Grosse Pointe, recognized for its historic reputation for scenery and landscape, has grown from a colonial outpost and a fertile area for small orchard owners and farmers to a coastal community with prime real estate chosen for grand estates. The Grosse Pointes were first settled by
French farmers in the 1750s after the establishment of the French
Fort Pontchartrain. Members of the
British Empire began arriving around the time of the
Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Grosse Pointe continued to be the site of lakefront
ribbon farms: long narrow farms that each adjoin the lake, useful for irrigation and early transportation needs. Beginning in the 1850s, wealthy residents of
Detroit began building second homes in the Grosse Pointe area, and soon afterward,
hunting,
fishing, and
golf clubs appeared. Some grand estates arose in the late 19th century, and with the dawn of the
automobile after 1900, Grosse Pointe became a preferred
suburb for business executives in addition to a retreat for wealthy Detroiters. By the 1930s, most of the southern and western areas of Grosse Pointe contained established neighborhoods, with remaining gaps and the northern sections such as
Grosse Pointe Woods developing after the 1930s. In 1960, it was revealed that realtors in suburban Grosse Pointe ranked prospective home buyers by using a point system with categories such as race, nationality, occupation, and “degree of swarthiness.” Southern Europeans, Jews, and Poles required higher rankings than Northwestern European people in order to move into the community, while Asians and Blacks were excluded from living in Grosse Pointe altogether. Private detectives were used to investigate potential residents’ backgrounds. The revelation of this practice moved the state corporation and securities commissioner to issue a regulation to bar the licensing of real estate brokers who discriminated on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. Public hearings brought the national attention to the real estate discrimination situation in Detroit, which resulted in the expansion of open housing activity in the city. A passenger
rail line that connected
Detroit to
Mt. Clemens along the shore was operational by the late 1890s, making Grosse Pointe more accessible. As the
automobile became the primary method of
transportation and the rail line was decommissioned, the vista of what became Lake Shore Drive gradually improved. Lakeside estates are accessed from Lake Shore Drive and
Jefferson Avenue. Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, Grosse Pointe has gained a reputation as a notable American suburb; entrepreneurial leadership, recreational activities afforded by the
Great Lakes waterway, an international border with
Canada, and a focus on quality of
education contributed to the successful development of the region. The Russell Alger Jr. House, at 32 Lake Shore Dr., serves as the
Grosse Pointe War Memorial community center. Grosse Pointe contains fifteen recognized Michigan historical markers. ==Demographics==