Nankin Township is a former

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Wayne County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. It was bordered on the north by Joy Road, the east by Inkster Road, the south by Van Born Road, and the west by Hannan Road.

History

Three Algonquin tribes - Potawatomi, Ojibwa, and Ottawa - met each year on the middle fork of the Rouge River at the site of Nankin Mills to establish hunting territories. "Bucklin Township" was first organized in 1827, named in honor of Joseph Bucklin, who in 1772 fired a musket and severely wounded a British Royal Navy captain in the first intentional and planned attack on English military forces in the American Revolution. Bucklin Township included what are now the cities of

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn,

Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 63,292 at the 2020 census., Dearborn Heights is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is considered a bedroom community. History Dearborn Heigh ...

and

Redford Township Redford, officially the Charter Township of Redford, is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township shares its eastern border with the city of Detroit. The population was 49,504 at the 2020 census. History S ...

. In 1829, it was proposed that Bucklin Township be divided into Lima and Richland. Due to name conflicts under territorial law prohibiting duplication of post office names, the bill was amended; Lima was renamed Nankin Township, after the Chinese city

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, and Richland was renamed Pekin Township, after

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. In 1833 Pekin was renamed Redford Township, and its southern portion was subsequently set off as Dearborn Township. In 1834 Plymouth Township's southern portion became Canton Township, named after Canton,

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

. In 1835, Livonia Township (now the city of Livonia) was split off from Nankin. There was a post office called East Nankin beginning in 1857.Walter Romig, ''Michigan Place Names'', p. 171 Garden City, Inkster, and Wayne then incorporated from land either partially or wholly within Nankin Township. The remainder of the township incorporated as the city of

, effective May 16, 1966. The city took its name from the recently completed

Westland Center Westland Shopping Center, also known as Westland Center, is an enclosed shopping mall located in the city of Westland, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The mall features more than 100 inline stores, with JCPenney and Kohl's serving as anchor stores. ...

at Wayne and Warren roads, and was the fourth largest city in Wayne County when it incorporated.

References

{{WayneCountyMI-geo-stub Defunct townships in Michigan Former townships in Wayne County, Michigan 1827 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1827 1966 disestablishments in Michigan Populated places disestablished in 1966