Demystifying the Five Pointes

Grosse Pointe originated as a rural community. Before the five Pointes there was simply Grosse Pointe Township, which was created out of Hamtramck Township in 1848. 

Any history of “Grosse Pointe” before 1848, was more or less an unofficial term that the inhabitants called the area until it was officially a made into a township. As population growth continued in the mid-to-late 1800s, villages began incorporation. Here is a refresher on some of the basics.

The first Grosse Pointe

The first was Grosse Pointe Village, or the original Grosse Pointe. This is now the . Grosse Pointe Village was incorporated in 1879. The original name lives on, however, in the business district. “The Village” is the first and original business district in all of the Pointes and is still the heart of the City of Grosse Pointe.

The original boundaries of the Village of Grosse Pointe have not changed in its history. The borders are Fisher Road to the north, Cadieux Road to the south, Mack Avenue to the west, and Lake St. Clair to the east.

The second Grosse Pointe

came next. It was incorporated in 1893. The original boundaries have also stayed the same with Fisher Road to the south, Mack Avenue to the West, Lake St. Clair to the east, and Weir Lane (Now Provencal) to the north.

The third Grosse Pointe

Next was the village of which was incorporated in 1907.  Much like the City of Grosse Pointe and the City of Grosse Pointe Farms, its boundaries have not changed in more than 100 years: to the south, its border is Alter Road, to the west Mack Avenue, to the east Lake St. Clair, and to the north, Cadieux Road.

And then there were four

The population of the Pointes continued to grow in the early 1900s, and so just a few years after Grosse Pointe Park was incorporated to the far south, the was incorporated to the far north. The incorporation of the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores happened in 1911. In celebration of  this summer, officials had .

For the most part Grosse Pointe Shores has also maintained its original boundaries: to the south Weir Lane (now Provencal), to the north the Milk River, and to the east Lake St. Clair. 

The western border, however, is very interesting. 

And the fifth Pointe 

Have you ever wondered why so many streets in Grosse Pointe Shores simply turn into in the middle of the block? As you have learned by now, when Grosse Pointe Shores was established, there was not yet a Grosse Pointe Woods. Therefore, the western border of Grosse Pointe Shores was set at 1000 feet back from Jefferson (now Lake Shore Road) and running parallel to it.

Now all houses on the blocks that start in the east in the Shores become Woods properties after that original 1000 feet border.

As our rural area was slowly becoming a suburb, the rest of Grosse Pointe Township was absorbed and incorporated as the Village of Lochmoor in 1927. Overall, all of the original villages were incorporated over a period of nearly 50 years.

The Village of Lochmoor eventually became the fifth and final Pointe. The renaming of Lochmoor is the story for next week.