Orson Starr and the bells of Royal Oak

Visit a coffee shop and find any number of purses, pants and briefcases emit a 100 different ring tone patterns from John Philip Sousa to Whitney Houston. Make it sound like a ringing telephone or blast em Gangham Style. But something has to ring to prompt a response from the owner.

Follow Royal Oak history back to its first industry and you’ll discover Orson Starr. He moved to the township in 1831 and raised his 10 children in a log cabin near 13 Mile and Rochester roads. He hired locals. Hired freed slaves, including the Hamer family. The Starrs made and sold cowbells for 40 years.

You could buy eight sizes of bells made from iron, copper and zinc. The quality of the bells was enhanced by the brazing process, whereby the clay from Royal Oak was finely ground in a mill and mixed with manure to prevent disintegration in the furnace.

Early advertising claims you could hear the bell on your cow a full mile away, when it wore a Starr product. With the profits the family was able to locate in a palatial house near Main and Lawrence. The home stands today as a museum to the family and its industry. But you have to turn your cell phone off while you tour the home.

Learn more about Royal Oak every other week in Royal Oak Patch. For copies of “Images of America: Royal Oak,” by Maureen McDonald and John S. Schultz, visit the Royal Oak Historical Museum or go to “Royal Oak history book” on Facebook. Visit www.royaloakhistoricalsociety.com/ or call (248) 439-7399.