Westacres was established during the Great Depression as a neighborhood in West Bloomfield for low-income automotive factory workers. In 1936, Michigan U.S. Senator James Couzens combined $550,000 of his own money with $300,000 in federal funds to create 150 homes, each with an acre of land, with home ownership encouraging farming for food and self-sufficiency. Oakland Housing Inc. helped residents develop a satisfactory communal life and financed supplemental enterprises. Westacres was Couzens' last gift before his death on October 22, 1936, after a life of leadership and giving. His business skills were vital to the early success of Ford Motor Company, and he later served as Mayor of Detroit and as Michigan's U.S. Senator, while his gifts and ideas supported Detroit hospitals, schools, and programs for the poor. You Auto Know Non-profit Oakland Housing Inc. began in 1935 as custodian of Couzens' vision.