There is a part of Detroit commonly known as Nortown, which is often mistaken for meaning north Detroit. But the reason it’s actually called that is because it was once a town called Norris, which is a part of Detroit and has been for quite some time.
The reason it was once called Norris was because it was named after its founder, Philetus Norris, who has some pretty incredible history here in Michigan.
Norris was originally born in 1821 in New York. When he was five years old, his parents bought land in Michigan, which is where he was raised until his teenage years.
When he was 17, he ended up moving to Ohio and became a trapper. In the following years, he would do many jobs, including working as a land agent and eventually joining the Union Army once the Civil War took place.
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He was actually a spy who was positioned behind Confederate lines and even had a horse shot out from underneath him, which caused him some serious injuries. After the Civil War, he moved back to Michigan and, in 1873, founded the town of Norris.
He would also eventually go on to build the town's original jail and general store, which is still open today as a bar known as the Two Way Inn.
After his time in Michigan, he eventually became the second Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.
These are just some of his accomplishments, more of which you can read here. But it’s crazy to know that this former union spy was able to accomplish so much in the 63 years he was alive. He died in 1885, and his body was laid to rest and still resides in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit.
