Wayne County, Michigan

**Wayne County** is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan.  As of the 2020 census, 1,793,561 people lived there, and it was the 19th most-populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit which is the largest city in Michigan.

## History

Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was created. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne.  When it was created, the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and small sections that are now part of northern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were part of Wayne County. On August 15, 1796, the boundaries of Wayne County were set to begin at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River then west to Fort Wayne, then to the southernmost point of Lake Michigan and along the western shore north to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior and then along the territorial boundary through Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie back to the starting point.

On January 14, 1803, the Governor of Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison, changed the boundary. This new boundary included Chicago, Illinois and a large strip of Wisconsin along Lake Michigan.

These boundaries were later changed again when Indiana and Illinois became states and as other counties were created in Michigan Territory.

## Geography

The county has a total area of . Of this,  (or 91.36%) is land and  (or 8.64%) is water Parts of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair are included in the county.

The eastern boundary is a water boundary in the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair with Essex County, Ontario, Canada.  Cars crosses this boundary at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge.

Grosse Ile is the largest island in Wayne County. It is connected to the mainland by the Wayne County Bridge and the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge.

## Other websites

- Wayne County Government
- Wayne County Local History
- History of the Wayne County Road Commission
- Wayne County Road Commission Photos
- History: Facts about the World's First Mile of Concrete Highway

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Wayne County
- **settlement type**: List of counties in Michigan, County
- **image caption**: Clockwise: Downtown Detroit, Ford World Headquarters, James Scott Memorial Fountain, Gateway Bridge (Michigan), Gateway Bridge, the Uniroyal Giant Tire and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- **image flag**: Flag of Wayne County, Michigan.svg
- **image seal**: Seal of Wayne County, Michigan.png
- **image map**: Map of Michigan highlighting Wayne County.svg
- **mapsize**: 300px
- **map caption**: Location in Michigan
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Michigan
- **subdivision type2**: Metropolitan area, Region
- **subdivision name2**: Metro Detroit
- **established title**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date**: 1796 (created)
1815 (organized)
- **named for**: Anthony Wayne
- **seat type**: County seat and Largest city
- **seat**: Detroit
- **unit pref**: US
- **area total sq mi**: 673
- **area land sq mi**: 612
- **area water sq mi**: 61
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population total**: 1,793,561
- **population density sq mi**: 2931
- **timezone**: Eastern Time Zone
- **utc offset**: −5
- **timezone dst**: Eastern Daylight Time
- **utc offset dst**: −4
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area codes
- **area code**: Area code 313, 313, Area code 734, 734, Area code 248, 248