Ice Cream

NORTHVILLIANS,

Happy Summer! This past week’s weather was truly outstanding, a perfect backdrop to memorable concerts downtown on Friday and Saturday night, along with Sunday afternoon. It was great to see many of you enjoying the festive music in town or just getting an ice cream cone at Brown Dog, Rebeccas, Custard Time or even Guernsey’s.

With summer upon us, I trust and hope you will have a chance to relax, enjoy the warmth of these coming weeks, and make time to experience the rivers, parks and lakes in and around Northville. If you venture further out, going north to Pure Michigan, be sure to check out Tahquamenon Falls, Mackinac Island, Pictured Rocks, the Soo Locks, Hartwick Pines State Park (Old Growth Trees of Michigan) and, of course, the beauty of the Great Lakes.

Summer months in Northville have historically been quite special with folks indulging in ice cream at local establishments. Notably, Henry Ford was known to stop in for a cone at times, and he had a reputation as a big tipper at Cloverdale’s, where Rebecca’s is today. Joe Louis, when he trained in town, was also known to have a cone or two. You may be surprised where some of the local diaries started and where they ended up.

Let’s take a look at Dairies and Ice Cream Establishments in Town through the Years as reference in The Northville Record…

1833 – Charles Rogers (Rogers St.) patented the process for condensed milk and produced ice cream at his plant in the Orchard Heights area. The Rogers Family mansion (9 Mile /Novi Rd – Shiro Restaurant today) was built with some of his ice cream money. Rogers’ brand was “Globe Condensed Milk” in honor of the largest furniture factory in the country called Globe, which was located in Bealtown.

1892 – The book Northville: The Ideal Suburban Village stated, “This area was perfect for dairies, with the finest cows feeding on sweet clover fields and watered by all the natural springs in town.” Thus, great ice cream, too.

1920’s – Carmi Benton (Cass Benton Park) finished his days driving the last horse-drawn milk wagon for the Miller dairy, delivering Milk and sometimes Ice Cream. A Ford Model “T” Truck replaced Mr. Benton’s wagon according to The Record.

1931 – Five dairies were still operating in town: Werve’s on Beck, Red Rose at Cady & Center, Lloyd Morse at Dunlap & Center and Miller’s, along with Grennan’s on 6 Mile. 

1930’s – Mr. Grennan of the Presbyterian Church in Northville sold his dairy and Grennan Cake Company (6 Mile) for over 1 Million dollars ($20+ Million today). He then started the Farm Crest dairy & bakery; his cows, ice cream & bakery goods were part of the town’s DNA.

1945 – John McGuire (Guernsey Farms Dairy) bought the old Red Rose Dairy at 125 Center, (Eagles lodge /UPS Store area today) and Guernsey has been in the family ever since. Guernsey moved to its recently renovated facilities on Novi Road in 1965, where one of Michigan’s (and America’s) finest oak trees still stands out front.

1969 – Cloverdale (where Rebecca’s is today) was one of eight original outlets for Cloverdale Farms ice cream, still in operation in 1969 (according to the Centennial Edition of the Northville Record.) I spent time there as a kid.

Ice Cream from all these dairies was served in establishments throughout town, from The Ambler Hotel (Great White Buffalo Brewing Company today) to Paul’s Sweet Shop on Main (General Store in Mill Race Village presently), Cloverdale’s and the Rogers Dairy. Drug stores like Horton’s Rexall and Murdock Brothers had ice cream parlors with fountain drinks & floats in the early 1900’s.

• Historically after parades in town, Guernsey and other businesses (Northville Labs & Casterlines) have sponsored ice cream treats for everyone.
• The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo) on 5 Mile had 160 cattle for over 50 years, with a dairy on the property and their excess production sold locally. In fact, Maybury Sanatorium (Maybury State Park), along with Wayne County Training Center (on Sheldon), also had dairies with hundreds of cows. They also sold their extra supply to local dairies for Ice Cream production in summer.
• As you can see, ice cream and dairies have been part of Northville’s story almost since our beginnings. I encourage you to grab a cone at Rebecca’s, Guernsey’s family-run restaurant, Jim Roth’s Custard Time (50+ years strong), along with the acclaimed Brown Dog and others.

Have a soft-serve or an old-fashioned double-decker cone like Henry Ford or Joe Louis did and think about our history. Enjoy summer and a frozen sweet treat today. Pennsylvania.  And we pray for the speedy recovery of all who were injured, including the former president.

Keep that “Hamlet in the Hills” & “Switzerland of the County” Ice Cream Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
BTurnbull@ci.northville.mi.us / 248.505.6849

(Reach out to me anytime or forward this communication to others interested.)

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