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Bloomfield Blossoms: p. 144-145

Smith, Kay, 1925-

Bloomfield Township Public Library

Wing Lake Road (Bloomfield Township, Mich.) -- History

Trees -- Michigan

Frontier and pioneer life -- Michigan -- Bloomfield Township

GB01a074

part of 'Bloomfield Blossoms' by Kay Smith

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"OAK OPENINGS" AND A NATURAL BEAUTY ROAD In several places in our history we read that the pioneers were first attracted to our area because they had heard of the "Oak Openings" of Bloomfield. Trees were both a scourge and a boon to the early settlers. If they had to be quickly felled to allow in enough sun for the crops essential to life, they also provided the only building material. In our history, the apple tree's fruit became the basis of our economy for almost a century. Loading apples for the Eastern market and selling them in the rapidly conducted auction there was the most exciting event of each fall. This year residents of Wing Lake Road worked together to have the county designate their road as a "natural beauty road." They researched its history, catalouged every type of flora and fauna and after several public hearings succeeded in having the road so designated in January. The road will be left as much as possible in its present state. Among the trees catalogued on Wing Lake Road were a 184' high black locust and a 129' high scycamore as well as huge oaks and many black walnut trees. Other examples of trees in the Township are a 58' high apple tree, 120 inches in girth on Gilbert Lake, and a 96' red ash, 156" in girth just west of Franklin. A 104' black cherry with a girth of 173" stands on Kensington Road and on the same road a 92' high weeping willow has a girth of 209." Other Bloomfield trees are white ash, catalpa, sweet cherry, dogwood, red mulberry and many species of swamp, red and white oak.