PONTIAC, Mich. – It’s a Metro Detroit community on the rebound in the heart of Oakland County.
Read: Community health clinic in Pontiac works to change lives
About 30 miles northwest of Downtown Detroit is Pontiac. Originally settled by Europeans in 1818, the area was named after Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa tribe. It was designated the county seat for Oakland County in 1820 and officially became a village in 1837 -- the same year Michigan became a state. It was incorporated as a city in 1861.
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Due to its founding more than 200 years ago, the city has a vast and unique history. For most of the 20th century, the city was known for its automobile plants -- including Pontiac East Assembly, which closed in 2009, Pontiac Assembly, which closed in 1988, Pontiac Central Assembly, which closed in 1989, Pontiac West Assembly, which closed in 1994, and the Pontiac Foundry, which closed in 1987.
In 1982, Super Bowl XVI was hosted in the city at the Pontiac Silverdome, which was demolished in 2018. The San Fransisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals -- 26 to 21.
Read: Cyclist’s decision to speak up makes Pontiac safer, cleaner
Oak Hill Cemetery, located off University Drive, has been around almost as long as the city has. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
It’s the final resting place of many famous and notable people, including Dr. Harold Furlong -- the only World War I Medal of Honor winner buried in Michigan -- and also the first Black landowner in Pontiac. Lisette Denison Forth was born into slavery, gained her freedom and originally owned part of the property that would become Oak Hill Cemetery.
“The most prominent figure that was buried here would probably be late Michigan Governor Moses Wisner,” said Chris Hubel. “Six individuals from the Revolutionary War are buried here, as well as, I believe, 27 from the Civil War.”
Read more: The hidden history inside Pontiac’s Oak Hill Cemetery
The Clinton River, which runs across Oakland and Macomb counties, actually runs underneath part of Downtown Pontiac. It was encased in concrete back in the 1960s.
You can read why the river was buried here.
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