Politics / Law
Alexander J. Groesbeck
1873–1953 · lawyer, attorney general, governor of Michigan
Macomb County-born Detroit lawyer who as governor (1921–1927) paved Michigan's roads with concrete; Groesbeck Highway is named after him and he is buried at Woodlawn.
- Born
Warren, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 79- Birth name
- Alexander Joseph Groesbeck
- Also known as
- Alex J. Groesbeck
- Detroit years
- 1893–1953
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Alex Groesbeck was born in 1873 in Warren Township, Macomb County, the son of the county sheriff, and grew up in Mount Clemens and, for two years, in Wallaceburg, Ontario. After reading law in Port Huron and graduating from the University of Michigan law school in 1893, he opened a practice in Detroit and won a reputation for high ethical standards. He rose in Republican politics as a Taft loyalist in 1912 and state party chairman, lost a 1914 bid for governor, then served as attorney general from 1917 to 1920. Elected governor in 1920, he held office for three two-year terms, reorganizing state administration and earning the title of Michigan's great road builder, the first governor to champion concrete highways and 'take Michigan out of the mud.' In 1924 he opposed a ballot measure that would have banned private schools. He died in Detroit in 1953 and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery; Groesbeck Highway (M-97) through Detroit's east side and Macomb County bears his name.
Highlights
- 30th governor of Michigan, 1921–1927
- Michigan attorney general, 1917–1920
- Championed concrete highways across Michigan
- Groesbeck Highway (M-97) is named after him
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1953
Woodlawn Cemetery
He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
Memorial
Groesbeck Highway (M-97)
Highway from Detroit's east side into Macomb County named in his honor.