Birmingham is a city in

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan ...

in the U.S. state of

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 t ...

. It is a northern suburb of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

located along the

Woodward Corridor The Woodward Corridor is the stretch of neighborhoods and suburban communities located along Woodward Avenue within metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Woodward Avenue is often called Detroit's Main Street. Woodward starts in the center of Downtown Detr ...

( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103.

History

The area comprising what is now the city of Birmingham was part of land ceded by Native American tribes to the United States government by the 1807

Treaty of Detroit The Treaty of Detroit was a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot and Potawatomi Native American nations. The treaty was signed in Detroit, Michigan on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Mich ...

. However, settlement was delayed, first by the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. Afterward the Surveyor-General of the United States, Edward Tiffin, made an unfavorable report regarding the placement of Military Bounty Lands for veterans of the War of 1812. Tiffin's report claimed that, because of marsh, in this area "There would not be an acre out of a hundred, if there would be one out of a thousand that would, in any case, admit cultivation." In 1818, Territorial Governor

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

led a group of men along the Indian Trail. The governor's party discovered that the swamp was not as extensive as Tiffin had supposed. Not long after Cass issued a more encouraging report about the land, interest quickened as to its suitability for settlement. The earliest land entry was made on January 28, 1819, by Colonel Benjamin Kendrick Pierce (brother of future U.S. President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

) for the northwest quarter of section 36. Colonel Pierce visited his land several times, but never settled on it. In March 1818, John W. Hunter and his brother Daniel left Auburn, New York, by sleigh and traveled to Michigan by way of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North Americ ...

. They waited in

for their father and other family members, who arrived by

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

via

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

in July. The family remained in Detroit until spring 1819, when Hunter made an entry for the northeast quarter of section 36, now in the southeast section of current-day Birmingham. Lacking a proper land survey, Hunter mistakenly built his log house on a tract later purchased by Elijah Willits. That house was later occupied by William Hall, a son-in-law of Elisha Hunter, while John W. Hunter built another log house a short distance to the southeast. On September 25, 1821, Elijah Willits made a land entry for the southwest quarter of section 25. Two days later, Major John Hamilton made an entry for the southeast quarter of section 25. Each of these initial land entries met at what is now the intersection of Maple Road and Pierce Street. For a time, all three men, John W. Hunter, Hamilton, and Willits, operated hotels and taverns from their houses within a short distance from each other. While Hunter did not continue for very long, Hamilton and Willits continued a rivalry for many years, competing with each other for business from travelers on

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

between Detroit and

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

. The growing settlement was known variously as "Hamilton's", "Hunter's", or "Willits'"; it was later known as "Piety Hill". The settlement's original

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

was surveyed and recorded on August 25, 1836, in the northwest quarter of section 36, then owned by Rosewell T. Merrill, who also ran the town

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and the thrashing machine factory. Merrill named his plat "Birmingham" after

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

; he envisioned that it would also become a great industrial center. Elijah Willits recorded a plat on his property on December 20, 1837. John W. Hunter followed suit with two plats on his property on January 31, 1840, and June 21, 1842, while Major Hamilton laid out a plat on October 7, 1846. Several other properties were subsequently platted as additions. The plats made in 1836 and 1837 were in anticipation of completion of the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad. Now known as 'Birmingham', the village first received mail through the "Bloomfield" post office. Birmingham established its own post office on April 5, 1838. The settlement incorporated as a village in 1864, comprising the northern half of section 36 and the southern half of section 25, with a total land area of one square mile. The first village elections were held March 1, 1864. It was soon governed by a seven-man board of trustees, who appointed a marshal and a treasurer. Birmingham re-incorporated as a city in 1933. Prior to this, the area just north of 14 Mile along Woodward was known as "Eco City". The names of the city's founders appear throughout Birmingham in civic institutions and commercial businesses: Pierce Elementary School, Hunter House Hamburgers (which was located on the road formerly known as Hunter Boulevard, which bypassed downtown to the east and was renamed Woodward, with the original Woodward Avenue section renamed Old Woodward), Hamilton Hotel, Willits Building, and Merrill Street. Hall & Hunter Realtors adopted their name in honor of the builder and occupier of Birmingham's first home.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Birmingham is bordered by Bloomfield Hills on the northwest, Royal Oak on the southeast, Bloomfield Charter Township on the west and north, Southfield Township on the south, and

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

on the northeast.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 20,103 people, 9,039 households, and 5,307 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 9,979 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 3.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population. There were 9,039 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 41.1 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 13.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 19,291 people, 9,131 households, and 5,076 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,700 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.13%

