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Southgate is a city in
Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 19th ...
, United States. The population was 30,047 at the 2020 census. Southgate was incorporated as a city on October 8, 1958, which was one of the last remaining portions of the now-defunct Ecorse Township. It is part of the Downriver collection of communities south of 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 ...
.


History

Pierre Michel Campau was the first white settler in Southgate. He moved into the area in 1795, which subsequently became a farming community. Other people from the Detroit area at the Rouge and
Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...
s followed him to Southgate. Historically a rural area of Ecorse Township, the areas within present-day Southgate were originally platted with street grids beginning in the 1920s - though most developments only started just after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Among the oldest residential areas in the city is the Old Homestead neighborhood, on the east side. There are two accounts of the city's name: Southgate is described in local guides as the "South Gate" or entrance to the
Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...
area. "A metropolitan daily picture story" in late 1956 also explained this. Southgate's first mayor, Thomas J. Anderson, also stated in 1956 that the name originated from the newly built Southgate Shopping Center at the southeast corner of Eureka & Trenton roads. "We were trying to get a separate post office for our community, and were advised that it would help our cause if the township board passed a resolution creating an unincorporated village," Anderson explained. "The name Southgate was chosen because of the shopping center then under consideration, and the board agreed that it was an appropriate name. Anderson had previously suggested the city be named Southgate due to its location south of Detroit. Anderson became aware of South Gate, California near
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
during World War II while temporarily stationed in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. The resolution was adopted at a regular meeting in the early summer of 1953." Thomas Anderson became the first mayor in 1958 after being Ecorse Township's supervisor for the previous five years. Southgate Anderson High School was named after him in 1982. The flag for Southgate Michigan which was created in 1973.


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 , all land. Southgate borders the cities of Riverview (south), Wyandotte (east), Allen Park (northwest), Taylor (west), and Lincoln Park (north), as well as Brownstown Charter Township (southwest).


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 30,014 people, 13,497 households, and 7,784 families residing in the city. 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 . There were 14,053 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 77.9%
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 ...
, 7.8%
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, 2.5% Asian, 0.0%
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 ...
, 2.5% from some other races and 8.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.1% of the population. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.4% were under 5 years of age, and 18.7% were 65 and older.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 30,047 people, 13,062 households, and 7,833 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,933 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.7%
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 ...
, 5.5%
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 ...
, 0.5% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 1.7% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. There were 13,062 households, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 40.8 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.2% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.3% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 30,136 people, 12,836 households, and 8,048 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,361 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.66%
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 ...
, 2.11%
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 ...
, 0.50% Native American, 1.67% 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 ...
, 0.85% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.98% of the population. There were 12,836 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $46,927, and the median income for a family was $56,710. Males had a median income of $45,829 versus $28,549 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 $23,219. About 2.6% of families and 4.6% 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 3.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Southgate Shopping Center opened in 1957.


Parks and recreation

Southgate is the home of the Southgate Civic Center and the Southgate Fun and Fitness Centre
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
.


Education


Primary and secondary schools


Public schools

Southgate Community School District operates the following public schools: * Anderson High School * Davidson Middle School * Allen Elementary * Fordline Elementary * Grogan Elementary * North Pointe IB Elementary * Shelters Elementary


Private schools

* Christ the King Lutheran * St. Pius X - opened September 1950 * Creative Montessori Academy


Media

Southgate currently houses the headquarters of '' The News-Herald'', a local Downriver newspaper which covers over twenty surrounding communities. During the late 1950s and 1960s, ''The Southgate Sentinel'', a Mellus newspaper and forerunner to the present-day News-Herald, was published. Southgate is also served by regional newspapers ''The Downriver Sunday Times'', ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' and ''
The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...
'', as well as by Detroit's radio and television outlets.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Highways

* runs south–north through the northwest corner of the city. * was the designation for Dix-Toledo Highway between 1929 and 1967. Afterward, it ran as a concurrency with I-75 until its decommissioning in 1973. * , known locally as Fort Street, runs south–north and forms most of the eastern boundary of the city with Wyandotte.


Rail

The Conrail Shared Assets Lincoln Secondary, used primarily by
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 ...
freight trains that run 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 ...
, runs through the northwest corner of Southgate and is notable for the large
grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...
(one of the largest in the world) through the intersection of Northline and Allen Roads, and also has a crossing at Reeck Road.


Public transportation

Four Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation bus routes pass through Southgate.


Notable people

* Ashley Qualls, internet business entrepreneur * Marcie Bolen, Von Bondies Rock and Roll garage band


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Wayne County, Michigan Metro Detroit 1958 establishments in Michigan Populated places established in 1958