Springwells Park

06/22/2026

The Augusta Ochs house on Middlebury is in the Springwells Subdivision. Preservation Dearborn is not the first to try to preserve history! This bungalow was built in 1941.

Augusta Ochs was a teacher and then a principal in Detroit schools. The 1948 city directory sates that she was the principal of the Goldberg Trade School. She also served as the principal of the Detroit School of Commerce located at 2330 Grand River in Detroit. In the 1940s the vast majority of Detroit’s elementary principals were female. However, according to the website Research Gate, the vast majority of high school principals were male. She must have been an outstanding leader.

According to the website Historic Detroit, “Under Och’s leadership, the school flourished, preparing thousands of young Detroiters—particularly young women—for corporate careers in the city’s booming post-war automotive and financial sectors.

“She was a trailblazing Detroit educator best remembered as the passionate, final principal of Detroit’s historic High School of Commerce. …She became a prominent local figure in 1964 for her fierce public battle against the state highway department to save her school from demolition.

“She took her case to the Detroit Free Press. She said, ‘I did everything I could to preserve the school, even suggesting they run the freeway (the Fisher Freeway) underneath us. The building is still solid…But down it comes.’”

She died at the age of 87. Her final resting place is in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit.

Research and photo: Glenn O'Kray

Springwells Park Dearborn Historical Museum

05/29/2026

One of our urns , like this one, is missing from our eastham island. If you have seen it or you accidentally took it , let us know or please return it.

10/22/2025

Nearly 350 Dearborn men and women died for their country while serving in the military. Join author, historian and Dearborn native Lisa Lark as she shares details about some of these heroes. She'll tell their stories against the backdrop of the homes and neighborhoods they left behind. Monday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. at the Dearborn Historical Museum.
Dearborn Historical Museum POSITIVELY Dearborn Ford Homes Historic District Highland Neighborhood Association in Dearborn, MI Springwells Park

10/16/2025

This Colonial home on Windham Lane in the Springwells Subdivision was built in1943.

The Springwells Subdivision was at one time part of a ribbon farm. Gustav Zanger bought it in 1914 and planned to transfer ownership to the Detroit Zoo. When officials decided to develop the zoo in Royal Oak, he sold the property in 1927 to Henry Ford who then transferred ownership to the Ford Foundation.

The subdivision consists of five subdivisions. The first subdivision was platted in 1939. Sixty percent of the properties were developed by the beginning of World War II. Immediately after the war, another thirty percent were developed. Ten percent of the houses were constructed between 1960 and 1988. The houses were designed in the Colonial Revival style.

The subdivision was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

This Windham Lane home was owned by Harry Miller. Miller had a florist shop at 14300 Michigan Avenue. The 1959 Dearborn directory touted it as being “One of America’s Most Modern Flower Shops—Air Conditioned.” Harry was a third-generation florist. His grandfather and dad had greenhouses and a flower shop in Pennsylvania. His dad opened the Dearborn business in 1938. In later years, Harry also opened a store in Farmington Hills.

His business had some 12,000 square feet and 40 employees.

Harry was heavily engaged in the florists’ profession. He was the president of the Michigan State Florist Association, the Allied Florists Association of Metropolitan Detroit and the Society of American Florists. He was in the Society of American Florists Hall of Fame.

He was the president of the Dearborn Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He was the chair of the Dearborn Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), the Dearborn Boys Club and the Dearborn Tourists and Convention Bureau.

Harry founded the Dearborn Centurions and was president from 1963-65. He was a member of the Pioneers Club, the Dearborn Founders, the Moslem Temple, the Dearborn Country Club, the Fairlane Club, the Detroit Athletic Club, and the Loyal Order of the Moose.

Mayor Orville L. Hubbard appointed him to the Board of Hospital Managers in 1948.

The Golden Legion awarded him the Outstanding Community Service Award. He chaired the committee for the Henry Ford statue at the Centennial Library.

The man showed no limits!

Research by: Glenn O’Kray

Springwells Park

03/12/2023

01/26/2023

SNOW EMERGENCY DECLARED

The City of Dearborn has declared a snow emergency, effective 5PM this evening. The emergency will last until 10AM tomorrow morning.

Residents are asked to please remove their vehicles from city streets to allow for safe and efficient snow plowing. Our DPW crews were out this morning proactively salting roads to prevent ice accumulation.

Sirens will sound at 3PM, 6 PM and 10PM today to alert residents to remove their vehicles from city streets.

Please stay warm and safe, Dearborn!

04/20/2021

TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS: WALK-INS WELCOME THROUGH APRIL 22 AT DEARBORN'S VACCINATION CENTER

18 and over eligible; applies to Wayne County residents.

No appointment is needed to get the Covid-19 vaccine at Dearborn’s vaccination center today through Thursday, April 22.

Tell your neighbors, coworkers and family members how easy it is for people 18 and older who live in Wayne County to get the shot—and how quick. Most people are out within 25 minutes.

Walk-ins are welcome at the Consolidated Vaccination Center in Dearborn 8 a.m. to noon, 1:30 to 6 p.m., and 6:30 to 7 p.m. It is at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave.

Appointments are still preferred and are the most efficient way to get a shot. Make one at www.cityofdearborn.org/covid

The vaccines are the two-dose Moderna shots. Moderna is approved for those 18 and over.

Masks covering your mouth and nose are required to enter and remain in the building. People will be screened at the door as part of the health protocol.

The Consolidated Vaccination Center is supported by Wayne County.

09/28/2020