Waterford Hill (Michigan)

Waterford Hill
Waterford Hill Independence Township, Michigan
Highest point
Elevation	1,150 ft ^[1]
Coordinates	42°42′40″N 83°24′40″W / 42.7111414°N 83.4110517°W / 42.7111414; -83.4110517Coordinates: 42°42′40″N 83°24′40″W / 42.7111414°N 83.4110517°W / 42.7111414; -83.4110517
Geography
Topo map	USGS 7.5' topographic map Waterford Hill, Independence Township, Michigan^[2]
Geology
Mountain type	Summit

Waterford Hill is located in Independence Township, in Oakland County, Michigan, 0.4 miles north of Waterford Village. The hill is classified as a summit.^[3] It extends from east of Dixie Highway including Ottawa Park Cemetery to the east, to Maple Lane in Moon Valley to the north, to Parview Drive and Greens Lake to the west, to Van Norman Lake to the south.

Waterford Hill's elevation is 1,150 feet, making it the second highest point in Independence Township. Three miles away is Pine Knob, the highest point in the township at 1,201 feet.^[4]

Formation

Waterford Hill, along with the other hills in the Great Lakes region, was formed during the retreat of the last continental glacier, approximately 14,000 years ago.^[5] As they retreated, the glaciers left behind debris, called moraines. The retreating glaciers also formed all of the twenty-six lakes in the township.^[6]^[7]

History

The first settler to purchase and settle land in Independence Township was John Wheeler Beardslee (b. 1799, d. 1883).^[8] Beardslee purchased his tract of land in section 35 in 1826, and settled on it five years later in 1831.^[9]

By 1834, nearly every section in the southern half of the township had been purchased, including sections 32 and 33. Those sections comprised the area later called Waterford Hill.^[10]

The sections of land comprising Waterford Hill had several different owners throughout the years.^[11]

Jeremiah G. Ganong (b. 1802, d. 1891)^[12] owned and farmed the eastern part of Waterford Hill.^[13]

Marquis Beardslee (b. 1824, d. 1872) ^[14] owned a farm on much of Waterford Hill up until his death.

Jesse D. Maybee (b. 1829, d. 1898)^[15] owned and farmed a large part of Waterford Hill up until his death.

From 1868 until 1910, first Stephen Moon (b. 1823, d. 1909),^[16] and then later his son Melvin C. Moon (b. 1854, d. 1933),^[17] owned and farmed the northern part of Waterford Hill that later beared their name (Moon Valley).^[18]

Zenas Harvey Van Norman (b. 1822, d. 1917)^[19] was a fruit grower who, from 1886 to 1916, owned much of Waterford Hill, where he planted over fifty varieties of fruit trees. Van Norman Lake was named for him.^[20]

Daniel Green (b. 1828, d. 1918) owned the northwest portion of Waterford Hill along the lake that is named for him (Greens Lake).^[21]

Ernest W. Seaholm (b. 1887, d. 1980),^[22] former Chief Engineer for Cadillac^[23] owned much of Waterford Hill until the 1950s. He was responsible for planting many of the pine trees that cover the top of the hill. Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan is named for him.^[24]

Development

Waterford Hill had two separate fruit tree farms on it prior to the hill being developed in 1956. That year, Samuel W. Leib (b. 1903, d. 1984)^[25] bought most of the southern side of the hill and, along with Donald E. White (b. 1921, d. 1982),^[26] developed the property, calling the new subdivision Waterford Hill Manor.

Phase one of the development saw the building of residential streets. There was Balmoral Terrace, Brandeis Circle, Bergate Lane, Curtis Lane, Georgetown Court, Olympus Circle, and Waterford Hill Terrace.

Olympus Circle, atop Waterford Hill, is the highest elevation of any residential street in Independence Township.^[27]

In 1969, phase two of the residential development saw more streets constructed. The extension of Balmoral Terrace from Curtis Lane to Parview Drive, the extension of Wellesley Terrace from Curtis Lane to Parview Drive, the extension of Curtis Lane from Wellesley Terrace to Andersonville Road and the addition of Leib Court off of Wellesley Terrace and Eddystone Circle off of Curtis Lane allowed for more homes to be built.

As of 2013, there were 265 homes in Waterford Hill Manor^[28] and 609 residents as of 2016.^[29]

In 1987, another development began on the northern side of Waterford Hill on Suicide Hill, Middle Hill and Three Layer Hill. Streets were built and named Ridgeview Dr. (off Dixie Hwy), Timberway Trail (off of Ridgeway Trail) and Scenic Pines Court (off of Timberway Trail). Condominiums were built on the development and were called Clarkston Bluffs.

Lakes

The Clinton River winds its way around Waterford Hill and through the four lakes that surround the hill; Van Norman Lake (66 acres, 90 foot depth), Lester Lake (12 acres), Greens Lake (117 acres, 55 foot depth) and Townsend Lake (26 acres, 55 foot depth).^[30]^[31]

Townsend Lake was named for Townsend Carpenter Beardslee (b. 1832, d. 1863).^[32] The son of John W. Beardslee (the first settler in Independence Township), Townsend was the first white child born in the township.^[33]

Notable people

Kirk Gibson, former MLB player, 1988 National League MVP, lived on Curtis Lane.^[34]

Ryan Riess, professional poker player, 2013 World Series of Poker champion,^[35] lived on Parview Drive.^[36]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.