Elizabeth Denison Forth

In 1825 Elizabeth Denison, “a woman of colour,” purchased 48.5 acres of land from Pontiac’s founder, Stephen Mack, agent of the Pontiac Company. She became Pontiac’s first black property owner, but never lived on the property. In 1827 she and her husband, Scipio Forth, leased the land to her brother Scipio Denison. In 1836 and 1837 Mrs. Forth sold the land for $930. Elizabeth Denison was born in the 1780s as a slave in present-day Macomb County. In 1807 she fled to Canada, returning to Detroit around 1812 as a free woman. At her death in 1866, she donated money used toward the construction of Saint James Episcopal Chapel on Grosse Ile. She is buried in Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery. Part of Oak Hill Cemetery now occupies Elizabeth Denison Forth’s property.

Pontiac, Michigan · United States