CLARENCE HERBERT BOOTH

CLARENCE HERBERT BOOTH (1876-1952), known in the family as Cousin Clarence: one of four children of George Booth ( George Booth was the younger brother of Henry Wood Booth) and Myrtilla Smith Booth. They lived in Toronto, Canada). Clarence was the youngest of three boys. Clarence was first cousin to George and Ralph Booth. Clarence and Ralph were very close friends. Both had offices downtown. They had lunch at The Detroit Club on Cass Avenue at Fort Street almost every weekday as described to me by Al Stepp, the long serving club doorman.

From “The Cranbrook Booth Family of America”, pg 190:
Clarence was associated with his father in the management of the Booth Copper Company, which also owned the PRESSED STEEL MANUFACTURING COMPANY in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, makers of steel clad bathtubs and other household fixtures. In 1914 this company was purchased by Studebaker Corporation which started manufacturing automobiles in 1902. In 1910 Studebaker purchased E-M-F (Everitt-Metzer-Flanders) which was created out of a merger of the Wayne Automobile Company and Northern Motors). Following the purchase of EMF, Studebaker moved its automobile production to the huge EMF plant on Piquette Avenue in Detroit, adjacent to the original Ford Piquette Plant. Clarence Booth, ca. 1914, was hired to run the Studebaker Piquette Plant following the purchase of Pressed Steel Manufacturing Company.

NOTE: Clarence managed and supervised work at the PRESSED STEEL MANUFACTURING’s Detroit plant, which was a forerunner in stamping out sections of automobiles. This production innovation caught the attention of Studebaker Corporation, which bought the plant and made Clarence President of Studebaker automotive.

Clarence Booth’s other business career:
*President of Scripps-Booth Motor Company 1913-1916.
* Owned a bank in Highland Park (possibly Highland Park State Bank) . which failed in the Great Depression
* Important Detroit area real estate developer and investor… financially hurt by depression. Clarence was the principal in the Booth Realty Company.
* Developed and built a large estate on Lone Pine Road known as “EDGEVALE ” , adjacent to the Lone Pine Road property owned by George Booth and given to George’s daughter Grace Booth (Wallace) known as “DUNSTON HOUSE”. The Clarence Booth family lived at Edgevale until the 1940’s.
Note: the famous automobile executive Lee Iacocca built a sprawling one story house on a subdivision of Edgevale, being part of the lower portion of this hill site estate.

See: The proposed 1930’s “Riverside Drive” development and Scripps Street, a large residential community development spearheaded by Clarence Booth.
The signature structure of this development was to be a large residential multi- story tower, 9600 Riverside Drive . This location was conceived as multi-million dollar residential tower and marina complex offering 2,080,000 cu feet of luxury high rise living on the Detroit river near Grosse Pointe Park. The major financing was to be provided by public issue bonds. It was to be part of the Riverside Drive development which ran roughly from Grayhaven to Alter Road along the Detroit River and probably include Harbor Island, which may have been the only portion of the project ever realized . Elements of this plan still exist with a street extending parallel to the river known as “Scripps.” The big 9600 complex was sited to be between the proposed Riverside Drive and Scripps. Ralph H. Booth was expected to be one of the principal investors with his son John L. Booth to become the resident complex manager. Ralph Booth’s early death precluded his participation in any significant way.

NOTE: Clarence Booth was probably the family member who advised Ralph Booth on his real estate investments which included a subdivision in Ecorse, Michigan and commercial property in downtown Detroit.

NOTE: GEORGE COLEMAN BOOTH was the son of Clarence H. Booth. His house was named “HEDGEGATE” (built in1927) at Cranbrook and located on Cranbrook Road between Brookside School and “Thornlea”, the home of Henry Scripps Booth. Hedgegate was given to the Cranbrook Educational Community. The house is now used for faculty housing and is part of the Brookside campus.

Note: George Coleman Booth became a property insurance agent and represented many family (clan) members. He moved to a house on Lewiston Rd. in Grosse Pointe Farms, which had been purchased by his parents following the sale of their large Cranbrook adjacent estate Edgevale.