This document provides a history of the Snow Woods neighborhood in Dearborn, Michigan from 1860 to 1988. It describes how Dr. Edward Snow purchased land in the area in 1860 and notes that "Snow's Woods" refers to the oak trees that once existed south of Monroe Street. The document outlines the development of the neighborhood over time, including the establishment of Dearborn Point subdivision in 1920, various schools like Snow School and Edsel Ford High, and the construction of Oakwood Hospital in 1953. It provides context on the land usage and growth of the area from its early rural history to its current state.
3. 1860
• Early homes were along the
South Dearborn Road
which ran just south of the
Rouge
• Green Oak Cemetery/ Big
Sloss Cemetery on Snow
Road north of Rotunda
• William Ten Eyck was a
major land owner
4. Doctor Edward Snow
Born in Austinburg Ohio in
1820
Graduated from Western
Reserve College Medical Dept
in Cleveland in 1847
Moved to Dearborn in early
1850s
Served as surgeon for Detroit
Arsenal and Michigan Central
Railroad
Died in 1892
5. The Snow Home
Edward Snow bought
a brick home at
Monroe and Snow
Streets in 1860 where
Snow Hill Condos are
now
6. Snow’s Woods
Snow Woods effectively refers to all the trees that
once existed south of Monroe Street
7. Snow’s Woods
Best described as an oak opening and wetland oak
forest landscape
http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/oa
kopening.html
14. Dearborn General Hospital
Was originally at Snow and
Monroe starting in 1927. a Fire
destroyed that building in 1932
Moved to Oakwood and Morley.
Expansion plans were blocked by
residents
Residents defeated a bond issue
vote that would have a created a
real hospital in 1930 and finally
approved one in 1945. Politics
delayed the eventual construction
of Oakwood Hospital for years
15. Oakwood/Beaumont Hospital
First patients admitted in
January 1953
Its construction was
supported by the Greater
Detroit Hospital Fund
The hospital sits on land
donated by Henry Ford II
It became Beaumont
Hospital, Dearborn in
2014
16. Schools
Snow School opened in
1952 to relieve
overcrowding at Whitmore
Bolles
Ten Eyck school was built
in 1945 and was expanded
in 1956
19. Stout School
Stout School was
opened in the Fall of
1960
Named after aviation
pioneer William
Bushnell Stout who
partnered with Ford and
was mostly known for
the Ford Trimotor
20. Edsel Ford High
Land donated by Ford
in 1951
A planning committee
spent multiple years
developing a
curriculum stressing
humanities
The school was
completed in 1956
24. Fairlane Green
Originally referred to as Ford
Woods. Dearborn and Allen Park
battled over the area in the mid
50s
Was once Ford’s Allen Park Clay
Mine Landfill (open 1950s-2003
Clippert Brick mined clay for
brick production into 1970s
Nearby Independence
Marketplace replaced the Allen
Park VA Hospital open from
1939-96
Editor's Notes
Map shows original land purchasers. Some of the land closer to the river was acquired before the area became part of the US in 1796.
Snow originally moved to Michigan because he was asked to take the practice of a Plymouth doctor while he was regaining his health
Photograph of Snow is at future Dearborn High site around 1892
People heading south from Dearborn on Monroe Street would see Dr Snow’s home and all the trees to the south would be Snow’s Woods
Basically Snow Woods would not have been a solid layer forest. It would have been interspersed with prairie like openings and swamps closer to the river
Subdivision created in 1920 by Glover Watson firm
Map from 1925
Aug 12 1923 Freep article
Freep July 22 1923
Hospitals pre 1953 in Dearborn were fairly small
Photo shows the Oakwood and Morley location
Brochure from Snow school opening
This was one of the first items I came across in a Snow school folder
June 10 1988 Freep – retirement community blocked later that year
Pic from 9/8/2005
Rouge Plant roof layer was originally grown at clay mine site
Clay mine 17 acres used as toxic waste dump
