In 1796, when the United States occupied Michigan, many conflicting land claims existed along the Detroit and Rouge Rivers. Congress created a Board of Land Commissioners in 1806 to adjust these claims, and Aaron Greeley, an experienced surveyor, was appointed in 1808 to map the area. On April 23, 1812, Congress validated the claims as surveyed by him. In this area, Southfield Road was known for many years as the St. Cosme Line Road, near the end of the northern boundary of a large tract of land extending to the Detroit River that was granted to Pierre Lawrence St. Cosme in 1776 by the Potawatomi Indians.