Twenty years after the first houses were built in Meadowbrook, the neighborhood was almost filled to capacity. Following World War II, the remaining empty lots were sold and the pressure for more housing grew. The land to the south of the Meadowbrook Tract, which backs up to Avalon Drive, was an old apple orchard. This area was eventually to become the extension of Meadowbrook, including Danbury Circle North and Danbury Circle South.

Over two hundred years ago, in 1812, Mr. Hiram Peck traveled, on horseback from Stockbridge, Massachusetts to Brighton, following an Indian trail. He settled a farm that bordered Elmwood and Monroe Avenues and extended down Winton Road South. Mr. Peck became a prominent agriculturist. Ten years after his arrival, he married Martha Donelly. Martha was the daughter of Deacon Donelly, a founder of the Brighton Presbyterian Church at the Brighton Cemetery. Hiram and Martha Peck had five children, one of whom was Henry J. Peck. Eventually, Henry joined his father in the family business. Soon afterwards the farm was expanded further down Winton Road South to include nurseries and large fruit farms. The area directly behind Avalon Drive was once a potato field and a thriving apple orchard. In fact, forty years before housing development began, Henry Peck harvested three thousand barrels of apples in one year from that orchard. (Incidentally, the triangle green at Twelve Corners was also part of the Peck Farm. It was deeded to the town by Henry J. Peck after declining an offer of $7,500 for a gas station to be built.)

By 1952, the orchard was well past its prime. The trees were old and the land was no longer useful. This area became the new development of South Meadowbrook. Dan W. Fraysier, who had worked with George Long building Meadowbrook’s first houses, was heading the construction of the new expansion. Bonnie Brae Avenue was first extended to Westfall Road. Danbury Circle North was added in early 1953. The same year, in October, Danbury Circle South was completed. Then the loop connecting North and South Danburys, to the west of Bonnie Brae, was finished and ready for more homes in 1956. This section completed, the boundaries of Meadowbrook were set.

Early advertisements boasted the conveniences of South Meadowbrook. Located adjacent to an established, thriving community, homes were designed and built for lasting value. Ideally located near schools, churches, shopping and transportation, no two houses were alike, each one distinctively different. At the corner of Danbury Circle North and Winton Road on the south side is the model home for General Electric. It was named the “Wonder Home” and was built with all the newest household conveniences available at that time.

Although separated by the years and the styles of architecture, the more modern homes of the Danburys are very much a part of the Meadowbrook neighborhood.