The Archdiocese of Detroit, being well aware of the population shifts taking place throughout the tri-county area, purchased 12 acres of the former Miller Farm located on the corner of Holcomb and Miller Roads in 1958 for a new parish. The property had been used as an experimental farm in the 1940’s by Henry Ford to test crops, tractors, plows, cultivators and other farm equipment developed by Ford engineers. The grounds at one time housed the largest barn in Oakland County; the rocks from the barn’s foundation are still visible behind the church.

The first Mass celebrated by St. Daniel Parish was held in the gym of the Clarkston Junior High School. Rev. Frederick J. Delaney, then pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes in Waterford, officiated on Sunday, June 25, 1961. Seventy families signed the register book at that first Mass. St. Daniel’s was a mission of Our Lady of the Lakes for eight years.

 As the parish family grew, it became evident that a permanent building was needed, and as funds had accumulated, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sunday, May 24, 1964, and on Sunday, January 30, 1965, a new church was dedicated. Various priests were assigned to this mission church on a part-time basis, but their primary work was elsewhere. In 1969, a full-time pastor was assigned, a Parish Council and a Religious Education Program was formed, and a library was begun. In 1974, the 40-foot wooden cross was erected on the hill at the current end of our parking lot.

The number of registered families increased, and in January of 1979, the well-over 600 families made plans for expansion and renovation. A formal fund-raising program was begun with pledges of financial support sought from each parishioner. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new church were held on September 14, 1980. On December 19, 1981, the then Archbishop Edmund C. Szoka dedicated the new St. Daniel Church; the renovations to the old buildings were begun shortly thereafter. Bishop Dale Melczek dedicated the Cushing Center (named in honor and memory of Fr. Charles E. Cushing, April 1977-December 14, 1989) on Sunday, September 9, 1990.

(synopsis of “History of St. Daniel Parish, 1990”)