Melvindale is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. At the 2020 census, the city population was 12,851.

History

Melvindale began as the unincorporated settlement of Oakwood Heights in the northwestern part of Ecorse Township in the early 1920s.City of Melvindale website
About Melvindale webpage, accessed 18 October 2011 The subdivision was designed to house workers from the nearby Ford

River Rouge Plant The Ford River Rouge complex (commonly known as the Rouge complex, River Rouge, or The Rouge) is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the River Rouge, upstream from its confluence with the Detr ...

in the city of Dearborn. The city was named after one of the original developers of the settlement, Melvin Wilkinson. The eastern part of Oakwood Heights was annexed by the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1922, and the remainder was incorporated as the village of Melvindale the same year. In 1933, the village incorporated as a city.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Melvindale serves an important role for railroad traffic in Metro Detroit. The

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

Oakwood Yard, located along its Detroit District, divides the city into northwest and southeast sides. The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

Dearborn Subdivision serves as the city's western boundary, and the Conrail Shared Assets Lincoln Secondary, serving as a direct route between Detroit and

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

for

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

trains, passes through industrial areas in the far southeast corner of the city, which is also the location of the remnants of the Conrail Lincoln Yard.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 12,851 people living in Melvindale, this was an increase from the city's population of 10,715 in the 2010 census, and the first time since the 1970 census that the city's recorded population increased. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was .

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 10,715 people, 4,420 households, and 2,601 families living in the city. The

was . There were 4,918 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.8%

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

(66.6% non-Hispanic white), 11.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 6.4% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 18.3% of the population. There were 4,420 households, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were

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

living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% 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 10,735 people, 4,499 households, and 2,694 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,760 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.40%

, 5.26%

, 0.75% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.39% from other races, and 2.88% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 8.90% of the population. There were 4,499 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were

living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,954, and the median income for a family was $46,759. Males had a median income of $38,048 versus $28,026 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,011. About 7.6% of families and 11.4% 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 13.3% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notoriety

Melvindale became the backdrop for multiple news reports detailing citizen complaints, lawsuits, police reports, and depositions describing a pattern of police brutality from Lt. Matthew Furman.

Education

Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Public Schools serves Melvindale. Melvindale High School is the district's high school. In 2005 the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

announced that St. Mary Magdalen Elementary School in Melvindale would close.15 Catholic Schools To Close In Metro Detroit
." ''

WDIV-TV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. WDIV-TV maintains studio facili ...

''. March 17, 2005. Retrieved on November 4, 2011.

Notable people

* Al Cicotte, baseball player * Mickey Goodwin, light-heavyweight boxer *

Raymond Kalisz Raymond Philip Kalisz (27 September 1927 – 12 December 2010) was the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Wewak, Papua New Guinea. Born in Melvindale, Michigan, United States, Kalisz was ordained a priest on 15 August 1954 for the Society of the ...

, Roman Catholic bishop * Mike Jolly, played football at the University of Michigan and for the Green Bay Packers * Jessica Smith, 2014 Olympic speed skater

Gallery

Melvindale Civic Center.jpg, Melvindale Civic Center and John J. Kessey Fieldhouse Shops on Allen Road in Melvindale (2).jpg, Shops on Allen Road

References

External links

City of Melvindale official website
{{Authority control Cities in Wayne County, Michigan Metro Detroit