05/24/2021
Rolling out Motorlake County & Verona Hills
Ever wonder where this story takes place? We have been rolling out more details about Motorlake County which is a fictional county that the bubble tea shop resides in. It's located south of Oakland and Macomb County, north of Wayne, and stretches from Livingston to Lake St. Clair. Verona Hills is the city that Bahay Kubo Tea is located in.
Michigan Map
Learn a bit of it's history:
The region was originally inhabited by Native Americans who settled along the river that roughly translates to “The Giving River”. The present day forest, Cedar Forest, resides along the river banks in this region. Verona Hills is surrounded by many of these forests that are now protected by Motorlake County as various Metro Parks. It’s very easy to travel north to vast open fields and deep woods, and travel south into Detroit.
The first settlers in Verona Hills were in 1815 when the region was mostly farmers and fur trappers. Many of the early settlers who settled in that region were of French descent migrating up from Detroit en route towards Quebec, Canada. Verona Hills happens to run near some of the major rivers that lead to Lake St Clair. Over time, farmers and fur trappers built their wealth and quickly became a major trading hub and by 1847 the town was declared Verona Hills, which also was a significant year for Michigan as the state capital moved from Detroit to Lansing. The first Mayor of the town was named Mortimer Bois Blanc Ga***rd III. Many of his descendants are still residents of Verona Hills. Verona Hills also has many families coming from “old money” as many of their ancestors owned the land that quickly became developed and wealth got passed down over long generations. The town quickly grew and built many of the buildings that still stand today. In 1859 a fire broke out and burned down many of the buildings. Much was believed to have started because of a lightning strike that hit the steeple of one of the churches and then the fire quickly spread. To this day, the top of the church no longer has a steeple and there is a plaque that sits in front of the church. Verona Hills also became a major contributor to the Underground Railroad. Many of the runaway slaves hid out in the homes and businesses in Verona Hills. Several of the secret rooms and passages can still be found. Most of these are in the old historic district. The redlining of districts then quickly became a common practice and during the white flight, caused most of the residents from Detroit to settle in Verona Hills. Over the years, the town quickly became very wealthy and many of the automotive CEOs and business entrepreneurs settled in Verona Hills. With the big boom of Ford, Chrysler, and GM, the wealth increased. In 1963, a major protest against the Vietnam War broke out and the streets were crowded with anti-war activists, several of the residents remember and experienced the protest. One being Claire Houghton. Stay tuned for more updates on the history of Verona Hills and Motorlake!!
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