| Elizabeth Denison Forth | 
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| In 1825, Elizabeth Denison, "a woman of colour," purchased 48.5 acres of land from Pontiac's founder, Stephen Mack, agent of the Pontiac Company. She became Pontiac's first black property owner, but she never lived on the property. In 1827 she and her husband Scipio Forth, leased the property to her brother Scipio Denison. In 1836 and 1837, Mrs. Forth sold the land for $930. Elizabeth Denison was born in the 1780's as a slave in present-day Macomb County. In 1807 she fled to Canada, returning to Detroit around 1812 as a free woman. At her death in 1866, she donated money, used toward the construction of St. James Episcopal Chapel on Grosse Ile. She is buried in Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery. Part of Oak Hill Cemetery now occupies Elizabeth Denison Forth's property. |
Photo: Secretary of State Richard Austin speaking at the dedication - November 1992
Registered Site L1860
Erected 1992
Location: Oak Hill Cemetery 216 University Drive
Pontiac, Oakland County
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