In 1826, the first land was bought in the northwest area of Westland Township by Globe D. Chubb. At this time, however, Westland, was known as "Nankin Township."
Chubb, and his brother, Jonathan Frisbee, came from New York State and settled on 88 acres of land in the northwest quarter of Section 7. As early as 1832, Chubb began to subdivide his property. The first 40 acres he sold to Abel Patchin. In 1836, he sold 8 acres to Robert Morris and in 1853 , 160 acres were sold to Stephen Hayward. This last purchase includes the area along Warren Road, where Chubb Cemetery still stands.
Chubb also became involved in his local township politics. He was elected the second Clerk of Nankin Township in 1832, and elected Supervisor in 1833 and 1838. Even later, in 1865, Chubb became the Township's first Highway Commissioner.
One of Chubb's greatest contributions, may have been his role as an agent of the underground railroad. He hid fugitive slaves in his home, which had come down the Rouge River from Ypsilanti, to his home, on thee River's edge.
One of the primary concerns of the early community was that of education. A majority of the adults in the community had recieved some type of formal education in the East, and most of the farmers were willing to donate small parcels of land for a school site.
The first class was taught by Paulina Fullerton, in a double log cabin house, near where Middlebelt crosses Ann Arbor Trail today. This was the temporary home of the school until the frame structure was finished being built. The location of the first frame structure was on the North side of Territorial Road, which connected Detroit to Ann Arbor, in the newly developed village of Schwarzburg.
Some names of the early settlers here that contributed physical labor and materials were , William Osband, who laid out and built the buildings frame, about 18 feet by 24 feet. Ebenezer Smith, and James Buckland were responsible for the finishing details on the inside of the structure. Norton Noble, mixed clay and lime to plaster the ceiling of the building, and Marcus Swift, donated the bricks to make the chimney.
Melvin Osband, was one of the first students at the school and wrote down in a journal that the "writing desks in the old school were made by fastening a boards in an inclined postition against the walls. The seats were made by driving legs into auger-holes in the corner side of soft wood slabs." These along with a chair, pail, cup, and a whip, were the complete furnishings for the school.
The first class conducted in the Schwarzburg School took place in 1828 and was taught by Miss Eunice Whitney. Children from a three mile radius walked or were driven or rode horses to attend school.
By 1829, the Township was divided into nine school districts, and a School Board was created. William Osband, Globe Chubb, and Leonard Harrison became the trustees of the school properties.
Another duo of brothers, Abraham and Isaac Perrin are also important figures in the establishment of "Nankin Township" (Westland). In 1832, they purchased the western half of the southwest quarter of Section 2 and the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 3. They immediately built a sawmill, located where today's Merriman Road crosses the Rouge River. The mill became so successful that other area businesses located to the area, and it was soon known as Perrinsville.
In 1833, Marcus Swift, who lived in Perrinsville, deeded a portion of his farm land for a new school. William Osband, Abraham Perrin and Thomas Dickerson assumed teh responsibilities of building and funded the new school. By 1835, the school was known as Perrinsville School. It was replaced in 1860 with a brick structure, which was built just across the road from the original school building. This school still stands on the corners of Warren Road and Cowan Road.
Elizabeth Swift, sister of Marcus Swift, taught the first two terms in the original school, from 1833 to 1835.
Many familes from New York and Pennsylvania settled in the vicinity of Perrinsville because it had many things to offer. There was a hotel, a blacksmith, wagon shop, chair factory, cabinet shop, post office, and school.
Some of the families that made Perrinsville their home were:
The Second Presbyterian Church of Nankin was alos organized to serve the citizens of Perrinsville. The Rev Joshua A. Clayton, of Plymouth Township, began preaching here in August 1841.
After the organization of Wayne in 1836, and the Michigan Central RailRoad, which came right through Wayne Township in 1838, Perrinsville soon drifted back into an agricultural area. It finally disappeared in 1921.
