The 365 Project, Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Beginning in the 1970s numerous new subdivisions replaced the farm fields and cow pastures that had dominated the Troy Township landscape. This week the 365 Project will explore the people and stories behind the names of some of Troy’s residential streets and avenues.
Troy Township remained a prosperous agricultural community through the first half of the 20th century. The family names of these farmers can still be found on many street signs in Troy.
• Aspinwall: Charles Aspinwall, the son of Edward and Caroline Aspinwall was born in Taylor Township in Wayne County on June 14, 1858. His family moved to Troy when he was eleven years old. He married Belle Charles was a farmer and “grew what every little farmer did,” said his granddaughter Viola in a 1991 interview. “He grew wheat and used to go to Utica to grind it.” The family’s home was near the Troy Corners intersection (Square Lake Road and Livernois.)
• Bailey: Karl Bailey, a Michigan State University professor in agriculture and a trained viticulteur, began growing grapes following his retirement in 1960. His vines included 20 different varieties of grapes that were harvested for wine, jam, jelly, preserves, and juice. His farm at 5275 Adams Road north of Long Lake is now subdivision of gracious homes.
• Cutting: Frank Cutting and his family moved to Troy Township from Pennsylvania in 1841. He lived in Troy for the rest of his life. He was apprentice as a blacksmith at the age of sixteen; then served in the Loomis Battery during the Civil War. Following the war, Cutting probably worked as a blacksmith until the 1880s when he became a merchant when is parents-in-law, Jane and Stephen Goodman, the owners of the general store at Troy Corners retired.
Sources: THV Biographical files
