By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
Robert Rudd purchased a successful wheat mill in 1865 from Powell Carpenter and Richard Emmons.
In fewer than 20 years, the flag station mill on the Detroit-Bay City Branch of the Michigan Central Railroad was cranking out about 4.8 millions pounds of flour per year.
And now?
The remnants of concrete foundation pieces that are spray painted with graffiti are all that remain of the mill that helped create modern day Lake Orion.
The mill was torn down in 1925 and the dam broke in 1946 when Paint Creek overflowed all the way to Rochester.
Commonly known as ‘The Rocks,? it’s been admired by teens for decades as a place to express themselves and relax. Township officials and other managing groups don’t share the same admiration for the historical site turned black eye due to its current state of vandalism, pollution, alcohol consumption and drug use.
Accessed easiest from the Kern/Clarkston Road parking lot of the Paint Creek Trail and walking north, one can easily see the bright colors of the fallen concrete ruins in the creek through the trees, many of which are spray painted too. The colorful tree-tagging is only one of the issues that township officials hope to address in 2015.
‘Many people use the Paint Creek Trail for recreation and right now this is an eyesore for the community,? said Parks Director Aaron Whatley. ‘We’re at the top of the watershed for Paint Creek in Lake Orion and it’s a beautiful area but what’s happening here is affecting a lot of communities.?
Venturing off the PCT and down a short side trail you suddenly enter into a hybrid of nature and an urban graffitied alleyway.
Spray paint cans and plastic tops litter the edges of the walkway kept flat and clear from the consistent pitter-patter of teenage shoes. Stepping onto the largest of the fallen pieces it’s easy to see the years of painted layers and thousands of paint flakes that couldn’t hang on to their piece of concrete.
The paint chips, overspray, drips, and dropped paint cans are one of the main concerns of not only the township but the Paint Creek Trails Commission, the Clinton River Watershed and the DNR. The concern is over the contamination of the paint in the water which feeds the Clinton River and is home to an abundant trout population.
According to the Michele Palermo, the Program Director for the Watershed, Paint Creek is the last remaining cold water stream and one of only remaining Blue Ribbon trout streams left in Southeastern Michigan. During a meeting between the Trails Commission, the Watershed, Oakland County Sheriff’s Department and the DNR, the groups noted an abundance of debris in the water including a gallon bucket of latex based paint.
‘The contamination will have effects on the aquatic species of the river and the insects,? said Watershed Ecologist Matt Einheuser. ‘They can all have chronic and acute toxicities in those species that can kill them off and over time can have an effect and accumulate.?
Different paints contain various oils and elements that stay in the water or settle in the sediment which would lead to contamination over time. The groups involved in eliminating the vandalism and pollution are looking into the ways to do just that. After several hours of idea conjuring they came up with several priority ideas.
The first would be to install lighting in and around the area with most of the activity happening at dusk and the other would be to seek funding or grants to remove ‘The Rocks? all together. Although both still have to be approved by the Trails Commission, the removal would be a large financial and operational undertaking but would yield a better outcome according to Whatley.
‘Right now it’s a drain on taxpayers? dollars when we have vandalism down there and have to spend money to send staff there to inspect it and pay for supplies and repairs,? he said. ‘It would end up being short-term pain for long-term gain by forever improving the area and the water system.?
Anyone caught vandalizing the area can be charged with malicious destruction of property which is a 90 day misdemeanor. Also being examined is if this vandalism, because of Paint Creek’s connection with Bald Mountain State Park, will carry with it felonious charges which may result in prison time and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
According to Section 324.3109 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, a person shall not directly or indirectly discharge into the waters of the state a substance that is or may become injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare, to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other uses that are being made or may be made of such waters. Additionally this law pertains to livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, aquatic life, plants, and the value of fish and game.
Although the consequences for the vandalism may be severe, the groups in charge of restoring this area are more focused on eliminating the vandalism and developing a community awareness of the issues.
‘It’s not our intent to bust these people and we’re not trying to get them in trouble and put it on their record,? Whatley said. ‘But we want them to know this not an appropriate place to express yourself.?