But the borders haven’t changed since the late 19th Century when they were first laid out by Captain William Stevens and a group of German shopkeepers and saloon owners.“It takes a village” is not just a catchy slogan! The Avalon Village’s Kickstarter campaign successfully raised $243,690 from 1,511 backers in 30 days. The cities would lose their glamour as the auto industry shrank over the decades – Highland Park more so than Hamtramck. Highland Park incorporated in 1917 and Hamtramck five years later. The final step came as the villages incorporated as cities, solidifying the borders we know today. “Henry Ford and Hamtramck and Dodge and Highland Park…didn’t want to be a part of the city of Detroit and have to pay the city of Detroit’s tax rates,” – Eric Lupher “So, a lot of the efforts to keep Hamtramck and Highland Park separate from Detroit were spearheaded by those very, obviously very, influential individuals and their corporate interests.” That you had Henry Ford and Hamtramck and Dodge and Highland Park and they didn’t want to be a part of the city of Detroit and have to pay the city of Detroit’s tax rates,” he says. “The big thing that we were able to find was that this was very much about politics of the day. There had been formal attempts by Detroit to annex Highland Park and Hamtramck after 1908 but they failed to even make it to a vote. Within a year, Detroit had completely surrounded the villages.Īt around the same time, the two villages exploded in population, thanks to the auto industry. And as 1915 rolls around, Detroit started moving north again, annexing more and more of Greenfield and Hamtramck townships. The Dodge Brothers were two years away from opening the Dodge Main in Hamtramck. “And the movement away from that, the movement to home rule with the home rule cities act strengthened local government and gave them a lot more security on how the rules worked and how things were going to be done.”īy the time the Home Rule Cities Act was introduced, Henry Ford had already purchased land in Highland Park to build his Model T complex. “So before 1908, the definition of local government and the boundaries of each individual local government were defined in Lansing.” says Eric Lupher is the Research Director for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. Then in 1908 the Michigan state constitution changed, bringing in one huge component to strong municipalities: The Home Rule Cities Act. We know he dominated the city politically and civically, planning and developing its first extensive waterworks system.īecause these villages now had local governments, they were protected from annexation by Detroit. It’s unclear exactly why Stevens led this charge. Highland Park was mostly carved out of Greenfield Township, which is now all of northwest Detroit up until Greendfield. Stevens, a wealthy real estate developer and promoter. Navigate the modern borders of Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.įor Highland Park, the charge was led by Captain William H. So there was potential for future growth here as well.” There were two great railroad lines here. There were industries, a couple industries had already moved here. “They didn’t want to be swallowed up by Detroit. They wanted to protect that identity,” says Greg Kowalski is Hamtramck’s Chief Historian. The also saw potential in two crossing railroad lines in the southern end of the city. And to strengthen local government, Highland Park incorporated as a village in 1889 and Hamtramck two years later.įor Hamtramck, it was a group of German shopkeepers and saloon owners who saw potential in the early days of the city.
By 1891, Detroit had annexed its way to the modern day southern borders of Hamtramck and Highland Park.Īn encroaching Detroit spurred the areas to take action. So cities could easily swallow up them up. Surrounding townships didn’t have a local government and only existed for election and property tax purposes. And at that time all the land around it was carved up into townships, which were pretty much all farmland.Īs Detroit’s population grew, so did its landmass thanks to annexation. Detroit was less than one square mile in size when it incorporated as a city in 1806. This story starts off with the idea of protecting a community, and ends up a story of protecting tax rates.īut first, here’s a history lesson.
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