[2] The land on which Rosedale Park sits was originally deeded in 1835 to Otis C. Freeman and George Bellamy as two 80-acre (32 ha) parcels.

The company considered the location amenable to development because of its proximity to Grand River Avenue, a direct link to downtown Detroit, and the contemporaneous construction of Outer Drive.

[3] Compared with other contemporary neighborhoods, such as Palmer Woods and the Grosse Pointes, Rosedale Park has more modest house and lot sizes reflecting the solidly middle- and upper-middle class status of the original homeowners.

[3] Many of these original homeowners were professionals, such as doctors and dentists, and accountants, or had white-collar jobs in the booming automobile industry.

[3] With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, building in the area slowed, but in 1934, as the FHA made credit more available, construction again resumed, and another growth spurt in the neighborhood occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

[3] However, an English country esthetic seems to have been encouraged (although not mandated) by the developers, and this seems to have influenced the renaming of many of the subdivision's streets, such as Glastonbury and Warwick, to names reflective of Merry Old England.

[3] Later houses built in the less prosperous late 1930s and early 1940s are less elaborate Colonial and Ranch styles, but even these tend to have Tudor Revival elements.