Farmington Hills Celebrates 50th Anniversary

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of our city, established as Farmington Hills in 1973.

The Anishinaabe or “Three Fires” people lived around the Great Lakes, probably including the Farmington Hills area, before the Europeans arrived in the region during the 17th century. This included the Ojibwe, Odawa and Botawatomi (also known as the Chippewa, Ottawa and Potawatomi). 

The first known white settler in the now-FH area was Arthur Power, a Quaker from Farmington, NY, who acquired land in 1823 and created a settlement of family and friends. It was organized as Quakertown in 1827, with a post office established with the name “Farmington.”

Later, in 1866, the village of Farmington was incorporated and officially named after Power’s home in NY. While the city of Farmington and township of Farmington developed, two separate entities (though part of Farmington Township) existed, one of which was the Village of Wood Creek Farms, established in the 1930s. It had its own civic association governed by a “Men’s Association” and later with elected officers.

It became a formal legal entity in 1957. It occupied the same geographical square mile as WoodCreek today, but had very few streets and few buildings south of Wellington Road.

WoodCreek Farms (the southern area of the square mile) was developed in the 1960s, and Wood Creek Elementary School was built in 
the 1970s. Wood Creek Village, Quaker Valley Farms and the rest of Farmington Township (as established in the Northwest Territories legislation) were incorporated into the City of Farmington Hills in 1973.FH is currently about 22 square miles in size and close to 84,000 population as of the 2020 census. 

Celebrations and projects for FH’s 50th anniversary took place this past summer at the Hawk and the Costick Center, culminating with food, games, entertainment and fireworks at Founders Sports Park on July 6. An anniversary mural has been placed on the front door of City Hall and residents are encouraged to post photos of themselves at the mural #FH50.

—Aimee Ergas, 
Resident and Historian

 

2023 WoodCreek Turkey Trot 

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Look for a postcard in your mailbox with details on the 
Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning—a fun and not too serious family event.



A White Deer Seen in WoodCreek

white deer1 white deer3The pictures seen here were taken by a resident while out for a walk in WoodCreek. They show a white whitetail deer, which quite an uncommon sight, occurring in only about 1% of whitetails. Moreover, not are they rare at birth, their color results in loss of camouflage and a higher predation rate than for normal deer. Its black nose tells us this isn't an albino, but that it is exhibiting a condition commonly known as leucism. Albinos have yet the further disadvantage of poor eyesight, which is indicated by their pink eyes.

 

New 2023 Woodcreek Directory 

front coverEvery four years, the WoodCreek Civic Association publishes a directory of its residents. For decades now, it has proven to be valuable resource to WoodCreekers in helping them get to know and communicate with neighbors old and new.

The neighborliness of WoodCreek is one of the major benefits that residents cite when comparing it to other communities in which they have lived, and the Directory has played no small part in reinforcing that reputation.

The last Directory was published in 2019, and although we have a relatively small turnover in properties compared to neighboring communities, inevitably the accuracy of the Directory lessens each year after its publication.

A big "thank you", to all who provided their contact details for inclusion in the Directory, Watch for it in your mailboxes soon.

 

Farmington Hills 50th Anniversary Celebration

July 6th, 2023

fh50thThe City of Farmington Hills will celebrate its Golden Anniversary this year! Festivities are planned for the community on July 6 at Founders Sports Park, 36000 W. Eight Mile Road. All are invited! Expect free family entertainment, activities for the children, opportunities for free community prizes, a fireworks show and more! Farmington Hills is one of Oakland County’s largest and most diverse communities and is known for its beautiful parklands and family friendly events. For more details on the Farmington Hills Golden Anniversary activities, visit www.fhgov.com or follow the City Facebook and Instagram pages.

 

Photos from 2022 Events

If you attended any WoodCreek events this year, be sure to click on our Gallery tab to view photos of them all.
 

soiree22 33The photo left shows some of our residents enjoying the Summer Soirée.

 

Use the links below to go directly to the 2022 event pictures.

Ice Cream Social and Pet Parade

Summer Soirée

Halloween

Turkey Trot

 

Welcome to Marc Wilkins as our New Police Liason Coordinator

police academyYou probably knew Marc Wilkins as the WoodCreek Civic Association board member responsible for working with our snow clearing and grass cutting contractors. This year, however, WoodCreek’s snow plowing will be done by the City of Farmington Hills – instead of a private contractor, and depending on how this works out, we may continue the arrangement into future years (see the notification here). As a result, we no longer have a need for anyone to look after snow clearing and so Marc has kindly volunteered to take over responsibility of Police Liason and Neighborhood Watch. These 2 roles were formally held by Al Smith and Stan Beattie, both of whom no longer live in WoodCreek.

Marc is well qualified for his new tasks, being a member of the Citizen Police Advisory Committee, after having attended the Farmington Hills Citizens Police Academy. Marc shares his experience in the Fall 2022 edition of Playback, but because of space limitations, his very interesting story had to be somewhat shortened. To read his full story, which includes facts and information you may not know about our local policing, check out Marc's full story.

Marc is 4th from the left in this picture.

 

 

 

Pay Your 2023 dues here

Pay Dues Online Button 200x98You will have already received a letter concerning your WoodCreek Civic Association annual dues but should you have mislaid it, you can find a copy here. Rather than writing a check and then having to find, address and stamp an envelope, you can simply go to our payment page for 2023 and get it all done for another year in just a few clicks. You'll be given the choice of paying using any major credit card or by PayPal. There's also a reminder as to how to pay by check.

  

 

 

Garbage, Recycling and Yard Waste Removal

garbage truck 1 200Visit our Rubbish Disposal page for information about all aspects of garbage removal in WoodCreek. In addition, our Calendar page provides information regarding future dates when our normal Tuesday collections are delayed because of holidays. Alternatively, you can view and/or print the listing of the 2023 Holiday Collection schedule.

This year yard waste removal in WoodCreek starts April 4th and ends December 12th.

Our Calendar also includes all the upcoming Household Hazardous Waste Events. However, you don't have to wait for an event. Farmington Hills residents can drop off hazardous waste at ERG Environmental Services in Livonia at no charge (you may be asked to prove residency). More information about hazardous waste is available on the RRRASOC website.

 

 

Some Future Dates to Note

Color Key:

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(For a full event listing, see our Calendar page)