Brighton, Michigan is an outer suburb of Metro Detroit, and one of two incorporated cities in Livingston County, the other being Howell.
Brighton is surrounded by the townships of Brighton, Green Oak, Hamburg, and Genoa. Howell is 9.9 miles northwest, South Lyon is 10.8 miles southeast, and the village of Pinckney is 13.5 miles southwest of Brighton, while the city of Ann Arbor is 18.6 miles to the south, and downtown Detroit is about 45 miles to the southeast.
The chief route through the city is I-96, which forms its northern boundary. M-23 intersects the interstate just east of Brighton. Other routes include Brighton Road (Main Street) and Grand River Road (Grand River Avenue), as well as Brighton Lake Road, Challis Road, Flint Road, Hilton Road, Lee Road, Pickett Road, and Spencer Road.
Founded in the early 1830s, there are a couple of different accounts as to its founding. An account posted on the Brighton District Library site suggests that the city was founded Elijah Fitch, who named both the township and the town for his former home in Brighton, New York. Another account is that the town was founded by Maynard Maltby, who originally named the settlement Ore Creek, for the stream that runs through its center, in which there were iron ore deposits.
Both accounts include Maynard Maltby as an early settler. Along with a brother, Maltby acquired land, and built a log cabin home in the area, then returned to New York for their wives and family, building a sawmill on Ore Creek. Likely, the settlement that grew up along the sawmill was known as Ore Creek, although it was never platted or incorporated as a village. A post office was established on November 5, 1836, with the name of Ore Creek. Wilbur Fisher was the first postmaster.
As Ore Creek was situated along a route between Lansing and Detroit, hotels were built to accommodate travelers, and increased logging brought more people to the area and cleared land for the development of a downtown area with grocery stores, shops, and other businesses. One of these hotels was the Brighton House, constructed for Justice Elijah Fitch, who named the hotel for his hometown in New York. Justice Fitch was a Democratic leader in Michigan Territory who supported the speedy admission of Michigan to the Union as a state, and an active supporter of Governor Mason, Michigan's first governor.
By the account that attributes the founding of Brighton to Fitch, Brighton was founded in July of 1835, at the time that the organization of the State of Michigan was being perfected.
By all accounts, the post office was renamed Brighton on February 13, 1838, after Brighton, New York, which was the hometown of several of its early settlers. Brighton was incorporated as a village in 1867, and became a city in 1928.
Today, Brighton is an urban city of more than seven thousand people. It has major business districts downtown and on either side of town. Downtown Brighton hosts several shops, restaurants, and service businesses, while the west side of town includes Brighton Mall, and Green Oak Village Place is on the east side of Brighton. Brighton offers several cultural, social, and recreational activities. The area is surrounded by more than fifty lakes, wetlands, and golf courses. The Brighton Recreational Area, just west of the city, includes about five thousand acres of woods, meadows, and lakes. The Brighton School District operates five elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school, serving approximately seven thousand students in the Greater Brighton area.
The focus of this guide is on the City of Brighton, Michigan. Appropriate resources for this category include websites representing the city itself, as well as local businesses and industries, schools, places of worship, organizations, attractions, and events.
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Recommended Resources
Headquartered in the City of Brighton, Michigan, the BAFA has a service area that includes seventy-four square miles in the city, the Charter Township of Brighton, and Genoa Township, as well as nine school in three school districts, and several private schools, offering emergency response, safety, prevention, and public education. Featured is an annual report, an overview of its risk reduction products and services, board meeting dates, and contacts.
http://brightonareafire.com/
Specializing in the sale of new Ford vehicles, the auto dealership is on Grand River Avenue in Brighton, Michigan. Its address is posted, and a map shows the location of the dealership, and its hours of operation and contacts are included. New and used vehicles are highlighted and searchable through a number of variables, and special offers, its leasing program, and online shopping are featured. Appointments for servicing may be done online.
https://www.brightonford.com/
Chartered by the Knights of Columbus #7304, Troop 347 is in the Southern Shores Field Service Council, Three Fires District, of the Boy Scouts of America youth organization. Meeting on Monday evenings at the Brighton FlexTech High School, the Brighton, Michigan troop was formed in 1999 and is made up of boys aged eleven to eighteen. Membership information, schedules, and a calendar of events are posted to the site, along with a troop roster and photo album.
https://brighton347.mytroop.us/
Incorporated as a city in 1928, Brighton includes land that was once part of Brighton, Green Oak, and Genoa townships. The official municipal website introduces the city council, boards, and commissions, and posts agendas and minutes, council meeting rules of procedure, council meeting video, the city charter and ordinances, and a guide to local schools, municipal facilities and programs, departments, and services. Links to other online resources are included.
https://www.brightoncity.org/
Great Harvest Bread Company of Brighton
Offering hand-made bread with high-quality ingredients, as well as sandwiches, salads, sweets, and coffee. A brief profile of the business and its owners are presented, directions are posted, and its process for making bread is discussed. A schedule of its breadmaking, as well as a sweets schedule, are posted to the site. Orders may be placed online, and its regular menu, as well as its catering menu, are featured, the latter including lunches, sandwiches, salads, desserts, and beverages.
http://greatharvestbrighton.com/
