NORTHVILLIANS,

It was certainly an outstanding Labor Day weekend in the Ville … almost-fall football weather, with all three of our local teams coming out of the weekend with Victories: The Mustangs pulled off an upset at Wayne State against the ranked Dragons of Lake Orion, and both Michigan & MSU looked good.

Over the past few weeks, I have written about summer happenings in town (both past & present) and Labor Day activities in the Ville. This week, we transition to the 2025-26 school year. With that, I’ve chosen to highlight my alma mater (NHS) and the various elementary and middle schools in town. The City and the Township have a special bond with the School district. In fact, we are one of few municipal areas in the State that present our “State of the Community” together as one Northville TEAM (Superintendent Dr. RJ Weber, Supervisor Mark Abbo, and me).

Northville Schools are always highly ranked in the state… (2025 – Ranked #1 out of 618 school districts). Today we have the top SAT scores in Michigan and Best Place to Work for Michigan Schools. We were also ranked as the top Athletic Department in the State with a plethora of State Championships last year.

Before looking at school activities this week, let’s see what’s happening today:

• Victorian Clothing Sale at Mill Race Village – 9/4 and 9/5, 12-5pm, $2.00 admission supports the Historical Society – Get Ready for the Victorian Festival. Link
• Declan Carter Victory Run – Saturday, 9/6 – Inaugural downtown event benefits the Declan Carter Foundation / Ford Field playground and OLV Athletics. Link
• Upcoming Music/Concerts/Events – Chamber/DDA Link, Marquis Link, Northville Winery Link, NOMI Link, Genitti’s Link
• Tipping Point Theatre – Season opens 9/17 with “The Shark is Broken.” Link
• Northville Cars & Coffee – Saturday, 9/13, 8-10am. Established in 2019 by Alexander’s Custom Clothiers and the Mayor, across from Custard Time. (550 W. 7 Mile)
• Victorian Festival – 9/19 – 9/21 Link
• Parmenter’s Cider Mill now open daily 10AM – 8PM! Link
• History/Old Timers Lunch Gathering for all in the Community – Tuesday, 9/30 at Genitti’s, 11am arrival/11:30 lunch – $15 per person, call 248.349.0522 for tickets

INFO FOR CITIZENS...
TASK FORCE MEETINGS

• Cemetery Restoration Mtg – 9/8, 7:00 PM City Hall (David Marold – Chair)
• Bicentennial Task Force Mtg – 9/18, 7:00 PM City Hall (Rick Sharpe – Chair)

PROJECTS AROUND TOWN

• FORD FIELD – Phase I: Serenity Point Waterfall. Phase II: Completing infrastructure for the new vista, a great place to watch the sunrise over the park. New playscape plans were presented at a public gathering, and bathrooms are planned for 2026.
• RIVERWALK – The River is flowing 100% above ground at the Downs after 70 years buried below the surface. Additional hardwood trees were placed this week (1200 in total), bridge abutments built, rocks & timbers placed in the riverbanks and native plantings are growing (for erosion avoidance).
• DOWNS INITIATIVE – Infrastructure continues ... Sales offices being readied, Wayne County Roundabout on Sheldon/7 Mile construction has begun. Sales are brisk and move-ins start in September. Curbing and street construction in full swing. The children of families in town houses on 7/Sheldon were signed up for Northville Schools this week.
• FARMERS' MARKET – This City & Township gathering place (7 Mile/Northville Rd) continues to host many activities (two more months of Farmers’ Markets this season).
• GRANTS that Support Northville’s Community Initiatives – Link

Let's look at School activities through time...

1826 –The first schoolhouse in the Northville area was built of logs and was located east of downtown. “It wasn’t uncommon for students to see wolves on their way to school.” (Record)
1829 –Two other district schoolhouses were built in Northville, and thus the Northville District began, with Griswold School and Taft School opening their doors, too.
1833 –The first school board was elected, including Messrs. Cady, Dunlap, and Mead (of Meads Mill). The group decided to erect a cobblestone schoolhouse for 100 students, which remained until 1923 (by CVS/the Exchange area).
1865 –A two-story brick building close to where Old Village School sits today was built for $11,000. The structure was known as the Union School and became the High School.

