It’s a beautiful time of the year to check out Eastpointe, Michigan: this week’s City of the Week with 94.7 WCSX. The turning leaves and colorful murals make for a wonderful backdrop to any great day or photo.
Eastpointe has a fun Summer too! WCSX and Screamin’ Scott were out for the 25th Annual Cruisin’ Gratiot!
Early Inhabitants
A lot of different people have called this community home. Native Americans from the tribes of Peoria, Anishinaabe, Potawatomi, Miami, and Mississauga have inhabited the land in the early days. Once Europeans began arriving, French, then English and Irish held ground in the Eastpointe boundaries. By the 1830s, Germans had come to make up a majority of the inhabitants. Find out more about Eastpointe’s history at Cityofeastpointe.net.
Many Names – One Community
It’s a Detroit thing… you have to sing along to Journey‘s “Don’t Stop Believing” when it gets to the line “Born and raised in South Detroit.” The one exception goes to Eastpointe where “Born and raised in East Detroit” takes a natural precedent. Throughout the years, the community has gone by many different names.
During the time of English and Irish settlers arrival, the are was a part of Orange and Erin Township. The Village of Halfway formed in 1897. This community lies halfway between Mt. Clemons and Detroit. This area was often confused with Detroit, so in 1929 the name was changed to East Detroit. As Britannica.com mentions, the final name change to Eastpointe came in 1992.
Joel’s Notes:
I think that Eastpointe has finally grown into it’s name! It is the first time I have visited there that at least one person I talked to there did not still call it “East Detroit”!
“Eeeeeeeeeeeast Siiiiiiiiiide!” It seemed like they were working on Gratiot for a few years- but this trip was very smooth and Gratiot Avenue looked better than ever! I had to make a stop at Drew’s Garden to look at all the Fall stuff they had on display- I LOVE this time of year, and everything looked so good- massive pumpkins, mums in all colors, hay bales and corn stalks too!
The Eastpointe Pub had a cool mural that attracted me to pull in their parking lot to check it out. While I was taking a photo I met two of the “regulars” on their way inside who told me about how cool & friendly the pub is, and that they open EARLY in the morning to serve customers who work 3rd Shifts and odd hours! (I will keep that in mind!)
I had a great time visiting First State Bank too! The professional staff of Tonja, Nicholas, Audrita, and Tiara were really friendly and cool, and on top of their business! I also had a chance to share some stickers, beads, and concert tickets with some very cool customers who call Eastpointe their home!
City of the Week in Eastpointe
