Northvillians and friends,
To begin, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone in the Northville Community for coming together to support the Carter Family after the tragic passing of OLV student Declan Carter. We all came together in solidarity, lowering flags to half-staff last Friday in remembrance of our young Northvillian, attending a healing service at Our Lady of Victory and holding prayer vigils throughout the area. We are truly a close-knit community supporting the well-being of all Northvillians young and old.
It was a bittersweet weekend as it was Homecoming and our last concert night of the summer season was anticipated (but cancelled due to the rainy weather). And for me, a very personal event – the celebration of the wedding for my son Jasen Turnbull and his bride Samantha, where for a few exciting minutes, fireworks (family sponsored) lit up the sky to conclude the event. The young couple’s weekend activities took place at Mill Race Village, 160 Main, Genitti’s, the Exchange and other businesses whose services made the festivities special, including Adorn, Tuscan, Begonia Brothers, the Marquis, Simple Wine and other local companies.
Finally, it was heartwarming to see many of the young students from OLV in town with their parents watching the celebratory fireworks together. John Carter relayed to me that many classmates of Declan who were at their home that evening walked over to experience the festivities behind Old Village School.
We will always keep the memory of Declan Carter in our thoughts, lifting up our prayers for the family in these trying times.
What’s going on today
• Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill is open (Baseline Rd) – 7 days a week from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Recently ranked as one of the top five Cider mills in Metro Detroit by Channel 4 WDIV! Link
• Farmers’ Market – Visit Northville’s Award-Winning 100 year old
Market, Thursdays, 8AM-2PM (Highland Lakes Shopping Center – 7
Mile/Northville Rd)
• “Skeletons are Alive” Launch Party, Friday, 10/4, 6-9 p.m. – Free
family-friendly activities, live music and more, Downtown Northville. Link
• Living History: Oakwood Cemetery Tour, Saturday, 10/5, 4-8 PM – Guided
tours and actors share our community’s storied past, brought to you by
The Northville Art House and the Northville Historical Society. (The
mayor will be one of the guides) Link
• Halloween Hysteria at Mill Race Village, Sunday, 10/20, 1-5 p.m. – Fun
for the family including crafts, story-time, refreshments and much
more. Link
• Tipping Point Theatre’s Season 17 features Grand Horizons. Link
• Maybury Farm Corn Maze & Wagon Ride, Fridays - Sundays, 9/28 – 11/3. Link
New Task Force meetings
• Cemetery Restoration Task Force – 10/28 (City Hall 7 p.m.)) - I invite you to stop by the Oakwood cemetery and see the work being done on the historic grounds, stones, fencing, landscaping, and history markers. Take tours 10/5 Link
• https://northvillearthouse.org/oakwood/
• Bicentennial Task Force Mtg – 10/29 – (City Hall 7 p.m.) – Calling volunteers of all ages who want to help create a celebration so great it can only happen every 100 Years! (Signage, markers, movies, social media, tours, Ford Field & Riverwalk activities, banners, logos, promo items, a time capsule and more… Be part of it!)
Cider Mills in the area over time
We’ve had many orchards in our Hamlet in the Hills or Switzerland of Wayne County we call Northville. These orchards through time include Parmenter’s, Eaton’s, Foreman’s, Obstbaum, Three Cedars Farm and Apple Crest Orchard, among others. I grew up in Orchard Heights and live there today. I can attest there are still some of the original trees from the orchard days in the vicinity (apple, cherry, pear).
You can see that Northville and surrounding areas (including Novi and South Lyon) were quite a hot spot for apples and cider in years past. Last year, Parmenter’s Cider Mill officially celebrated their 150 years in business , and I was honored and privileged to read a proclamation for their sesquicentennial.
1873 – Northville’s Parmenter’s Cider Mill (Baseline Road) was established by two Civil War vets and has been going strong ever since. It’s the oldest cider mill in the area, and its cider press was originally powered by a team of horses walking in circles. Recently it was ranked as one of the top destinations for cider in Metro Detroit.
1898 – The Northville area by this time was known for its apples, and this week in 1898, The Record noted that at the Northville train station, scores of rail cars were loaded with barrels of local apples that were shipped all over the country.
1909 – The apple crop in and around Northville proved to be one of the best in history. Thousands of barrels of apples were shipped out this year, mostly via train.
1918 – The 2nd annual Wayne County Fair (the state’s largest fair at the time) at Northville Downs hosted citizens from southeastern Michigan who sampled local apples and cider.
1919 – Northville’s newly established Orchard Heights housing development was publicized in The Record. Geographically, it was the old Eaton Family Orchard that ran from Rogers to Clement, and 7 Mile to Main.
1998 – Foreman’s Orchards (7 Mile & Ridge Area) transitioned from being an orchard to the subdivision known as Maybury Crossing (similar to Orchard Heights).
Enjoy the Fall days, experience a cider mill and make a special memory in the Northville area. Also, I encourage you to slow down a bit and hug those close to you. As we have been reminded in the past week, life is precious.
Keep that Northville Fall Faith!
Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
[email protected] / 248.505.6849
