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.

Adjacent counties

 Cities, villages, and townships 

Cities
Allen Park
Belleville
Dearborn Heights
Dearborn
Detroit
Ecorse
Flat Rock (partially inMonroe County)
Garden City
GibraltarGrosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe Farms
Grosse Pointe Park
Grosse Pointe Shores (partially inMacomb County)
Grosse Pointe Woods
Hamtramck
Harper Woods
Highland ParkInkster
Lincoln Park
Livonia
Melvindale
Northville (partially inOakland County)
Plymouth
River RougeRiverview
Rockwood
Romulus
Southgate
Taylor
Trenton
Wayne
Westland
Woodhaven
Wyandotte

Townships
Brownstown Charter Township
Canton Charter Township
Grosse Ile Township
Huron Charter TownshipNorthville Charter Township
Plymouth Charter Township
Redford Charter Township
Sumpter Township
Van Buren Charter Township

References

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 

Category:Michigan counties
Category:1810s establishments in Michigan Territory
Category:1815 establishments in the United States