Our Story

More than a century ago, long before “affordable housing” became a policy goal, Rachel Hill McGruder was already living the mission. Born into slavery and of African and Red Stick Creek ancestry, Rachel survived bondage. But what defined her wasn’t just survival—it was her vision. Alongside her husband, Charles McGruder, a skilled carpenter and builder, she helped lay the foundations for one of the first Black landowning communities in Alabama during the Reconstruction era. Together, they bought land, and built up what would become one of the largest Black-owned landholdings in Sawyerville, Alabama.

Today, The Redstone Group carries that story forward. Our name honors both the red clay they built with and Rachel’s Creek ancestry. “Redstone” stands for strength, memory, and home. What began with Rachel and Charles McGruder —two visionaries building dignity out of dirt and timber—now lives on in every home we restore, every tenant we support, and every neighborhood we help revitalize. From Sawyerville to Detroit, from sharecropped fields to the streets of the Midwest, we continue that legacy. We develop and preserve affordable housing across Detroit and beyond, focusing on communities too often neglected. We offer subsidies for gardens, security systems, and educational achievement. We believe housing is not just shelter—it’s stability, empowerment, and generational change.

This is our story.

This is Redstone.