School Name Origins– Early on, many of the schools were named after early educators such as Ida B. Cooke and superintendent Russell Amerman. Later on, schools were named after unique local geography or community attributes, like Mead’s Mill, Thornton’s Creek, Moraine, Silver Springs, etc.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
AMERMAN was built in 1955 as a modern 10-room schoolhouse on 10 acres. The school commemorates Russell Amerman, a past Principal & Superintendent.
MORAINE was built in 1966 and was named after a geological formation (a collection of earth, stone & sand) deposited by glaciers.
SILVER SPRINGS was built in 1975 and named for the famous bubbling Silver Springs which historically fed our Northville Well. (Silver Springs Lake is the only natural lake in the County.)
WINCHESTER was named in 1975 for one of the primary avenues within Northville Commons, keeping the Northville frontier theme.
THORNTON CREEK(Circa 1991) was on property through which the Thornton Creek ran. Sally Thornton was an early pioneer in the Northville area.
RIDGEWOOD was built in 2002 and was named in a contest for its regional geological significance. With its woods around this ridge of Northville, the name was perfect.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS
MEADS MILL was built in 1975 where the Mead brothers had a mill in the 1800’s. The Meads Mill community was as large as Northville at one time, and the mill workers sent their children to a one-room schoolhouse which sat at the entrance of where the school is today.

HILLSIDE(previous site of Northville High School) is one of highest points in the County. In the 1800’s, this area was known as Buchner Hill because of the Buchner mansion located on top of this ridge. One could view Detroit to the east and Ann Arbor to the west. To the north, was Taft’s gravel pit and at the time … 8 Mile Road didn’t cut through the property until it was developed in the late 1950’s. Notably the football field, which was recently renovated, is sculpted into the side of the gravel pit in an amphitheater setting.

HIGH SCHOOL
NHS was built in 2001 on some of our original settlers’ farm property, dating back 200 years.

OTHER SCHOOLS
OVS (Old Village School on Main St.) was the historic high school of multi-generations until 1959, when it transitioned to among other iterations being the 6^thGrade Annex. After that, it housed special education activities. Now it’s the home of the Board of Education. In the 60’s, Bob Seger even played concerts at the “Cavern” at the community center which historically was part of the campus.

COOKE was named in honor of Ida B. Cooke who grew up and taught for many years in Northville. Cooke was thefirst & only Junior High in town when it was built in 1967 (I was privileged to attend its ribbon cutting). Cooke School is now a special education center of excellence.

ST. PAUL LUTHERAN was founded in 1896, beginning as a Christian Day School program. The present school facility contains ten classrooms from pre-school through 8^thgrade.

NORTHVILLE CHRISTIAN & MONTESSORI SCHOOLS have also provided educational opportunities for students in the community for decades.

OUR LADY OF VICTORY –The OLV school was established in the parish building in 1950 and transitioned in 1952 to the original 8-room school building. My eldest brother (Bob) was part of the first 8^thgrade class of 1959 (of whom all 13 attended the full eight years). The current facility opened in 2006 with nineteen classrooms.

You can see how important our schools are to the fabric of our town dating back to 1826 when the first one was built. In an 1892 book entitled Northville: The Ideal Suburban Village, it was mentioned that our High School was a feeder to the University of Michigan at the time. We are fortunate that our community (Township/City/School District) work together for the benefit of our youth and their continuing education.

With school back in session, we can all be reminded that the greatest asset we have is our people, especially our students who begin yet another school year. Let’s stay connected to our youth and support their dreams. I ask you to spread hope and to be there for our next generation, the future leaders of our community and our country.

Keep that Northville School Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville