The Oakland County city of Birmingham, Michigan is located about 17 miles north of the Detroit River and had its modest beginning back in 1819 when four men purchased pieces of land which came together at what is now the corner of Maple and Pierce in downtown Birmingham. The names of these pioneers were John West Hunter, Elijah Willits, John Hamilton and Benjamin K. Pierce.
The latter, a career Army man, commanded, for a time, the Fort on Mackinac Island at the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Pierce was a brother of President Franklin Pierce and merely bought his 160 acres on speculation. He never became a permanent local resident. In fact, he was later stationed in Florida where the city of Fort Pierce was named in his honor.
The small settlement was not always known as Birmingham. At times it would be referred to as Hunter's or maybe Hamilton's, since they both opened taverns which were convenient stopping points for those heading north out of Detroit.
Later on, it was more or less facetiously referred to as Piety Hill. Modern day historians aren't certain whether this was because the inhabitants of the village which sprung up at this spot were considered to be overly pious, or because the town had so many establishments devoted to the sale of spiritous liquors. At any rate, it wasn't until Roswell Merrill placed a sign, "Birmingham", on his foundry that folks began referring to Piety Hill as Birmingham.
Mr. Merrill, a transplant from Rutland, Vermont, felt that the town would soon grow into a great industrial metropolis similar to Birmingham, England. In 1864 the Village of Birmingham was officially incorporated. It is interesting to note that although it boasts a much smaller population than its southern counterpart, Birmingham, Michigan was actually founded prior to Birmingham, Alabama!
The TACK FACTORY made baseball bats!
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