The home was located on the corner of Davison (M-21) and the now DeMille Blvd. (Millville Rd). It may have taken up as much as 160 acres. It had it's own farm.

Besides the names already given, it was also known as Oakdale Center, which was it's last given name. It closed in the late 1980's, early 1990's I believe and was completely demolished in the late 1990's. I don't have an exact date, but when I do come across it I will pass that info on. A lot of history about the home was given in the newspaper when it was torn down. Also, the anniversary issue of the Lapeer County Press, possibly Aug 1931, had information on the home and I believe his name was Doctor Kay that was in charge. (All of this coming off the top of my head.)

The home employed many, many people in the Lapeer County area and at one time was Lapeer County's largest employer (competing with the Big 3). Multiple generations in families were employed there. I had a sister, father, uncle, aunts, step-grandfather and many cousins that worked there.

Oakdale (as I knew it growing up) served many purposes. It was a home for the handicapped, mentally and physically. It was a place to go for treatment of tuberculosis. For a short time it acted as the Poor House and many orphans went here, some never left until adults. Unfortunately with the nature of the home many records are sealed, and worse yet some are lost forever. (See my post titled Horror Story.) The headstones in the cemetery in the back of the property have mostly numbers and very few names. A list of these names are available from the Lapeer Genealogical Society.

I hope this helps. Many people that know tid-bits about the home can be found as easy as walking down the street. The older the better of course. My generation (25-35) knows just a little, mostly only about where it was, what it was and maybe they even walked through the abandoned buildings and tunnels at one time. Anyone younger won't have any idea about Oakdale. I guess that's why they call it history.