Royal Oak Attractions

Early settlers to Royal Oak were farmers but the advent of the railroad soon brought about logging, milling and other industries. As early as 1891, when Royal Oak was a small village, there were only a few hundred residents. In the 10-year span from 1900 to 1910 the population grew to over 1,000. By the time Royal Oak was incorporated as a city in 1921, the population had expanded to over 6,000.

Royal Oak received its name from Gov. Lewis Cass who encountered a stately oak tree, with a trunk considerably wider than most other oaks, while on an exploration of Michigan territory to disprove land surveyors' claims that the territory was swampy and uninhabitable.