, 0.91%

, 0.15% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.19% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population. There were 9,131 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.85. In the city the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $80,861, and the median income for a family was $110,627. Males had a median income of $78,865 versus $51,834 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $59,314. About 1.6% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Settlers founded the First United Methodist Church in 1821 and conducted services in Elijah Willets' tavern. Its current structure was built in 1839; it is now the oldest church building in the city. Other houses of worship represent many religions. George H. Mitchell and Almeron Whitehead were two of a small group of bachelors who had formed a club called The Eccentrics; they published a newspaper of the same name, issuing the first edition on May 2, 1878. At a price of 2 cents, ''The Eccentric'' provided a "live home paper, replete with all the news of the day", with considerable emphasis on the "local items of importance occurring in Birmingham and immediate vicinity". By the turn of the 20th century, ''The Eccentric'' ran advertisements for Detroit stores and theaters, as well as offers of property and houses suitable for the "commuter". In the 1920s, the slogan of ''The Eccentric'' was "For a Bigger and Better Birmingham". Today, the ''Birmingham Eccentric'' newspaper continues its role as reporter of the community's local news. In 1923, a group of friends formed The Village Players of Birmingham, a private theatre club. Originally, performances were given in the community house. In 1928 the group commissioned their own theater just outside the downtown area. Today this all-volunteer group is open to everyone and puts on five shows each year. Birmingham's Community House, opened in 1923, is located in downtown Birmingham. It is a non-sectarian, non-partisan venue used for meetings, banquets, weddings and other celebrations. In 2008, the Birmingham Little League won the nine- to ten-year-old Little League state championship. The team beat Western Little League 12–5 to earn the title.

Parks and recreation

Freedom of the Human Spirit in Birmingham, Michigan

The city has more than twenty parks, with many amenities, including tennis and pickleball courts, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, golf courses, sledding hills, nature trails, picnic areas, and deep woods. Shain Park, the city's main commons, is the site of the Village Fair, art shows, summer music concerts and numerous community events. At the center stands '' Freedom of the Human Spirit'' sculpted by Marshall Fredericks.

Education

The

Birmingham City School District Birmingham Public Schools (BPS), formally the Birmingham City School District, is the public school district for Birmingham, Michigan. Beyond Birmingham, the district provides public school services for Southfield Township, Michigan, which encomp ...

administers several nationally accredited schools, including

Seaholm High School Ernest W. Seaholm High School (simply referred to as Seaholm High School) is a public high school in Birmingham, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1951 and is part of the Birmingham Public Schools district. History Seaholm opened ...

and Groves High School. Roeper School has a campus on Adams Road. The Holy Name School is a co-educational

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...

founded by the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Holy Name Church. It educates children grades pre-K to 8. The private school was established in 1928, along with a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

for IHM nuns. (That has since closed.) The church and school continue to operate in conjunction today. Pierce Elementary School in Birmingham provides classes for elementary school students of the

French School of Detroit The French School of Detroit (FSD; french: École Française de Detroit) is a French school with its administrative offices in West Maple Middle School, in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan in Metro Detroit; this facility has a Bloomfiel ...

. The Japanese School of Detroit (JSD), a supplementary school for Japanese citizens, first began holding classes in Birmingham in 1987, when its operation at Seaholm High started. It began holding classes at Covington School in 1989,JSD History
(). Japanese School of Detroit. May 2, 2001. Retrieved on April 16, 2015. "昭和４８年　　６月　　デトロイト日本語補習授業校開設、私立クランブルック・ブルックサイド校借用。（１９７３）" and "（１９８１）　　１０月　　児童・生徒増のため、私立ケンジントン・アカデミー校に移転。" and "（１９８７）　　　４月　　児童・生徒増のため、ケンジントン校に加え、公立シーホーム校との２校体制に拡大。" and "４月　　児童生徒増のため、ケンジントン校・シーホーム校に加え、公立コビントン校との３校体制に拡大。 " and "（１９９９）　　事務局移転（インターナショナル・アカデミー校→旧オークランド・シュタイナー校） " and it also had classes at West Maple Elementary. At one point its school offices were in Birmingham. In 2010 the school announced it was moving its operations to Novi.Japanese School of Detroit to relocate to Novi
"
ArchivePDF versionArchive

Novi Community School District Novi Community School District (NCSD) is a school district with its headquarters located in Novi, Michigan, USA in Greater Detroit. It operates eight schools. The board of education includes a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treas ...

. December 16, 2010. Retrieved on April 17, 2011.

