The founders of Cranbrook, George and Ellen Booth, came from
very different backgrounds, but together their shared vision created the
Cranbrook you see today.
Ellen’s father, James Scripps, was the prosperous newspaper
publisher of the Detroit Evening News; which we now know today as The Detroit
News. Ellen had a refined and affluent upbringing. She was well-educated and well-travelled.
George Booth was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up in Windsor,
Canada. Although George was only able to attend school until the age of 14, he
was part owner of a metal business in Windsor by the age of 21.
The young couple met at the Church of the Epiphany in
Detroit and were married in 1887. After their marriage, George was asked to
join the Scripps family newspaper business. He started out as the business
manager and went on to become the president and publisher of the paper. With
his brothers, Ralph and Edmund, he also established Booth Newspapers, the
largest newspaper chain in Michigan. This was the basis of his personal wealth
and it took this money, along with income from Ellen’s shares of the Evening
News stock, to create all of Cranbrook.