The
Highland Township Historical Society |
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NOTE: This history of Highland Township is taken from Lillian Drake Avery, Editor, An Account Of Oakland County, National Historical Association, Inc. (1925?), which was published as "Volume Three" to George N. Fuller's Historic Michigan: Land of the Great Lakes. As will be seen, this paragraph contains little in the way of "new" information, but merely summaries the longer histories of Durant (1877) and Seeley (1912). Despite its brevity, however, it contains several errors which are discussed in accompanying footnotes.
p. 47
Highland township: First purchase of land made by Naham Curtis [Note 1] September 6, 1832, on section 36, and built the first house; first mill was a grist-mill built in 1835 at Spring Mills (Highland) by Major F. Lockwood [Note 2]; first saw-mill built in 1846; first store in 1836 by Simon Hough [Note 3]; post-office established at Spring Mills in 1857 with Enos Leek as postmaster [Note 4]; township organized March 17, 1835, and first meeting held at house of Jesse Tenny on April 6th.
NOTE 1 - This man's first name is usually spelled Nahum.
NOTE 2 - The "first mill" was actually the saw mill built at Spring Mills in 1846. The grist-mill built by Major F. Lockwood was not constructed until 1856.
NOTE 3 - This statement is somewhat misleading. As Durant's 1877 history says: "In the year 1836, Simon Hough brought on a small stock of goods and sold them at his house, but did not replenish. In the fall of 1842, Hough sold to Daniel St. John, and he to D. B. Chatfield, and he to J. B. Crouse, the present owner."
NOTE 4 - While true, it leaves the impression this was the first post office in the township. In fact, the first post office was established at West Highland (then known as "Highland P.O.") in 1845.