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This is part five of a multi-part history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, commonly known as Eloise. A major part of the Poorhouse at Eloise was the working farm. All the way back in 1839 when the county bought the black horse tavern it came with a barn, four cows, two...

This is part four of a multi-part complete history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, commonly known as Eloise. As we go towards the turn of the century Eloise starts to grow into more and more of its own city. In 1893 “Lake Eloise” was dug on the south side of...

This is part three of a multi-part complete history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, commonly known as Eloise. By 1880 the population at the County house was 307 people, with 224 being considered “Permanent” for one reason or another. In 1881 the county hired...

This is part two of a multi-part complete history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, later known as Eloise. After the first 35 people arrived in 1839 the population at the county house steadily grew. The former Torbert farm came with a barn, two oxen and some seeds so the...

This series will be a multi-part complete history of the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum, later known as Eloise. As early as 1805 Wayne County had laws on the books for the relief of the poor, but this did not amount to much more than a little bread to be given out here and...

In 1832 it was decided to build a railroad from Detroit to Chicago to connect these two growing cities. The cost would be $3,200 per mile due to the unimproved and wild wilderness that the tracks had to cross. In any case construction began at Detroit and reached Wayne by 1836,...

As you drive into Wayne on Michigan Avenue you are greeted by signs in the median that say “Welcome to the City of Wayne, Founded 1824″, but is Wayne really that old? Yes, and this year, 2024, is the 200th anniversary of the first settler in Wayne. On February 27,...

There were cars made in Wayne before Ford? Yes! The first was made by a man named Charles Collier, a Civil War veteran, he moved to Wayne around 1900 and opened a bicycle repair shop at the corner of Brush and Newberry. Known as a tinkerer, Collier put bicycle tires on a buggy...

The history of theaters in Wayne begins with the Palace Opera House, which was a one-story meeting hall with a raised stage at one end. It was located about where Bakers Acre is on Michigan Avenue. Dances, speakers, political rallies, and high school graduations were held here...

For the past year or so we have been working hard at the museum to digitize our collections and get them online for all to see. So far we have scanned in over 15,000 photographs, slides, negatives and digital images. Many of these images have never been seen before and show...