Quote:
At the time of the founding, the area along Gratiot Avenue from Belvidere to Connor's Creek was known as Leesville. Charles Lee, the founder of the village, resided at Belvidere and Gratiot, but the center of the area of the community was at Harper and Gratiot. Here was located the general store, the hay scales, post office, blacksmith shop and the James Cooper lumber yard.
The village was never incorporated, nor did it ever gain status as an unincorporated town or village. It had no governing body nor officers and was part of a township unit of government. The school was called Leesville School, and it did have an official Post Office. Norman D. Cooper served as Postmaster for almost half a century. The last Postmaster was Walter G. Leacock, who also operated two drug stores. The Post Office was abolished when the Maxwell Station was opened in the late 1920's.
Shortly after the turn of the century the horse cars were supplanted by electric street cars. The old horse car terminal had been just past Cucumber Lane in front of the Ruehle and Vokes homesteads, but the electric line terminated at Harper. The Detroit United Railways built a car barn on the site of the James Cooper sawmill, and a large loop was built so that the street cars could be turned around without being placed on a turntable. Provisions also had to made to store compressed air, and also a hose connection so that air could be transferred to the cars to operate their brakes. The word Leesville was lettered out with white-washed stones in the center of the street car turn-around. Shortly after the advent of the city electric street car, the first interurban lines were built, and cars could carry passengers as far as Port Huron. Service was also provided for all of the small towns that dotted the banks of Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. The interurban was a single track, with switches at Connor, Taylor Road, Seven Mile Road, Hunds, Halfway, Eleven Mile, Power House, Utica Junction, Shook Road, Detroit Creamery Farm and Clinton River. All cars had to wait at Leesville while the motorman confirmed his orders with the dispatcher. The conductor serviced the cars with air for their brakes during this interval.
This waiting period produced an opportunity for a number of young salesmen to vend their wares to the waiting passengers. Popcorn, peanuts, pop, ginger ale, candy bars and newspapers were hawked by boys who paraded around the outside of the cars, and the passengers had to lean out the windows to make their purchases.
This was a quiet little community in 1874. There was little of the hustle and bustle of the present day. Belle Isle was a private picnic grounds, and it was not until five years later that the City of Detroit was to purchase the island as a park.
It was five years prior to the establishment of an official commission to plan the Grand Boulevard. There was no regular means of transportation to the city. Gratiot was a plank road, but all of the other roads were mud. The plank road was not all its name implies. All that it provided was a narrow bed of planks on which one wagon could travel. When wagons traveling in opposite directions met, one had to give way. The rule of the road was that the wagon traveling to town had the right of way because it was presumed to be loaded. The wagon or buggy driving out Gratiot would be obliged to turn off in the mud to let the town bound wagon pass. During about nine months of the year, this meant that the outbound vehicle would be stuck and the wagon headed downtown would then he obliged to stop and unhitch his team and come back and help draw the outbound rig out of the mire.
August Kalthoff operated the general store at the corner of Gratiot and Butler [[now Harper) Avenues, and next door to him was the butcher shop of Christopher Cooke. Across the street, near where the Department of Street Railways’ car house now stands, was the Jim Cooper Sawmill with its large pile of logs strewn over the adjoining field. Nick Newman’ s blacksmith shop was next to the sawmill. The hay scales stood on the site of the present safety triangle on the South side of Gratiot and East side of Harper. Christy’s general store was located where Cadillac cuts through to Gratiot. William Christy’s home stood on the site of the present Detroit Edison office to the east of his store. Next to him was the William Sterritt home.
The five Cooper brothers, the first of whom had come to Detroit from Lancashire England in 18479 had located along the Gratiot Turnpike. William Cooper [[father of Tom Cooper, the famous bicycle racer) later migrated to Birmingham, but in 1874, all were living on Gratiot. Thomas Cooper’s farm was at Sterritt; John Cooper’s at Rohns; Henry Cooper’s at Cooper; Jim Cooper’ s near Georgia. William lived with Henry.
The Brickyards along the turnpike in 1874 starting at Parker, were Wallop Vokes, Robert Watson at Fischer; William Colquitt at Crane; James Giff’s next to Colquitt’s; John Cooper at Rohns; Charles Lee, Sr. near Belvidere; Robert Walker near McClellan; Henry Cooper at Cooper; William Christy near Harper; Thomas Cooper at Sterritt; Charles Lee, Jr. near the car barns; James Vokes at Devine; Richard Lamb at French Road; January Trombly east of the railroad crossing, close to old Conner’s Creek. Peter Hunt’s brickyard was on the North side of Gratiot near Marcus. Dave Trombly’s farm was at the Creek Road [[now Conner) and Gratiot.
Richard Lamb while he had a small brickyard, was also famed for his wonderful garden. He became one of the first market gardeners in the vicinity. Peter Hunt also maintained a typical English garden with vegetables, beautiful flowers and health giving herbs. He also proudly displayed his peacocks and guinea hens. Frank Beste lived near Pennsylvania. Jim Quirk’ s home was next to the Methodist Church.
There was a toll gate at Mack and Gratiot to collect a charge for using the road, and Charles Lee maintained the Leesville toll gate near Woodlawn and Gratiot.
Tom Trinity, who took care of the plank road, lived at Van Dyke and Gratiot. F. Fournier operated a hotel and saloon on the north side of Gratiot between Van Dyke and Burns. To the east of the hotel were the Flight and Ackley farms. Plas, Turner, Corby, Shoemaker, Youngblood were other names well known in the village.
The only church in the village was the Methodist Chapel at the corner of what is now Gratiot and Georgia. Lee’ s Chapel had been opened in 1851 and was used on its first occasion for the funeral of Jane Sterritt Lee, wife of Charles Lee. Nellie Lee, the daughter of Charles and Jane, married Waldo Avery of Saginaw. Nellie had three children – Sewell, Arla and Waldo. Arla is dead; Waldo is a Detroit business man and Sewell Lee Avery is Chairman of the Board of Montgomery Ward Company.
The settlement had been named for Charles Lee, the elder, who had married Betty Vokes and had established his residence at Belvidere and Gratiot in the early part of the century.
It was a rough and ready community. It had been hewn out of the wilderness by many of its then inhabitants [[1874). The brickyards were staffed by large numbers of hired men who lived a rough and ready life. There were no modern conveniences. The men washed outside in cold water in a bucket on even the coldest days of the winter. There was no central heating and wood was used as fuel for both heating and cooking. There were no bake shops and all the bread pie and cake for the men were baked by the lady of the house with the assistance of her daughters and the hired girls. While Butcher Cooke’s shop had meats available, every householder did consider able butchering on his own. In a similar manner each home owner raised most of his own vegetables.
These early settlers were a thrifty lot and a piece of candy and an orange were considered ample Christmas gifts for a child. Most of the clothing was home made. Some even spun their own cloth.”
