| The Highland
Township Historical Society THE NEEDHAM FAMILY |
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While William Needham's pickle business flourished, his former employer - the Highland Pickle Works - had run into difficulties and was reorganized by new investors as the Oakland Vinegar and Pickle Company, only to see the factory burn down in 1896. The following year William Needham purchased the site and moved both his home and factory to the south side of East Livingston Road, just east of the railroad. The photo below shows the Needham home and factory as they looked circa 1900. The view is looking south from East Livingston Road [Note 1].
[1] A similar photo appears in Clara Mae Beach, Our Highland Heritage, p. 252, with a caption suggesting this is the home which "bured in 1931." As will be seen, however, both the home and factory pictured above burned in 1906. The confusion is understandable since the two houses look similar. The earlier one can be distinguished by the semi-octagonal "turret" or bay window over the front porch, which the later house does not have.