Brownstown Charter Township is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. The population was 30,627 at the 2010 census. Brownstown was established in 1827, a decade prior to Michigan's

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. Brownstown has three separate but connected segments; due to the incorporation of the cities of Flat Rock, Rockwood, and Woodhaven in the early 1960s.

History

Prior to the township's organization, the area was involved in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, and the

Battle of Brownstown The Battle of Brownstown was an early skirmish in the War of 1812. Although the United States military outnumbered the forces of Tecumseh's Confederacy 8 to 1, they lost the battle and suffered substantial losses while Tecumseh's forces were ...

and

Battle of Maguaga The Battle of Maguaga (also known as the Battle of Monguagon or the Battle of the Oakwoods) was a small battle between British troops, Canadian militia and Tecumseh's natives against a larger force of American troops, Ohio Volunteers and Michigan L ...

took place in the area. The region now known as Brownstown was, like surrounding areas in Michigan, once a part of the French Colony of New France (Mid France). The area eventually fell into hands of the British and finally came under American rule in the 18th century. The original area of land south 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 ...

was designated a township by the Michigan Territorial Council on April 5, 1827, when Moses Roberts was elected its first supervisor. This made Brownstown one of Wayne County's nine original townships."History"
Brownstown Township web site Research from local historians have found that the township was named for Adam Brown, who was kidnapped by the

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language Wyandot (sometimes spelled Wandat) is the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the people known variously as Wyandot or Wya ...

Indians. Brown was raised by the Wyandots, married a native woman and grew to become a tribal leader. As time passed, settlements spread out from the lakeshore to begin changing the swampy, sand-hill countryside into productive farm land. Established in 1893 Kurtzhals Farm is one of the largest remaining farms in the township.

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 t ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (27.58%) is water. The township is divided into three different segments. The Huron River forms the southernmost boundary of the township with Berlin Charter Township in Monroe County. The southernmost point of the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...

is within the township, which leads to

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 h ...

. Brownstown borders the cities of Flat Rock,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, Riverview, Rockwood, Southgate, and Taylor, as well as touching corners with the cities of Romulus and Trenton. Huron Charter Township borders to the west. Brownstown shares a water boundary with

Grosse Ile Township Grosse Ile Township is a civil township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,777 at the 2020 census. The township encompasses several islands in the Detroit River, of which the largest is named as Grosse Ile. N ...

and across the

international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

with the city of

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...

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Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 22,989 people, 8,322 households, and 6,249 families in the township. The population density was . There were 9,008 housing units at an average density of . The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the township was 89.02% White, 3.82% African American, 0.53% Native American, 3.83% Asian, 0.86% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.58%. Of the 8,322 households, 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.8% of households were one person, and 4.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.18. In the township the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median household income was $55,239 and the median family income was $65,544. Males had a median income of $50,246 versus $29,614 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,523. About 5.7% of families and 6.9% 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 t ...

, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. The population of Brownstown Township was 30,627. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 79.0% Non-Hispanic white, 8.6% black or African-American, 0.4% Native American, 5.2% Asian, 0.1% Non-Hispanics of some other race, 2.1% reporting two or more races and 5.2% Hispanic or Latino.

Transportation

Highways

* * (Telegraph Road) *, U.S. highway that was decommissioned in 1973. It ran along the current Dix–Toledo Road, which runs through the northern portion of the township. * (Fort Street)

Other roadways

* Hull's Trace North Huron River Corduroy Segment, built in 1812, is a historic roadway that was the first military road and first federal road in the United States. * Jefferson Avenue runs along the southeastern portion of the township.

Bridges

* Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges is a bridge listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

that carries Jefferson Avenue over the Huron River, as well as the connected Harbin Drive bridge over the Silver Creek.

Economy

Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant Brownstown Michigan

The township is also home to the Chevrolet Volt Battery Pack Assembly Plant. GM converted an empty warehouse on Sibley and King roads between

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

and Allen Road into a temporary plant.

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

opened a distribution center in Brownstown in 2015.

Education

Most of the township is served by the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District. The district includes eight separate schools and students from both the City of Woodhaven and Brownstown Township may attend the district. Woodhaven High School is the high school for the district. A portion of the township is within the Gibraltar School District.Zoning Map

Archive
. Brownstown Township, Michigan. Retrieved on June 15, 2014. Students in the small neighborhood south of Pennsylvania Road and west of Telegraph within Brownstown attend Taylor School District schools. These students are assigned to Eureka Heights Elementary School, West Middle School, and Taylor High School, all in Taylor. Residents in the northern section were once served by the Bacon Memorial Library in Wyandotte, but now all residents are served by the Trenton Veterans Memorial Library in Trenton.

References

External links

Brownstown TownshipSoutheast Michigan Council of GovernmentsTravel Treasures and Tours
{{Authority control Townships in Wayne County, Michigan Charter townships in Michigan Michigan in the War of 1812 Michigan populated places on the Detroit River Michigan populated places on Lake Erie 1827 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1827