Public library

The Baldwin Public Library serves the city of Birmingham and nearby communities of

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, Bingham Farms, and Bloomfield Hills. The original building first opened to the public on December 19, 1927. In October 1959, an extension for the Youth Department was added to the east side of the building. In 1983, another addition opened, changing the entrance to Merrill Street. There are over 120,000 books in the library, along with CDs, DVDs, periodicals, educational toys, databases and free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

. The library is named after Martha Baldwin, a civic leader and lifelong resident of Birmingham who was instrumental in establishing the first library. She also helped get improvements such as sidewalks laid for the business section, street lights, seats placed at interurban transit stops, flowers and trees planted, and trash baskets placed at the street corners.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Birmingham was a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

stop in the 19th century between Detroit and Pontiac. In 1839, the railroad tracks were extended to Birmingham with two steam trains a day running to Detroit. On June 18, 1896, the Oakland Railway, the electric

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

, was constructed to Birmingham; it provided service to Detroit in 40 minutes. This service ended in 1931 as many passengers switched to the commuter rail and automobiles.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

provides long-distance passenger rail service on the

–

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

. It stops in Birmingham three times per day in each direction at the Birmingham, Michigan Amtrak station. Class one freight rail service is provided by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CN). By 1931, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) moved the railroad tracks to their present location. It provided commuter rail service from Pontiac to downtown Detroit with a stop in Birmingham. The

Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is the public transit operator serving the Metro Detroit, suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, United States. It supplements the Detroit Department of Transportation, which operates bu ...

(SEMTA) took control of this service in 1974 but it was ended on October 17, 1983, after subsidies were discontinued. Efforts continue to this day to restore such service. In the 21st century, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) operate local and regional bus transit.

Notable people

* Tim Allen, actor (raised in Birmingham) * Shane Battier, basketball player for four NBA teams * Mike Binder, film director, screenwriter and actor *

Randal Bryant Randal E. Bryant (born October 27, 1952) is an American computer scientist and academic noted for his research on formally verifying digital hardware and software. Bryant has been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University since 1984. He ser ...

, dean, Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science * Elaine Crosby, pro golfer *

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; died March 26, 1970) was an American film actress of the 1930s. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, most likely in 1915 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration ...

, 1930s film actress, born in Birmingham * Virgil Exner, automobile designer * Marshall Fredericks, sculptor * Wallace Frost, architect * Pat Gillick, Baseball Hall of Famer * Clarence Dayton Hillman, businessman * Laura Innes, actress (attended Seaholm High School) * Calvin Johnson, former NFL wide receiver * Christine Lahti, Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated actress * Alexi Lalas, former pro soccer player * Anita Lo, restaurateur * Kurt Luedtke, journalist and Oscar award-winning screenwriter *

Michael J. Malik Sr. Michael J. Malik Sr. (born February 1954) is a developer and entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan who resides in Birmingham, Michigan. Currently his net worth is $750,000,000. Since the early 1990s he and his partner Marian Ilitch have been catal ...

, businessman *

Alonzo L. McDonald Alonzo L. McDonald (August 5, 1928 - November 21, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Biography Early life He was born in Atlanta, Georgia.Gerald S. McGowan Gerald Stephen "Gerry" McGowan (born September 3, 1946 Birmingham, Michigan) is an American lawyer, wireless industry entrepreneur, and diplomat. He was appointed United States Ambassador to Portugal on November 10, 1997, and was sworn in by Vice ...

, US ambassador to Portugal * Ruth McNamee, Michigan state legislator and Mayor of Birmingham * Steve Morrison, pro football linebacker * Meg Oliver, anchor of CBS's '' Up to the Minute'' * Mike Posner, singer *

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman'' ...

, film director (attended Groves High School) * Andy Roeser, former president of NBA's Los Angeles Clippers * Kurt Schottenheimer, former NFL assistant coach *

Alexandra Silber Alexandra Michelle Silber is an American actress, singer, writer and educator. She has performed roles on Broadway, in London's West End, on television and film, and concert stages. Among other stage roles, in London, she created the role of La ...

, actor and singer * David Spade, actor and comedian * Paul Stookey, member of the trio

Peter, Paul, and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

* Elaine Stritch, actress and vocalist * Tom Tjaarda, automobile designer (attended Seaholm High School) * Tom Tracy, pro football running back * Dave Trott, US congressman * Florence Signaigo Wagner (1919–2019), botanist who served as president of the American Fern Society * Minoru Yamasaki, architect (office located in Birmingham) *

Sheila Young Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz (born October 14, 1950) is a retired American speed skater and track cyclist. She won three world titles in each of these sports, twice in the same year (in 1973 and 1976). In 1976, she also became the first American ...

, Olympic gold-winning speed skater and track cyclist

References

External links

City of Birmingham official websiteBaldwin Public Library
{{Authority control Cities in Oakland County, Michigan Metro Detroit 1819 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1819