The History of Stephenson Highway

  Standing tall, much like his idol Abraham Lincoln, George A. Dondero, the first mayor of the city of Royal Oak addresses a crowd of thousands on Sept. 27, 1924. This was the day, my friends, the Stephenson Highway opened up, one of the first mult-lane super highways in Oakland County.

 The highway was named, quite admirably, for Burnette Fechet Stephenson, a real estate magnate, who in 1916 paid $1.5 million for 1,800 acres of farmland east of Woodward Avenue between Highland Park and Royal Oak.

 According to an article by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Stephenson planted more than a dozen subdivisions, that is 5,000 bungalow houses in south Oakland County. For employment, residents took streetcars, then as they became outmoded, drove cars to abundant factories in Highland Park , Maxwell-Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, Ex-Cell-O, Yellow Pages and a passel of printing plants.

Stephenson, working with political leaders, founded the ideal path to get people to work, and create affordable housing at home. The houses continue to provide entry level, welcoming places for people who now jump upon super highways like I-75 and I-696 to reach their destination.

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