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Waterford & Drayton Plains: Michigan Life at the Turn of the Century
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May 18, 2025
Take a visual journey through early 1900s Waterford and Drayton Plains, Michigan. From lakeside retreats to bustling mill towns, this episode of Michigan Moments showcases how small-town life once looked, sounded, and moved. A rare look at daily life, shared through real photos and rich history. #WaterfordMI #MichiganHistory #SmallTownUSA
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this is Michigan Moments rediscovering
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the pioneering moments of the Great
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Lakes State In the early decades of the
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20th century Waterford and Drayton
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Plains were quiet sidebyside communities
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where the pace of life followed the
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train whistle and the changing seasons
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At cottages along the east shore of
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Watkins Lake families spent warm summers
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beneath the pines These lakeside
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retreats offered screened porches wicker
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chairs and the simple pleasure of a
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bench shared with friends The
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surrounding woods kept the air cool and
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the lakes's gentle waves offered a break
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from the heat of nearby Detroit Just a
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few miles away the Clinton River powered
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a different rhythm The dam shown in one
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postcard was the heart of the Michigan
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State Fish Commission's hatchery at
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Drayton Plains Built in 1903 it turned a
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sleepy bend in the river into a hub of
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conservation State workers managed the
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ponds nearby raising fish that would
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restock inland lakes across Michigan
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This site still thrives today as the
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Drayton Plains Nature Center In town the
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Drayton Theater welcomed moviegoers with
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glowing lights and glossy posters
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Helza Poppin and War News reels offered
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laughter and a glimpse of a world beyond
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Oakland County The theat's marquee was a
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beacon promising diversion in a time of
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war and
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uncertainty Waterford's general store
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once located at the township crossroads
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found a second life in Greenfield
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Village thanks to Henry Ford The store's
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original structure was moved to
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Dearbornne to stand among America's
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preserved icons
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It had been a gathering place part
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grosser part post office part community
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bulletin board The mill and post office
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once sat just down the road standing
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tall behind a hitching post and
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surrounded by the clap of horse hooves
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and the chatter of neighbors Inside
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sacks of seed and crates of produce
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lined the walls The postmaster often
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knew the local gossip before it made it
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into letters
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Then there was the Waterford Hotel a
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modest two-story structure with a wide
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veranda In front early automobiles
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parked beside horsedrawn carriages A
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brief moment of transition captured on
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film Guests may have been arriving from
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the Grand Trunk Western depot which
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still stood in
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1977 weathered and quiet after decades
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of service
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And along the main road the old mill
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tavern welcomed travelers under its
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tutor style roof a symbol of a new more
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modern Waterford Across from it a church
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steeple rose over the mill pond
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reflecting on still water a reminder
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that even as the world changed the heart
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of this town remained
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steady The mill itself marked Styles
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Brothers was more than a building It was
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the town's engine turning grain into
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flour and beans into seed stock The work
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was steady dusty and
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vital These images don't just show
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buildings They show people who built a
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life in a place where railroads met
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rivers and Sunday mornings gave way to
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Sunday matineese That's Waterford and
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Drayton Plains Michigan when the 20th
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century was young This has been Michigan
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Moments offering bite-sized morsels of
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Michigan history