The Beginning of Another Adventure

First Methodist Episcopal Church

Date Visited:  August 25, 2019

Stop:  #52

It was Saturday night.  Kathy and I were having dinner at The Red Ox located across the street from the Oakland University campus.  We had just spent the day at a one-year-old’s birthday party, and then visited six historical sites in and around Commerce Township.  I was excited about what we had accomplished this day – knocking 6 more historical markers off our quest (actually 5, since one of them was missing) - and wanted to spend the next day doing the same.  I knew the only way that would fly with Kathy was that Sunday’s trip would HAVE to include wineries.  She seemed open to the idea, so I spent a large part of Saturday night mapping out a route that would include historical markers and wineries.  The route I mapped would take us to 6 historical markers and 2 wineries, with all locations being in Macomb County.  So, I dubbed this quest the Macomb County Tour, and proposed it to Kathy.  I got the official thumbs up.  

It was now Sunday morning.  It was gorgeous outside.  We thought we had a perfect day on Saturday, but this day was even better.  We had returned home from church and immediately began to prepare for our day on the road.  Since our tour would take us out to New Baltimore and close to Anchor Bay, we packed a picnic lunch with the hopes of eating lunch in a park on the bay.  I was very excited about the prospects for the day.  Would my expectations be exceeded, met, or dashed?  Follow this blog and the next 7 to find out!

 We left the house by 11:00 am and headed east on Tienken.  It occurred to me that we were going to drive right past historic Stoney Creek Village, and if you recall (assuming you have read my blogs), I had messed up a month earlier.  We had visited the Mount Moriah historical marker within the Stoney Creek Village and made the rookie mistake of not checking the second side of the marker.  See our blog “A Rookie Mistake” (https://michiganwinesandsigns.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-rookie-mistake.html).  As a result, we missed seeing the write-up featuring Stony Creek Masonic Lodge No. 5.  This would be the opportunity to fix that mistake, so we pulled into the village and parked at the beginning of the footpath that led to the historical marker.  Kathy was not up for the walk, so she stayed in the car and I made the short trek to the marker, read the backside of the sign, took the requisite pictures (no selfie, though!!), and headed back to the car.  Mission accomplished.  We were not even 10 minutes into our plan and we already had to deviate (our first, but not our only deviation on this day!!).  But it was worth closing that loop, and the images I took appear in the blog that I posted at the link above.

So, having corrected our mistake, we continued our real quest by jumping back onto Tienken and continuing east.  Our first “official” stop for this day’s quest took us to the intersection of 27 Mile Road and Romeo Plank Road.  There, on the northeast corner, literally a couple of feet off the road, stood the subject of our first historical marker – The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Davis, Michigan, within Ray Township.  We made a left turn onto Romeo Plank so we could enter the very small parking lot that boxed in the church on the north and east side (while 27 Mile road boxed in the church on the south side and Romeo Plank boxed it in on the west side).  Seeing as it was Sunday morning, services were taking place at the time of our visit, so we were very lucky to find one parking spot left in the small lot.  The historical marker is located at the southwest corner of the church, just outside the main entrance, so we headed right for the marker so we could get reading and snapping pictures before the services ended.

There is little information on the history of this building beyond what is written on the historical marker.  The Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Brooklyn (now Davis), Michigan in 1844 by the Reverend Jonathon Davis.  The congregation built their first church in 1846.  The current building was constructed in 1895 in a Victorian architectural style - a very common construction style for residences, but very unique for a church.  The church has many Victorian features, such as spindles, shingles, and sunbursts.  The Church was renamed the Davis United Methodist Church in 1968.  Today, it is home to the Faith Baptist Church, which took ownership of the building in March 2010.  Typically, they hold services every Sunday morning at 10:30, but in the age of COVID-19, services and times vary.

The architecture of the church makes it very photogenic, but getting a good picture of the church, because of its close proximity to the road, forced me to cross the street to get the best shots.  So, that’s what I did, and, of course, Kathy thought that was funny so she had to take pictures of me taking pictures (one of them is included below).  Of course, Kathy had to take pictures of the many flowers planted around the church, so I had to make sure to get a picture of her taking pictures (none of which made the final copy).  In any event, our visit there lasted only a couple of minutes, but it was a great way to ease into our busy day.

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The Castle

Orchard Lake Schools / Joseph Tarr Copeland

Date Visited:  August 24, 2019

Stop:  #51

We did not know that we had reached a milestone at our last stop (Orchard Lake Chapel) – our 50^th site visited since we began our Michigan Wines and Signs quest 84 days ago.  So, as we got back into our car at the Orchard Lake Chapel, my only thoughts were on making sure we did not inadvertently pass by any historical markers like we almost did with our last stop.  Checking our Google Maps file, I noticed that there was at least one more historical marker in the area that we could visit before we called it a day.  Jumping back onto Commerce Road, we continued east until we got to Indian Trail, at which point I turned right and headed south along the eastern shoreline of Orchard Lake.  On our left was the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s campus.  We had been to this campus several times in the past – all to watch our son, David, play hockey, at the beautiful ice arena located there, known as the S.M.A.C.  But for as many times as we had been there, we never had taken the time to explore the campus, so we had no idea that there was an historical marker located onsite.  The coordinates we had from our Gold Source gave us a location, so we parked nearby, and set out to find the marker.  True to form, the marker was not located where our Gold Source said it would be, so we had to search the area.  It actually took us quite awhile to find it because the marker was nearly 300 feet away and somewhat obscured by foliage and the shadows being cast as the sun set over Orchard Lake.  However, our perseverance prevailed and we found it under a tree and next to The Castle.

