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==== Suburban growth ==== [[Gypsum]] mines in northeast Wyoming along Plaster Creek operated for decades and became more refined in 1880 when the Alabastine Company acquired much of the gypsum, later opening the [[Alabastine Mine]] in 1907.{{sfn|Simon-Tibbe|Branz|White|2009|pp=79-80}} Wyoming Township began to grow as a suburb of Grand Rapids in 1890 with its next major area of development occurring in the northeast section of the township closest to Grand Rapids<ref name="CVDS22-333">{{cite book|last1=Vaughn|first1=Charles|title=The City of Wyoming: A History|last2=Simon|first2=Dorothy|date=1984|publisher=Four Corners Press|location=Franklin, Michigan|pages=22β33}}</ref>{{sfn|Simon-Tibbe|Branz|White|2009|pp=79-80}} with much of the city's population moving southward in the early 1900s.<ref name="CVDS35" /> The City of Grand Rapids started annexing portions of the township and by 1891 had annexed one square mile ({{convert|1|mi2|km2|disp=output only}}) of the city from Division to Clyde Park and from Hall to Burton.<ref name="CVDS22-333"/> In 1902, the [[Grand Rapids, Holland and Chicago Railway]] promoted the creation of more plats in the Galewood, Urbandale, and Burlingame (GUB) neighborhoods, with the railway providing transportation to downtown Grand Rapids in fifteen minutes.<ref name="CVDS22-333"/> From 1890 to 1906, thirty-two [[plat]]s were in the GUB neighborhoods with communities bordering Grand Rapids developing into suburban areas where [[Dutch Americans]] predominately resided.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=1}}<ref name="CVDS22-333"/> In the GUB area, the [[Christian Reformed Church in North America|Christian Reformed Church]] expanded with its Dutch churchgoers.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=1}} Another section of Wyoming was annexed by Grand Rapids in 1916 that involved the half-mile from Burton to Alger and from Clyde Park to Division.<ref name="CVDS22-333"/> The growth of Wyoming saw the emergence of profitable businesses there, including the [[Leonard (appliances)|Leonard Refrigerator Company]], the Pierre Marquette railroad car repair shop and gypsum mines.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=1}} Gravel pits operated by Grand Rapids Gravel Company lined the western side of present-day Byron Center Avenue from [[M-11 (Michigan highway)|28th Street]] (then Beales Road) in the south to the north near Lamar Park β its nearby lakes being former pits β also provided jobs and gravel for roads in the expanding township.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=1}} With the United States entering [[World War I]], the federal government began construction of a [[picric acid]] factory on the west side of 44th Street and Clyde Park Avenue, employing thousands of people in the area and attracting others after rumors of an airplane factory on the site were spread, though construction would end following the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]].{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=2}} In the late 1910s and early 1920s in the GUB neighborhood, [[Hackett (automobile)|Hackett]] and later [[Lorraine (automobile)|Lorraine]] automobiles were manufactured at a factory on Beverly and Burlingame Avenues.{{sfn|Simon-Tibbe|Branz|White|2009|pp=95}} Into the 1920s, Wyoming saw its population nearly triple, experiencing its period of largest growth, with city officials accustomed to rural affairs being overwhelmed with new developments, taking on tasks and issues as they occurred.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=2}} Farmers in Wyoming began to sell their farms for development as prices for their produce declined, with farming families either assuming jobs in Grand Rapids or leaving the area.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=3}} Since Wyoming did not have adequate [[zoning]] regulations like neighboring Grand Rapids, [[land speculators]] began the [[plat]]ting of small, cheap residential properties, especially the neighborhoods of Godwin Heights, Home Acres, Wyoming Park and along Division Avenue, with plat proposals occurring during every town meeting at the time.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=3}}<ref name="CVDS22-333" /><ref name="CVDS1682">{{cite book |last1=Vaughn |first1=Charles |title=The City of Wyoming: A History |last2=Simon |first2=Dorothy |date=1984 |publisher=Four Corners Press |location=Franklin, Michigan |pages=168β173}}</ref> Materials from the cancelled picric acid plant were taken and used to construct some of these cheap houses, which had tarpaper roofs and lacked basements.{{sfn|Simon-Tibbe|Branz|White|2009|pp=75}} The construction of these affordable home developments in Wyoming provided a cheap workforce for Grand Rapids.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=3}} Citizens already established in the Grand Rapids and Wyoming area deplored the new residents who moved to the Home Acres and Division corridor, referring to the area as "Shanty Town" and as a place of crime.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=3}} White Protestants in Wyoming also prevented African Americans from residing in the township, engaging in [[housing segregation]] and [[redlining]], with some sales agreements explicitly stating that a property "shall never be occupied by a negro," extending such agreements to second parties, heirs and others.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=6}} As a result of suburbanization the population of Wyoming had grown about 200% between 1920 and 1930, from 5,702 to 16,931 and the unorganized zoning of the township would cause issues for Wyoming throughout its future.<ref name="CVDS1682"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1930/population-volume-1/03815512v1ch06.pdf |title=1930 Census of the United States |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |year=1930 |pages=524 |language=en}}</ref> With Wyoming developing at such a rapid pace, the Grand Rapids city officials and affiliated business leaders attempted to deter the development of industry in Wyoming, fearing that Grand Rapids would lose skilled workers and wages would increase.{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=4}}<ref name="CVDS1682" /> One major incident of Grand Rapids preventing industrial development in Wyoming occurred in the early 1920s when [[Ford Motor Company]] attempted to purchase the unfinished picric acid factory that was being constructed during World War I.<ref name="CVDS1682" /> Kendall Furniture quickly purchased the property before Ford could acquire the site, later selling the property to repay [[back taxes]].{{sfn|Huizinga|1971|pp=3-4}}<ref name="CVDS1682" />
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