The land now known as Greenmead Historical Park was originally land inhabited by the Fox, Anishinaabe, Potawatomi, Wyandot, and Peoria Nations. With the Treaty of Detroit in 1807, the tribes ceded lands in southeast Michigan, making it available for purchase and settlement by white settlers.

Joshua Simmons, III, purchased 157.6 acres in section 6 of what was then Bucklin County on September 29, 1824. He returned to New York, and two years later, traveled with his wife Hannah by steamboat through the Erie Canal to Detroit. He built a log shanty on his land and, in 1829, was able to build a frame barn (the North Barn).

Joshua was quite skilled and amassed an ample fortune during his lifetime. He built a new home in 1841 that was “universally acknowledged to be the finest farmhouse in the county.” After Joshua and Hannah’s passing, their land was passed on to three sons.

In 1920, Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin Hill passed by the property on their way to and from the Meadowbrook Country Club. They decided to investigate purchasing the property and were successful. The main house went through a remodeling, most likely adjusting the floor plan to what you see today.

Mrs. Hill, a member of the Sarah Ann Cochrane Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, applied to have “Greenmead Farms” listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and it was entered on March 24, 1972.

After the passing of Mrs. Jean Boyd Hill, the property was placed for sale. The City of Livonia officially purchased Greenmead Farms in 1976. At that time, Greenmead Farms included 11 structures: the main house, greenhouse, north carriage house, farmhand’s house, north barn, south barn, a lean-to, garage, chicken coop, a caretaker’s cottage, and south carriage house. Since then, one structure, the south carriage house, has been lost.

The purchase of Greenmead Farms provided a Greenmead a gathering place for residents, visitors substantial land increase for a historical village, so it was decided that the structures that had been moved to Quaker Acres Village (originally on Seven Mile Road) would be moved again to Greenmead.

The A. J. Geer Store and D.U.R. from Quaker Acres were the first buildings to be moved in the fall of 1976. In the summer of 1977, three additional structures were acquired: the Newburg Church and its parsonage, as well as the Kingsley House, which was donated to the city. In 1979, two more structures were acquired, the bungalow from the Village of Newburg, and Judge Blue’s office (not to be confused with his house).

The Shaw House and Friends Meeting House from the Quaker Acres site were moved in 1981.

After the sale of the Hinbern property to the Southland Corporation in 1984, the house was donated to the village and moved in 1985. Finally, the Newburg School and Alexander Blue House were moved to the village in 1987. Most recently, one more structure was added to Greenmead in 2016 – the Nankin Mills School.

In 2023, a 20-year Master Plan was approved for Greenmead to help guide the rehabilitation and future improvements and development or the park.

Throughout the year, Greenmead continues to be a gathering space for people to imagine, discover and explore our vast history through various programs. Visit Greenmead.us for our current and upcoming programs.