Almost a Century on Tienken Road: A History of King's Cove

by Sharon Muir
History of the King's Cove Area
2008

In 1950, Mallon's cottage (left) and the Mitchell's house (right) both faced south overlooking Paint Creek.

In 1984, Cove resident Nancy Unwin interviewed Max Mallon, former owner of the land on which King's Cove was built. Her narrative appeared that year in the Cove's Neighborly News where it was reprinted in 1992. In 2008, another resident, Sharon Muir, expanded Unwin's work into this broader history of the condominium association.

The Mallon Decades
In 1936, Dr. Max Mallon, a Detroit dentist, bought 125 acres for $4,000 at a foreclosure sale. After his eyesight began to fail, Mallon taught biology at Rochester High School and served on the district's school board.

The purchase included the area that is now both King's Cove and the Cliffview Apartments. It contained an office building, a barn, and a few houses. The Clarion Eccentric later reported that Mallon had to enlist the sheriff to help him evict squatters.

Some people in Rochester called the abandoned area "the town dump." This led Mallon's friends to razz him about the purchase and dub him the "Squire of Rochester." Mallon was an amateur historian and naturalist who initiated many local projects. He directed the effort to preserve historic Stoney Creek School. In fact, a plaque inside the building recognizes him as its "honorary principal." He also is credited with planting thousands of trees in the Rochester area, as far away as the grounds of Oakland University.

A series of tenants rented one house, Mallon's parents lived in the one converted from the old office building, and an Episcopalian minister and his family occupied another home. The Scott Mitchell family leased the two-story home on the site of King's Cove's tennis courts.*

__________
* In 1965, the Mitchell's son, Chuck - a well-known Southeast Michigan folk singer - married his Canadian girlfriend in the family's backyard. After the 18-month marriage ended, Joni Mitchell went on to gain international fame as a folk singer and songwriter, most notably for Both Sides Now.