiatives (Over $17.6M) – Link

Let's take a look at Cooling Areas through time around Town...

FIRST, SOME WATER BACKGROUND

• Our town is the headwaters of the Rouge River, with four tributaries converging into the Ville (Johnson Creek, Randolph Drain and the upper & middle Rouge system).
• We also have the only natural lake in Wayne County, Curtis Lake (also once called Silver Springs Lake/Yerkes Lake).
• Our community is the highest point in the county, so I like to say everything is “Downriver” from Northville. The Rouge drops hundreds of feet to the Detroit River into the Great Lakes.

The four historic sections of town cooling areas…
ORCHARD HEIGHTS

• Beginning in the 1870’s, as I alluded at the start, Northvillians in the Orchard Heights area would go to the Northville Fish Hatchery to swim in one of their many ponds.
• Also, there was another small body of water behind Rural Hill Cemetery (still there) where many of the local boys swam until the WWII era.
• Finally, at Eaton Drive & Seven Mile, there was an additional pond where Joe Denton Park is today. This cool spring-fed pond was connected to the City’s water supply. This pond was previously used by the Rogers family who patented condensed milk here.

CABBAGETOWN

• Locals would cool down in the Mill Pond created by the dammed-up Rouge River, which previously fed the waterworks of the area mills. Northville was one of the first milling areas in Michigan, then it became a center for the country’s Industrial Revolution. Today, we are reinventing ourselves, planning and building a network of Riverwalk pathways … soon, one will be able to traverse from Northville North to Mackinaw City & South to Ohio.
• Many folks historically had homes on the banks of the Rouge River that runs through Cabbagetown to keep cool in the summers and for the relaxation of the flowing water.
• Lake Success on Griswold (a remnant of the gravel pit days) was also a frequent stop for swimmers … along with ponds on Beck Road behind Blue Heron Pointe.
• We have just completed work on a waterfall system on the northern edge of Ford Field where the Randolph drain “shepherds” water from Oakland & Livingston County directly into the Rouge… check out Serenity Point where multiple waterfalls abound.

BEALTOWN

• The Rouge River also runs through the Bealtown area (Mr. Beal owned the largest School and Church furniture business in the world named Globe Furniture).
• Last century, the river running through the Downs was entombed underground to provide more land for the Wayne County Fair (which was even larger than the State Fair). Today, we have daylighted this river and built a 10-acre Downs River Park which just won the State of Michigan’s Mparks award.
• So, make a date of it – Grab some ice cream at Custard Time and walk the riverwalk this summer and enjoy the cooling mist of the water. Look for trout and other species of fish that the Friends of the Rouge just documented and shade yourself under the 1400 hardwood trees planted there on the banks.
• After WWII, Wayne County built what we would call today a “splash park” as you enter the parkway across from Custard Time. When I was a kid, there were still remnants of the concrete wading pools with large sprinklers.

HISTORIC DISTRICT

• The Randolph Drain winds its way from Oakland County through this historic area and becomes quite a creek when it rains. In fact, where it connects with the Rouge at Ford Field, we just constructed a waterfall area at Serenity Point to reduce erosion.
• In the early 60’s, at the edge of the historic district (8 Mile/Randolph), Northville Swim Club took shape. I have fond memories of cooling off there when I was young.
• Next door to the Swim Club at the old High School (Hillside School grounds today), a modern indoor pool was built in the late 1960’s which offered public swimming times.

GLACIER-MADE TOPOGRAPHY

• As mentioned, Northvillians would cool down at nearby gravel pits. Thousands of years ago, the glaciers “slowed down” ever so slightly, edging their way through Northville, leaving gravel deposits. Once dug out, these large craters would fill with spring water.
• I remember hearing stories from my father and grandparents about swimming in the Northville gravel pits. Today, we call one Blue Heron Pointe, and the other is called Highland Lakes. The Taft gravel pit, located on the highest point in Wayne County, never hit water.

Enjoy your summer, and cool off by walking close to our many flowing waterways – located right here:

• Fish Hatchery Park on Seven Mile
• Ford Field next to the new Playscape for the youth
• Our historic Mill Race Village
• Our new Downs River Park
• And even down Hines Drive

Dip your toe in one of our cool spring fed rivers!
Keep that Northville Summer Faith & enjoy the rivers that run through it!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville