Author: Janice Anschuetz One hundred years ago, anyone in town
could point the way to Peckville, straight north on River
Street, down two blocks from the train station. Today Peckville
exists only in memories, a few scraps of paper and pictures at
the Ypsilanti museum archives, an unused street and a few old
homes and remnants of buildings. In September, 1823, when
present day Ypsilanti was woods, wilderness, swamps, bugs, wild
animals and Indians, Joseph and Sophia Peck and two young sons,
Egbert and Erwin, under two years of age, came here from New
York on a sailing ship, with high hopes and ambition. They
brought with them three head of cattle and a pregnant mare. The
trip took longer than expected and a foal was born on board the
ship. On the voyage, they had run out of food and water for the
livestock and the foal was too weak to stand. The starving
cattle had to be helped off the boat. The young family remained
in Detroit until the animals were strong enough to travel. The
next leg of the journey was by