The Castle is not the topic of the historical marker, but it is by far the most unique and recognizable building on the campus.  It does play a prominent role in the history of the campus, as we soon learned by reading the historical marker.  There are actually two subject matters for this sign.  The “front” side is dedicated to Orchard Lake Schools.  The Castle was actually the first building built on what would eventually become a military school.  Joseph Tarr Copeland bought 90 acres of land in this area and set his sights on building his retirement home on the shores of Orchard Lake.  In 1858, that home became a reality - a Romanesque Revival house resembling a Norman castle.  By 1877, Copeland decided to sell his home and the remaining land he had in the area.  The buyer was a professor of Military Science and Tactics at Detroit High School.  Joseph Sumner Rogers had wanted to start a creditable military prep school in the Detroit area, and with financial help from some wealthy Detroiters, he purchased the Copeland property and established the Michigan Military Academy.  Rogers modeled the school after West Point, and it became a very successful endeavor.

The Academy became very prestigious during its 30-year history.  It had a total of 2,558 enrollees and 458 graduates.  Tuition was $500 per year in the 1880’s, and many of the enrollees were the sons of wealthy upper-class Detroit area businessmen.  There were three levels of training at the school – Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry.  The cadets wore uniforms modeled after those worn at West Point, they were taught to shoot a .45 caliber Springfield rifle, and those with musical skills were encouraged to join the marching band.  Many of its classes won National Drill Competitions.  One of the Academy’s most memorable days occurred on June 19, 1879, when 10,000 people arrived on the campus to listen to a commencement speech given by William Tecumseh Sherman, the General in Chief of the US Army, and Civil War hero.  Sherman gave a variant of his famous “War is Hell” speech.

The campus consisted of 19 buildings with the aforementioned “Castle” being the oldest.  The Academic Building was completed in 1890 and it was the center of academic life on campus. Additional buildings included a Riding Hall (1881), Cadets Barracks (1884), Engine House (1889), and a Gymnasium (1896).  All of these buildings are still standing and are still in use. 

In the early 1900’s, the Academy went bankrupt, due in large part to an aggressive and expensive expansion plan the included the addition of 9 new buildings at a cost of $350,000.  Rogers was unable to effectively manage the debt incurred by this plan and the Academy sunk into financial turmoil.  At the same time, students began to protest the harsh conditions and treatment they endured at the Academy, acts of defiance that Rogers believed many of his staff members instigated.  As a result, he fired many of these teachers.  With the campus embroiled in debt and turmoil, Rogers died in September of 1901, and management of the academy was left to his wife and to his good friend, General Charles King.  Enrollment began to decline precipitously, and by 1908, the Academy closed its doors.  The Academy had many notable alumni who went on to serve the US as politicians or military officers.  Two alumni of note:  Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan Novels, and John C. Lodge, former mayor of Detroit and the namesake of the Lodge Freeway in Detroit.

In 1910, Fr. Joseph Dabrowski, the director of the Polish Seminary of Detroit, purchased the former military campus and moved his school there.  The seminary has remained there since, although it is now called SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary.  The campus is also home to St. Mary's Preparatory, which has a rich history of graduating elite athletes.

The “back” side of the historical marker is devoted to Joseph Tarr Copeland.  He was born in New Castle, Maine on May 6, 1813 and died on his 80^th birthday in Orange Park, Florida.  He and his wife, who died January 10, 1888, are buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac, Michigan.  The historical marker focuses on the 34 years that he lived in Michigan. 

He and his wife moved to St. Clair in 1844.  He became very involved in politics, holding many different political offices, even serving as Senator in the Michigan Legislature for a year (1850-1851).  In 1851, he was elected Circuit Judge and concurrently became the 14th Michigan Supreme Court Justice.  After his election, he moved to Pontiac and began amassing large quantities of land in northern Michigan (during a six-year period beginning in 1854, he acquired nearly 6,400 acres of timberland).  He had become extremely interested in the lumber industry and opened the first saw mill in Bay City.  Copeland resigned his position as Circuit and Supreme Court Judge in 1857 due to health reasons and moved to West Bloomfield Township.  In 1858, he built the “Castle” overlooking Orchard Lake. 

When the Civil War began, Copeland offered his services and was commissioned and mustered on August 22, 1861 as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment.  During the war, he rose through the ranks and eventually became a Brigadier General.  He was relieved of his duties on the eve of the Battle at Gettysburg due, in large part, to his advanced age.  He took lesser military positions throughout the remainder of the war and finally resigned in November, 1865 and moved back to West Bloomfield Township.

As Copeland settled into retirement, he began to sell off tracts of his property for profit.  As the area gained popularity with summer tourists and vacationers, Copeland enlarged his home and converted it into the Orchard Lake Hotel in 1871.  Business at the hotel was good for several years, but as the area continued to develop, many of the tourists and vacationers sought areas further north to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.  The Panic of 1873 created additional financial hardship for Copeland.  In 1877, he sold his home and surrounding property to Joseph Sumner Rogers, and in 1878, he and his wife moved to Orange Park, Florida.

This was a lot of history to take in and absorb so late in the day.  It was time for some exercise, so Kathy and I spent the rest of our visit exploring the campus.  Since school was not in session, we practically had the whole campus to ourselves.  We walked through the quad enjoying the architecture of the buildings comprising this area of the campus.  As usual, we took plenty of pictures, and ended our visit with a drive through the rest of the campus.  It was finally time for dinner, so we left the campus and continued our journey east, deciding finally to stop at Red Ox across from the Oakland University campus.  We ate outside in their patio area - the perfect venue to end our busy day.

 

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