A Nostalgic Trip Down Woodward Avenue, Detroit: 1900-1912

A good number of our state’s main roads were once Native American trails. These eventually became our oldest ones:

US-2 from St. Ignace to Green Bay, Wisconsin
US-12 from Ypsilanti to Chicago
US-41, from L’Anse to Marquette
I-75, from Detroit to Saginaw
I-94, from Detroit to St. Joseph
I-96, from Detroit to Grand Rapids
Old 27, from Kinderhook to Grayling

But the oldest, hands down, is Woodward Avenue (M-1) in Detroit.

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Originally the Saginaw Trail used by Native Americans, it was simply a foot path that went from Detroit to Saginaw. That stretch was the first road surveyed in Michigan back on December 15, 1819, and was dubbed “Pontiac Road”.  It’s 27 miles long and reaches from the Detroit River to Pontiac.

Just before 1900, it was re-named “Woodward”, with some misspelling it as “Woodword”.

What else should we know about Woodward Avenue?

|1) The first Michigan road where someone got a speeding ticket (1895).
2) Named after Judge Augustus B. Woodward, the first Chief Judge of the Michigan Territory who helped rebuild Detroit after a devastating fire in 1805.
3) It was the #1 road in the state for guys to go cruisin’ and ‘pickin’ up chicks’.
4) In 1909, one mile was paved, becoming the first paved road in America.
5) In 1919, it became the first road to install a three-color stoplight.

It may not have the rustic appeal of taking a cross-country roadtrip across the original Route 66,  but there is enough history up and down Woodward, from Detroit to Pontiac, where you can enjoy the feel of the Oldest Road in Michigan. It’s Michigan’s Oldest Road.....Woodward Avenue in Detroit.

Scroll a way down to see a gallery that depicts how the avenue looked over 100 years ago!