Abel Patchin, his wife, and son, Jared, who was only one year old, arrived in Nankin September 10, 1829, from Yates County, New York. He purchased all four corner parcels at Hix Road and Warren Road. He inturn donated a piece of his property to build the first Patchin School in 1834. It's location was at Newburg Road and Perrinsville Road in School District Number 3. It was a one room frame structure sealed with clay on the inside. Benchees were used instead of the inclinded ledge of the earlier school.
In 1852, a second school was erected just south of Perrinsville Road. This was a modern frame structure which included 3 windows. William Krueger, was a student at Patchin, who recalled that school began "sharply at 9 o'clock and was dismissed promptly at 4 o'clock." He and the other children attended school nine months of the year. He recalled three teachers, Charlie Handyside, Miss Purdy and Bertha Warner, as those teaching around the turn of the century.
The wooden structure was replaced in 1921, with a brick building, and a number of additions were made in 145, 1950 and 1953. The final section was added in 1965.
Samuel Pratt Cady, arrived in Nankin in 1836. His ancestral line is said to lead back to William the Conqueror, and Cady played a distinct role in the civic duties of his Township. At the age of 36 years, he came to Nankin with his wife and six sons. He purchased a plot of land, which would be located, now at Cherry Hill and Wayne Road. This area, became knowns as "Cady's Corners."
He was elected Constable in 1837, Township CLerk in 1840 and 1842, and hold the positions of Supervisor in 1841 and Treasurer in 1843 and 1847. He also served as Poor Director in 1850. Samuel was responsible for having built the first school house in this area between 1840 and 1850. It was a one-room log structure, which was replaced in 1867 by a frame structure.
The Cady family also boarded teachers for free in their home and hand made school text books. They were handwritten on heavey brown paper, and tied with white string.
Samuel Cady's, first son, Charles Howe Cady, was born in 1818. He followed in his fathers footsteps and later became Township Clerk in 1849, Supervisor in 1850 and 1853 and Township Clerk again in 1854.
David P. Cady, second son of Samuel Cady, served as Highway Commissioner for several terms.
Samuel Alonzo Cady, the fourth son, was elected School Inspector in 1857. He also taught at the two-room schoolhouse in Wayne Township in the 1860s. He served as Justic of the Peace, as well as Township Supervisor in 1872 and Superintendent of School in 1875. In 1892, he was elected as Village President of Wayne Township.
Charles Howe Cady, later married and had a son, he named Charles H. Cady, who was a farmer and teacher at both Patchin School and Cady School. He moved from his farm on Wayne Road in 1873, to the Village of Wayne. He was elected Village President in 1874. He later went into meat market shop with Stephen Smith, that was located on the corner of Monroe and Park Streets. He was elected Township Treasurer in 1876, Township Supervisor from 1879 to 1890 and Village Trustee from 1874 to 1890. He served as a Representative of the State Legislature from 1887 to 1888, where he served on the State Equalization Board. After he returned home, he acted as Street Commissioner in 1896 and Township Assessor in 1899, 1900, 1904 and 1905. He also served as Justice of the Peace.
Another school, which was built in 1882, was named for another early Nankin settler, James D. Norris.
Norris migrated from New York State in 1836, and later married Emily Patchen, the daughter of Abel Patchin.
The Norris School, was originally built on the west side of an 80 acre plot owned by Norris. Everyone in the area lended a hand in building this school structure.
When Nankin was divided into two townships, Nankin and Livonia, in 1835, Ammon Brown served as Nankin's Supervisor. Brown had migrated from Palmyra, New York in 1831. He settled in an area, that would today be Biddle and Park Streets in Wayne. Brown maintained Supervisor of Nankin for seven terms.
From 1832 until 1885 several tiny towns and hamlets sprung up and disappeared. None of them with a separate government, and consequently relied on the Township to take care of governmental functions that were necessary. The Village of Wayne is among the few "towns" to continue to expand and survive, along with Nankin Township (now Westland), Livonia Township, Garden City, Inkster, and Dearborn Heights Township.
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