Grand River Plank Road Stagecoach Toll House – Hickville Hotel in New Hudson (Lyon Township), Michigan

Here are some photos from my rural exploration today in Lyon Township, Michigan. This is all that remains of the 1840s-era Hickville Hotel and Toll House, located at 53517 Grand River Avenue, New Hudson, on the southwest corner of Grand River and Haas Road. This building is one of the last-standing original stagecoach stops on the Grand River plank road between Detroit and Howell, Michigan, which followed an Indian trail to Lake Michigan. The property is currently vacant and in disrepair and for sale for commercial development. It will soon, sadly, be no more.

Hicksville Hotel (1)

Hicksville Hotel (2)

Hicksville Hotel (3)

Hicksville Hotel (4)

According to local historian Jennifer Redfern, the Hickville Hotel was later owned by the Fletcher family of New Hudson. Below is a link to an aerial photo of the property as it appeared in 1973. The auxiliary buildings and dirt drives shown leading to and from the house have been absorbed by the Kids Gotta Play playground equipment showroom that was constructed some time after 2002.

historic aerials

I pass by this building on a regular basis and, since I first laid eyes on it several years ago, I’ve been fascinated with this building’s history. Not until very recently was I able to locate some historical data on it. Thank you to the South Lyon Herald newspaper and writer Chuck Nusbaum for the invaluable information in their October 2, 1985 article that allowed me to finally identify this historical location.

Other sources:

Internet correspondence from Jennifer Redfern, South Lyon Area Historian. October 15, 2014.

5 Responses to “Grand River Plank Road Stagecoach Toll House – Hickville Hotel in New Hudson (Lyon Township), Michigan

  • Awesome article.

  • My Family used to live in this home. There was 8 of us kids. My dad raised hunting hounds ,we even have pictures of us here. I am curious if you know if its still up for sale. Made us smile knowing it was still there!

    • Hi Tessa, so glad to hear from you. I would be interested to know more about your time living in such a fascinating building. When you lived there, did you know about its history? I would love to see some of the pictures; if you’d be willing to share them with me, you can email me at kristina@kristinascarcelli.com. The house is still for sale. It doesn’t seem right to me that such a significant historical building should be sold for development.

  • I saw a post about this property. And as I am interested in such things I went out and captured some drone footage. Your images are beautiful of a once unique building. Sadly, it is in much worse shape now (2023).

  • I just drove by. I wasn’t looking for it. Probably because I had passed it hundreds of times. But I sensed that something was not right at Haas Road and Grand River. It’s gone.

Leave a Reply to rubenkaestner Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *