In 1980 when I was 14 years old, my family was preparing to move from the Old Redford section of Detroit to Canton Michigan where we were having a new house built. We would sometimes take 6 Mile Road, McNichols Road in Detroit west all the way into Northville then turn left on Sheldon Road. It was on one of these trips I took notice to a sea of abandoned buildings on the east side of Sheldon about halfway to Five Mile road.

Along side of the buildings was an old creepy looking set of swings. The type that are awkwardly tall with steep angles on the supports. I recall asking my mother what that place was. She said, " A place they used to send bad kids" That was all she said. I remember being fixated on the landscape and my curiousity was awakened. It may sound cheesy but for me it ws not unlike the moment Jim Morrison described in "Dawns Highway" Not quite as dramactic but a moment that I can relive in full detail to this day as if 1980 was yesterday.

It would be a couple of more years till I would be drawn onto the grounds. I was paging through a local newspaper when a picture caught my eye. It was a photograph of a group of fireman extinguishing a small fire in the main school building. It was a calling, another moment I can recall like it just happened a minute ago. I had to get there.

One spring evening in 1982 I recruited two of my friends to infiltrate the grounds. There was not much developement in the area yet. A lone "Speedway Gas Station" sat on the Southwest corner of 5 Mile and Sheldon. The lights of the Plymouth State Home could be seen. We chose this as our parking spot. We made our way across Sheldon Road avoiding any aproaching headlights. It was easy to get on the property being a lack of adequate fencing. We made our way towards the staff residencies sticking close to the buildings so as not to standout. It was dark of course being night time. Our poor planning had us without any flashlights so we used the moonlight to see the way. We made our way to the Central School Building and Auditorium. We decided at that point we needed to return with flashlights. Upon returning on another night with one of the two friends we finally were able to get a grasp on just how huge this place was. After a few missions we realized that there was access from the east along Hines Park and began parking at the spot that most others did since the Gas Station became aware of trespassers and would call in parked cars to the Northville Township Police Department. The trail leading in from Hines park opened up to the iconic powerhouse. It was situated at the top of a hill at the end of the trail. You would catch site of it while coming around the last bend in the path. Strewn with old laudry carts, pieces of metal, old barrels and all kinds of misc debris, it looked as if a bomb went off. The powerhouse was over 3 stories tall and had the same cornice that most of the other building had even on the backside where nobody would really ever see it. It was details that really made this place so interesting. What was it? Why did they build it? We had just begun a decades long journey that would not really get kicked to gear for 20 more years.

Being teenagers we were more impressed with the isolation and lawlessness that we had just discovered. While we appricated the beauty of the grounds we were more drawn to the freedom that it gave us. From 1982-1991 It was my domain. Playing hide and seak with the police. Disappearing into tunnels popping up in opposite corners. Watching the unskilled get busted while sitting in the clocktower drinking beer, smoking weed and listening to mixtapes of old Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd recordings. This would continue for several years till one moment of fate would change my life and end my regular visits and prompt a move out of state.

I left the area at age 21 in May 1987. I would return from time to time. I would get off work on a Friday afternoon and make the 300 mile drive back to Wayne County. My anxiousness sometimes would lead me to make trips well after midnight after the long drive. Sometimes bringing a friend from my new home state. My last official visit was May 30 1991. It was well documented as I knew it would be the last time I would see the abandoned ruins.

2003 would see a renewed interest as the internet was begining to make research much easier. The summer of 2003 would lead me to search for mentions of the school. A very early verion of google maps presented an aerial photograph of the school recently demolished. Nothing was built yet and the outlines of the tunnels and buildings were still very clear.

Other searches located a message board on "Ghostzoo.com" with a topic dedicated to the "Northville Tunnels" It was from that lauching point I met others that had experienced the school back in the day. I offered up my film and video footage as a dvd package and sold several copies. This led to the creation of the first website with John "Red" Wagner, Northville-Tunnels.com in October 2003. The creation of the site with its message board put us in touch with a former studnet of the school, Charlie Forbert. At this point we were all internet friends and agreed to meet up January 3 2004 at Johns house.

It was that night I first met Charlie, John, Adam Barrett and his cousin "Dr Blank", Chad Barnett, of "ForgottenMichigan.com" as well as "Bill Ding". Bill Ding was a master of graphic arts that was also an amazing researcher that made many great graphics, and video clips for the site. The night continued with a 2 a.m. visit to the recently abandoned Northville Regional Psychiactric Hopsital. A chance to relive the old days was way to temping to pass up. It turned out to be quite an experience. Trying to recapture your youth it was not like the old days. I had enjoyed the trip with my new friends regardless. The power was still on, the tunnels were hot and I was nervious as hell. It was however, a blast.

The forum was a great group of former trespassers that added much great content till the advent of "facebook" The early 2000's also saw an explosion of "Urban Explorer" websites and message boards. Many of these were elitist and hostile enviorments. The Northville Tunnels forum slowly faded away and fell out of favor. It still exists as an archive of that era.

In 2007 we were asked by the Northville Township Historical Society to give a presentation of the history of the school. Adam gave a lecture that exposed many local citizens of the lost history of the school. Charlie also gave a speech and took some questions. we were then asked again in 2008 to give an encore performance. this time we had 5 former students and a couple former staff members speak as well as Chief John Werth. Cheif Werth patroled the grounds back in the day and shared stories from his point of view. Another speaker was Lt. John Sherman. In 1986 he arrested me at gun point coming down the powerhouse trial. It had a profound effect on my life. He was doing his job so never any hard feelings. I feel it was the schools way of forcing me to get on in my life becaue it was that moment that I decided to leave Michigan. My life was heading in the wrong direction. I went on to have a 30 plus year union job and a good life. Lt Sherman who was retiring in 2008 shared an interesting story. He was nearly murdered by drug dealers some time back in the 1990's during a huge drug deal that the DEA was monitoring. Video of his talk can be found on the site.

2008 was also the launch of www.wacots.org. The offical archive and repositry of the Wayne County Training School. It had now been 15 years since the first internet presence of the school was created. Since then we have never stopped learning and continue to recieve new infornation, picures and stories of the school. It has been nearly 100 years since the school opened and we now have a permiment record that will never be extinguished as the State of Michigan and County of Wayne had intended.

To be contiunued

Tim Wilson October 2018

Revised January 15 2023