A note from from Mayor Brian Turnbull...


** NORTHVILLIANS,
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Happy Summer! Now that we have celebrated the 4^th of July this past week, we can truly engage in the season between this holiday and Labor Day. This past week’s parade and festivities were outstanding… it was great to see many of you enjoying the festivities. I encourage you to gear up for our future Fourth celebrations – for the town’s centennial back in 1927, we had the largest parade in Michigan history. Let’s start planning how we all can make our BICENTENNIAL celebration the greatest event in Northville history. Additionally, we are working to bring back our community fireworks like we have had historically.

With summer upon us, I trust and hope you will have a chance to relax, enjoy the warmth of these coming months, and make time to experience the rivers, parks and lakes in and around Northville. If you venture out of the Ville going North to Pure Michigan, be sure to check out Tahquamenon Falls, Mackinac Island, Pictured Rocks, the Soo Locks, Hartwick Pines State Park (Old Growth Trees of Michigan) or the beauty of what the Great Lakes have to offer.

Summer months in Northville historically have meant indulging in ice cream at local establishments. Notably, Henry Ford was known to stop in for a cone at times, and he had a reputation as a big tipper at Cloverdale where Rebecca’s is today. Joe Louis, when he trained in town, was also known to have a cone or two. You may be surprised where some of the local dairies started and where they ended up.

Before touching on summer historic dairy Ice Cream parlors, let's first see what's happening in town today:

7/8 – Northville “Cars & Coffee” Car Show, (2nd Saturday, Monthly): 8:00 – 10:00 AM, Old Village School entrance off of Cady, next to library (212 W. Cady Street). Link ([link removed])

7/12 – Northville Garden Walk, sponsored by the Country Garden Club of Northville. Link ([link removed])

7/15 – Coffee with City Council members @ Mithai & Chai (345 E. Cady St.) 11:30 AM

8/5 – Mill Race’s Garden Party Fundraiser in the Village. Link ([link removed])

9/2 – Married by the Mayor at Mill Race Historical Village: 10:00 AM & Noon are the only available times left. If you would like to be married by the Mayor or renew your vows at the beautiful Mill Race, see: [link removed]. The 9/2 event package includes Mayor Turnbull officiating, Shawn Riley music, Pamela McCormick Photography, and flowers by Clare Pravato Design. Email (mailto:[email protected]) or call 248.348.1845 for wedding info.

Mill Race Historical Village Sundays – Through the summer on Sundays, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Docents in Victorian dress will be in Mill Race buildings sharing Northville’s history.

MUSIC IN TOWN
* MONDAY – Music at Maybury – Every Monday at 7PM, July 10^th through August 21^st Link ([link removed])

* TUESDAY – Tunes on Tuesdays – Family fun. Link ([link removed])

* WEDNESDAY – Genitti’s dueling pianos (Wednesday 7/19 at 7:00 PM). Link ([link removed])

* Also, on Wednesdays – Dancing in the Ville – @ Town Square, 6:30PM - 8:00PM. Arthur Murray teachers provide lessons in a variety of dance genres (all levels). Sponsored by MJ Diamonds. Link ([link removed])

* Northville Winery nightly music & food trucks (630 Baseline Rd). Link ([link removed])

* Summer Concerts, Friday & Saturday at 7:00 PM – Downtown Northville. Link ([link removed])

* Additional Music around town can be heard at Lava Grill, Great White Buffalo Brewing Company, Northville Gallery, and many other locations.

Now let's take a look at Dairies and Ice Cream Establishments in Town through the Years...
1833 – Charles Rogers (Rogers St.), having successfully experimented & patented the process for condensed milk, erected a plant in the Orchard Heights area where he also produced Ice Cream. The Rogers Family built the Mansion with some of his ice cream money on 9 Mile (Shiro’s Restaurant today). Later, Rogers sold his company to Gov. Warner of Farmington. Rogers’ brand was “Globe Condensed Milk” in honor of the largest furniture factory in the country called Globe, then located right here in The Ville.

1892 – A book was published named Northville: The Ideal Suburban Village and it stated, “This area was perfect for dairies, with the finest cows feeding on sweet clover fields and watered by all the natural springs in town.” Thus, great Ice Cream, too.

1920’s – After Carmi Benton (Cass Benton Park) finished his days driving the last horse-drawn milk wagon, the Miller dairy began delivering Milk and sometimes Ice Cream with their Ford Model T Truck. Several other local-owned creameries existed in Northville in the late 1920’s, including the Lloyd Morse Dairy on Center St.

1931 – There were still five dairies in town: Werve’s on Beck, Red Rose at Cady & Center, Lloyd Morse at Dunlap & Center and Miller’s, along with Grennan’s on 6 Mile.

1930’s – Mr. Grennan of the Presbyterian Church in Northville sold his dairy and Grennan Cake Company (6 Mile) for over 1 Million dollars ($20+ Million today). He then started the Farm Crest dairy & bakery; his cows, ice cream & bakery goods were part of the town’s DNA.

1945 – John McGuire (Guernsey Farms Dairy) bought the old Red Rose Dairy on 125 Center, and Guernsey’s has been in the family ever since. Guernsey moved to its recently renovated facilities on Novi Road in 1965, where one of Michigan’s (and America’s) finest oak trees still stands out front.

1969 – Cloverdale (where Rebecca’s is today) was one of eight original outlets for Cloverdale Farms & dairy/ice cream stores which were still in operation in 1969, according to the Centennial Edition of the Northville Record.

Ice Cream from all these dairies was served in establishments throughout town, from The Ambler Hotel (Great White Buffalo Brewing Company today) to Paul’s Sweet Shop on Main (General Store in Mill Race Village presently), Cloverdale’s and the Rogers Dairy. Drug stores like Horton’s Rexall and Murdock Brothers had ice cream parlors with fountain drinks & floats in the early 1900’s.
* Historically after parades in town, Guernsey and other businesses (Northville Labs & Casterlines) have sponsored ice cream treats for everyone.
* The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo) on 5 Mile had 160 cattle for over 50 years, and a dairy on the property sold their excess production locally. In fact, Maybury Sanatorium (Maybury State Park), along with Wayne County Training Center (on Sheldon), also had dairies with hundreds of cows and sold their extra supply to local dairies for Ice Cream production in summer.
* As you can see, ice cream and dairies have been part of Northville’s story almost since its beginnings. I encourage you to grab a cone at Rebecca’s historic location, Guernsey’s family-run restaurant, Jim Roth’s Custard Time (50+ years strong), along with the acclaimed Brown Dog and others.

Have a soft-serve or an old-fashioned double-decker cone like Henry Ford or Joe Louis did in town in times past and think about the history of town. Enjoy the summer and a frozen sweet treat today.

On a side note, as I have mentioned before, my folks encouraged all in the family to learn, do and give back. It’s been 5 years this week that my father passed, and one of his wishes was for me to continue the family tradition of giving back to the community. I was always told to listen to one’s elders … thus I am continuing the tradition of giving back to this “Hamlet in the Hills or Switzerland of the County” we call Northville.

Keep that Northville Summer Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
[email protected] / 248.505.6849

(Reach out to me anytime or forward this communication to others interested.)

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