A look back at Burley Park’s history

Since discussions about Burley Park have been circulating about town, I believe the community should know the history of the Park.

In late 1913 or early 1914, the Village and Township jointly bought the property on the west side of Branch Street between Mill and West St. Clair Streets and the north side of Mill Street between Branch and Cherry Streets. This property was bought as part of the agreement between the Village, Township, and the Detroit Urban Railway (DUR) to extend the electric railway from Romeo to Almont.

The DUR began operation in the summer of 1914 as primarily a passenger service and transported a limited amount of freight. With the paving of Van Dyke in 1924, the DUR ceased passenger operations in 1925. The DUR attempted to make the route successful as a freight route but that failed. In 1929, the DUR took out the rails and ties. They also removed the storage and warehouse buildings located on the Burley Park site.

While the demolition of the warehouse buildings was occurring, Dr. David Burley learned that the DUR intended to sell the property to a horse auction company. Dr. Burley reminded the management of the DUR that the property was deeded to the DUR for the purpose of the railway extension. The DUR decided to deed the property back to the Village.

The Village sold the property along Mill Street and converted the remaining property into Burley Park. They constructed a bandstand on the site. On Wednesdays, music in the park occurred. In 1955, the bandstand was relocated to the new baseball/football field north of the high school.

In 1967, the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation informed the Village that they would no longer allow the closure of Van Dyke through the Village on Memorial Day. Since the end of World War II the Memorial Day ceremonies had been held in Memorial Park, which was deeded to the Village by the Pere Marquette Railroad for the purpose of being a memorial park.

The monument to the Almont soldiers who had died in the service of their country was moved to Burley Park. Memorial Day celebrations have been held there since 1968.

In early 1986 an application for the creation of a “Historic District” along West St. Clair Street was submitted to the Michigan Bureau of History. This is the first step in the process of creating a “Historic District” for the homes along West St. Clair Street. The houses numbered 211 to 325 on the south side of the street (odd numbered addresses) and those numbered 124 to 328 on the north side (even numbered addresses), the Henry Stephens Memorial Library (now Almont District Library), and Burley Park are included in the district.

On March 11, 1986, the Michigan Historic Preservation Review Board gave its approval of the application. The application then was forwarded to the National Registry of Historic Places, which made the final decision.

The National Registry of Historic Places is the federal government’s official listing of properties that are considered to be worth preserving because of their importance in American history and culture. The National Registry of Historic Places approved the District in early 1987.

In the northwest corner of Burley Park stands a huge Burr Oak tree. That tree was there before any white men came to Almont Township and before there was a United States of America. In 1989, the Sierra Club Nepessing Group placed a plaque at the base of the tree indicating it was the “largest tree” in Lapeer County. The plaque noted that the Village had worked to preserve it.

Inclusion of the park in the historic district precludes any alterations of Burley Park. I consider it to be disrespectful to our war dead to move their monument again. The Burr Oak precludes putting pavement in the north end of the park. Pavement over the roots would kill the tree.

Copies of the Almont Historical Society’s various books can be purchased by contacting Jim Wade at 810-796-3355 or jrwade49@ gmail.com or stopping by the museum on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.