Moravian Road

In 1782 marauding American militia massacred nearly one hundred Christian Delaware Indians at their village in eastern Ohio. Seeking refuge, the Delaware settled on the Clinton River two and one-half miles north of here, on land granted by the Chippewa. In time the settlement numbered over one hundred, ministered to by the Moravian missionaries. This highway, the first interior road in Michigan, was laid out in the winter of 1785-86 to connect the village with the fort at Detroit, twenty-three miles away. At the close of the American Revolution the Chippewa withdrew their land grant, and in April, 1786, the mission was closed. Some of the members returned to Ohio and others moved to Canada.