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Maybury State Park

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Coordinates: 42°25′46″N 83°31′58″W / 42.42944°N 83.53278°W / 42.42944; -83.53278
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Maybury State Park
Map showing the location of Maybury State Park
Map showing the location of Maybury State Park
Location in Michigan
Map showing the location of Maybury State Park
Map showing the location of Maybury State Park
Maybury State Park (the United States)
LocationLower Peninsula, Wayne County, Michigan, United States
Nearest cityNorthville, Michigan
Coordinates42°25′46″N 83°31′58″W / 42.42944°N 83.53278°W / 42.42944; -83.53278[2]
Area944 acres (382 ha)
Elevation955 feet (291 m) [2]
DesignationMichigan state park
Established1971[3]
AdministratorMichigan Department of Natural Resources
WebsiteMaybury State Park

Maybury State Park is a state park in Northville Township, Wayne County, Michigan composed of 944 acres (382 ha) of gently rolling terrain, open meadow, and mature forest.[4] The park gives people in the nearby metropolitan area an opportunity to get involved in outdoor recreation activities in a state park setting. Lying adjacent to the park, Maybury Farm is operated as a separate facility by the Northville Community Foundation.[5]

History

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Long before the park became a haven for picnickers, the isolated woods and farm fields held more than 40 buildings—infirmaries, houses, children's playgrounds and school—in a quarantined city for thousands of Detroit's highly infectious tuberculosis, at the time often called consumption, patients.[6] Wealthy retired real estate tycoon William H. Maybury spearheaded Detroit's construction of the facility so thousands of TB sufferers could be removed from the city, and where the beautiful surroundings might help nurse some back to health. Most of the buildings were torn down before the land became Wayne County's first state park in 1975. Many of Maybury's paved walking trails are on former walks and roadways, although just three stone and brick doctors' residences remain.

Park headquarters operated out of a similar brick building along Beck Road. In 2020, a modern facility was constructed near the main entrance off Eight Mile Road. Park officials attempted to secure a tenant or a buyer for the former headquarters building but were unable to do so. As a result, it was deemed surplus and slated for demolition. Northville Township Fire Department was invited to use the facility and a former maintenance garage for training, which took place on April 13, 2023, after which demolition work was completed. [7]

In 2003 the DNR asked the Northville Community Foundation to take over the operations of the Maybury Farm, which had been closed in 2002. An agreement was reached and the farm reopened in September 2005.[5] In February 2003, a fire destroyed the main barns, some of the farm's equipment and killed many of the farm's animals.[8] A public fundraising campaign led to the rebuilding of the farm including moving 125-year-old barns from a nearby town.


Activities and amenities

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The state park offers pond fishing, picnicking, playgrounds, stables, and many miles of trails for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and equestrian use.[4] Maybury Farm provides educational programming, sheep shearing, hay rides, corn maze, and other public farming demonstrations.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Maybury State Park". IUCN. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Maybury State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ "When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Maybury State Park". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Maybury Farm". Northville Community Foundation. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Barbara G. Louie (2001). Northville Michigan. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 46–48. ISBN 978-0-7385-2359-0.
  7. ^ "Fire Department to Host Live Fire Exercise at Maybury State Park".
  8. ^ "Animals Die in Mich. Petting Farm Fire". mrt. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "Maybury Farm". Friends of Maybury State Park. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
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