How Did Westland Get Its Name?
In the early 1800s, Westland was home to the Potawatomi Native American Indian village. Algonquian tribes also hunted deer and other game in the area. Settlers started showing up in the Westland area in 1824, and formed what was first called Bucklin Township.
In 1827, that got split into two new townships- now they called the area Lima Township. They had to change that because there was already a Lima Post Office somewhere else, so they changed it again to Nankin Township. In 1966 they finally voted to officially call it Westland, naming the city after the new shopping mall attraction that was built there!
Haunted Westland – Eloise Asylum on Alice Cooper Court
Eloise Psychiatric Hospital opened in 1839 and did not shut down until 1982! It contained a poor house, a mental asylum, and a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. It had the first x-ray machine in Michigan. In the 1920’s was home to over 10,000 patients.
The site has been reported to be haunted, and the remaining building is now home to Eloise Asylum’s haunted attraction. It’s open year-round for paranormal investigations and crazy escape rooms. In 2022, Eloise was voted one of the top haunted attractions in the country by Haunted World.
On Sept 23rd, 2021, WCSX invited Alice Cooper to the naming ceremony of Alice Cooper Court in his honor. Big Jim O’Brien and Ryan Logan hosted the event and were the force behind making Alice Cooper Court a reality. Alice Cooper Court leads up to Eloise Asylum.
Big Jim welcomes rock legend Alice Cooper to the stage for the unveiling of Alice Cooper Court in Westland!
Eloise is also offering celebrity ghost hunts! May 11th, 2024 you can go on a celebrity ghost hunt with Darren McCarty.
Saturday In The Park!
Hines Park is located in the northern region of Westland. During the summer (May 4th through September 28th) areas of Hines Park are closed to motorized vehicle traffic from 9:00am until 3:30pm on Saturday. From waynecounty.com: “Hines Drive is closed between Ann Arbor Trail and Outer Drive for park users to run, walk, skate, and bike safely on a traffic-free road.”
You can enjoy seeing deer, foxes, and hummingbirds all year long as well as easy access to the bike paths of Hines Park. This trail is composed of two trails: the 2-mile Rouge River Gateway Greenway and the 17.5-mile Hines Park Trail, which is a 19.5-mile connection between Dearborn and Northville.
Throughout Hines Drive, there are over 20 separate gathering areas for all kinds of recreation like hiking, biking, picnicking, and observing nature. Some of these areas have names that sound like they could be from “Lord of The Rings” like Helm’s Haven, Elm Grove, Merriman Hollow, and Levan Knoll!
We stopped by Planet Fitness in Westland plus some of our favorite photos with City of the Week in Westland are in the gallery below.
City Of The Week Westland Pictures
