Waterford Village, Michigan
| Waterford Village, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated Community | |
 Waterford Village, Michigan
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| Coordinates: 42°42′06.3″N 83°24′15.3″W / 42.701750°N 83.404250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Oakland |
| Township | Waterford |
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Waterford Village Historic District
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| NRHP Reference # | 79001167 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 10, 1979 |
| Designated MSHS | June 18, 1976 |
Waterford Village is an historic community in Waterford Township, Michigan. First settled in 1819, the village is located in the northernmost part of the township along Dixie Highway, on the southeast shore of Van Norman Lake.
In 1818, Alpheus Williams and his brother-in-law, Captain Archibald Phillips, entered the first land purchase for $2.00 an acre. Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams purchased 161.4 acres in what would become Waterford Village, Michigan.
In 1818, Mr. and Mrs. Alpheus Williams, their four daughters and two sons, along with Captain Archibald Phillips and Major and Mrs. Oliver Williams, with their eight children, set out to settle Oakland County.
In 1818, the Oliver Williams family established the first farm settlement in the county on the banks of Silver Lake.
Archibald Phillips and Alpheus Williams continued on northward about nine miles to where the Clinton River crossed the old Saginaw Trail. This area would become Waterford Village. Here the first house of the village was built by Alpheus Williams on the north bank of the river across from the south corner where Grand River Street met the Saginaw Trail. Williams and Phillips also built the first dam where the Clinton River crossed over the Saginaw Trail and erected the first saw mill there.
In 1844, Dr. George W. Williams (b.1793-d.1845) built the first gristmill in Waterford on what later became Mill Street. George was no relation to Alpheus or Oliver.
Early pioneers owning land tracts in the village in 1872 include:
Business owners in the village in 1972 include:
Waterford Village was designated a Michigan State Historic Site on June 18, 1976 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 1979.
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Wikipedia