Drayton Plains is an unincorporated community in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Waterford Township. As an unincorporated community, Drayton Plains has no legally defined area or population statistics of its own. It once had its own post office with the 48020 ZIP Code but now uses the 48329 Waterford ZIP Code. It is located on Dixie Highway near the west end of Loon Lake. First Settlers In 1818, the Land Office opened in Detroit offering land for $2.00 an acre. Horatio Foster, Jonathan Perry, and brothers Harvey and Austin Durfee were among the first to take advantage of the opportunity to become land owners in the wilderness north of Detroit. In 1822, Horatio Foster and his wife were the first to settle in what would become Drayton Plains, although just temporarily as they moved northward a few years later where they permanently settled. In 1823, the first to establish permanent homes in Drayton Plains were Jonathan Perry, Harvey Durfee and Austin Durfee. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened, linking the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. The canal made travelling from the east easier, which resulted in an influx of settlers moving into the Michigan Territory. In 1829, construction began on a road north from Detroit along the Saginaw Trail, allowing for easier passage into the wilderness north of the city. In 1835, Daniel Windiate emigrated from Berkshire, England to what soon would be called Drayton Plains. There, he built a dam and mill and named the mill Drayton after his England home, Drayton. He died in Drayton Plains in 1843. Drayton Plains was informally referred to as a village and maintained its own identity and post office beginning on February 4, 1835. The first post office was on Mill Street (later Hatchery Road). In 1837, Michigan became the 26th State, thus attracting settlers by the score. In 1838, the first burial took place at Drayton Plains Cemetery (located on Walton Blvd. and Williams Lake Road). The six-week-old infant son of Daniel and Martha Windiate was laid to rest there. In 1839, the Drayton Plains Hotel was built by Daniel Windiate along the Saginaw Trail (later Dixie Highway), across from Sashabaw Road. Early development In 1850, the railroad was completed through Drayton Plains and a train depot was built in 1908 at Mill Street