The 1859 Wall Map of St. Clair and
Macomb Cos., MI (published by Geil, Harley & Sevard )
shows "A. Grovel" (Anton GROBBEL) as owning an
80 acre farm on the westerly half of the south-east
quarter of Section 17 in Warren Twp. This 80 acre parcel
was 1/4 mile wide (east to west) & 1/2 mile deep (north
to south) and was fronted along the north side of 11 Mile
Road. The southeast corner of the property was 1/4 mile
west of the intersection of 11 Mile Road and State Road (the
present-day Mound Road). Anton farmed the westerly 40
acres of this parcel while his younger brother John
GROBBEL farmed the easterly half until his untimely death
in 1870.
The 1875 Atlas Map of Macomb Co.,
MI (published by D.J. Stewart of Philadelphia, PA) shows
the westerly 40 acres of that same 80 acre parcel in
Section 17 of Warren Twp. as owned by "Anthony
Grobbel" (Anton GROBBEL) and the other half owned by
"Jos. Rinka" (Joseph Rinke, who married Mary
WARNER Grobbel, widow of John GROBBEL). The "Business
Directory of Macomb County, Michigan" that was
published along with this Atlas indicated that Anton
Grobbel's "Date of Settlement" in Section 17
was the year 1849. This is the only written piece of
evidence uncovered so far that places a date on his
arrival anywhere in the United States.
(photo courtesy of Clark Heath) The Anton Grobbel farmhouse on
11 Mile Road (ca. 1885-1887). Left to right: son Ben, wife Elizabeth, Anton, (unknown),
son Anthony.
Anton was born on Nov. 4, 1819
in Cobbenrode, Westphalia, Prussia and emigrated from there in
about 1849.
During the winter of 1865-66, Anton and his brother John worked
in the copper mines near
Houghton, Michigan. Anton returned to his farm in Warren Twp.
where he died on March 24, 1900.
The 1895 Atlas Map of Macomb Co.,
MI ( published by Geo. A. Ogle & Co. of Chicago, Ill.
) shows the westerly 40 acre parcel as owned by "A.
Gobble" (Anton GROBBEL) and the easterly 40 acre
piece as owned by "Fred. Gobble" (Ferdinand
GROBBEL, the eldest son of John & Mary Grobbel). Some
time after Anton's death in 1900, the westerly 40 acre
parcel was sold to Ferdinand.
The 1895 map also shows a 26 acre parcel
owned by "A. Gobble" (Anthony GROBBEL, the son
of Anton & Elizabeth Grobbel, who married Mary MINICK
in 1894) that was located at the southwest corner of
Section 16 in Warren Twp. The 26 acre parcel was located
at the northeast corner of the intersection of 11 Mile
road and the present-day Mound Road, with frontage along
both roads. Anthony and Mary lived in Warren Village
until 1905 when they moved to the farmhouse on their farm
in Section 16. According to his son, Edward, Anthony
operated a saloon/pool hall at the corner of Mound and
Chicago Roads prior to moving onto the farm. Anthony and
Mary's children attended a one-room
schoolhouse in Section 9
from 1905 until about 1911, when they began attending St.
Clement School in Center Line. The map at left shows the
location of the school as being on the east side of Mound
Rd. on the property of William Halmich.
Click here for a photo of Anthony and other members of
a threshing crew on the nearby LeFevre farm, ca. 1912
During the early 1920's, Anthony Grobbel was also a Roads Commissioner for Warren Township. The Feb. 2, 1922 minutes of the Macomb County Road Commission indicate that they approved payment of a bill for $10.50 that had been submitted by Anthony. Anthony and Mary were
in the process of building a new home in Center Line (Lot 145,
which is today 8166 Dale Ave.), when their farmhouse in Section
16 burned down on Sunday, May 16, 1926. While they were away
working on the new house, the refrigerator on their back porch
shorted out and flames quickly engulfed the old farmhouse. The
family heard the fire department siren and saw the smoke off in
the distance so they rushed home only to discover that they had
lost everything except their barn. They had to live with
relatives until July when they completed the house enough for
them to move in. Anthony and Mary eventually lost their farm land
to their creditors during the Depression. The land was later sold
to the U.S. Government for inclusion in the Detroit Tank
Arsenal property just prior to the
start of World War II.
According to the "Rinke
Family History", the farm in Section 17 remained in Grobbel
family ownership for more than 100 years until 1963, when Raymond
(Jim) GROBBEL, grandson of John GROBBEL, sold it and moved to
another farm near Richmond, Macomb Co., MI. The farmland was then
subdivided into lots for single family dwellings, however, the
last of three dwellings built on the property remained standing
well into the 1980's.
Today, the only remaining
evidence of the Grobbel farms is a subdivision street named
"Grobbel Drive" that runs through portions of the old
Grobbel farm acreage.
