Harper Woods

Harper Woods Municipal Water Report Info

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HARPER WOODS

Harper Woods was incorporated as a city on February 19, 1951, when residents of Gratiot Township (established 1895) voted to incorporate the entire area as the City of Harper Woods. A Charter Commission was elected, a Charter prepared and adopted, and a City Council chosen. The City of Harper Woods officially began on Monday, October 29, 1951, when the Charter took effect and the first City Council was sworn in.

The first settler in what is now Harper Woods was Casper Salter, who in 1859 established a homestead on a wagon trail then called Pumpkin Hook Road (now Kelly Road) between our present-day Woodland and Woodcrest Avenues. By 1875, eleven homes stood along Pumpkin Hook Road. The main north-south route was the road from Detroit to Fort Gratiot (now Port Huron), originally cleared by Moravians in 1782. In the 1830s, it became the Gratiot Military Road, and by 1859 was converted to a plank toll road.

By the early 20th century, Gratiot served as Main Street for the farming settlement on Pumpkin Hook Road, featuring a blacksmith, wagon maker, general store, saloon, and the Westphalia Shooting Park. The community grew slowly until the mid-1930s, with only about fifty homes in Gratiot Township. Recovery from the Great Depression coincided with suburban development, and from 1935 onward, growth accelerated rapidly. The 1940 federal census recorded 836 residents.

Today, Harper Woods has over 14,000 residents and remains a proud, vibrant community with a rich history and strong community ties.