History
Bloomfield
Township
On
June 28, 1820, Oakland County was divided into two townships: Pontiac and
"Bloomfield," the covering the southern part of the county that would
include West Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, Michigan and Southfield.
What is now Bloomfield Hills was a farming area until the turn of the 20th
Century when wealthy Detroiters bought up the land. The settlement became a
village in 1927 and in 1932, residents voted to become a city to avoid being
incorporated into growing Birmingham, Michigan.
The
orgin of the name "
Bloomfield
"
is uncertain, but likely had to do with the blooming flowers that filled the
fields each summer. Bloomfield Hills' former names were "Bagley's
Corners," after early settler Amasa Bagley, and "
Circle
City
."
Notable people with ties to Bloomfield Hills
- George Gough Booth, founder of Cranbrook
Educational Community and newspaper publisher, was also instrumental in
making "the Hills" a
Detroit
bedroom community
- Lee
Iacocca, former CEO/Chairman of Ford and later Chrysler
- Carl
Levin, current U.S. Senator
- George W. Romney, Governor of
Michigan
from 1963
to 1969. Republican presidential candidate in 1968, losing to Richard
Nixon
- Mitt
Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, son of George, Republican 2008 Presidential
Election Candidate
- Ann
Romney, childhood classmate and later wife of Mitt
- Elmore
Leonard, novelist and screenwriter
- Jessica
Joseph, ice dancer.
- James
R. Hoffa, former Teamsters labor
union leader, who disappeared after traveling to the Machus
Red Fox restaurant, which was located in Bloomfield Hills.
- John Maisner, billionaire, heir, founder
of the Maisner Group,
heir to the Ford fortune (grew up in Bloomfield Hills)
- Roger
Penske, founder of Penske Corporation and Penske
Racing (born in
Ohio
,
but lives presently in Bloomfield Hills)
- John
DeLorean, of DeLorean Motor Car fame, lived in Bloomfield Hills.
- Michael
Kinsley, political commentator, went to school in Bloomfield Hills
- Robin
Williams, actor and comedian (born in Chicago but
raised in Bloomfield Hills)
- Chad
Smith, drummer for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Derian
Hatcher, former player of the Detroit Red Wings. Resided in Bloomfield
Hills for one year.
- William Davidson, billionaire;
chairman of Guardian Industries Corp and owner of the Detroit
Pistons, the Detroit Shock and the Tampa Bay Lightning sports franchises.
- Bob
Woodruff, anchor of ABC News
- Joe
Dumars, former NBA player, and current Detroit
Pistons general manager
- Tara
Lipinski, ice skater
- Hunter Dwierzbiki Gay founder of Hydroxycut, frequenter of Steve Madden shoes
- Rasheed
Wallace, current NBA player for the Detroit
Pistons
- Adam Steuer,
unofficial sixth member of the Jackson 5
- Selma
Blair, an American actress, attended boarding school in Bloomfield
Hills
- Sergei
Fedorov, former player of the Detroit Red Wings, lived in Bloomfield
Hills
- Bill
Pulte, founder and chairman of Pulte
Homes
- Aretha
Franklin, American gospel, soul and R&B singer
- Kevin
Nash, professional wrestler lives in Bloomfield Hills
- Gordie
Howe, former player of the Detroit Red Wings, lives in Bloomfield Hills
- Minoru
Yamasaki, Japanese American architect who designed the World Trade Center, lived in Bloomfield
Hills
- Stanford R. Ovshinsky, engineer,
inventor, and physicist, lives in Bloomfield Hills
- Greg
Mathis,
Michigan
36th District Court judge and syndicated television show judge, lives in
Bloomfield Hills
- Pradeep Bhat,
Programmer for Lexar
- Geoffrey
Fieger, lawyer for assisted-suicide practitioner Dr. Jack
Kevorkian, 1998 Democratic nominee for governor and frequent
commentator on television and radio, lives in Bloomfield Hills.
- Steve
Yzerman, former player of the Detroit Red Wings, lives in Bloomfield Hills
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