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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per capita. It also is home to the largest mosque in the United States.
First settled in the late 18th century by ethnic French farmers in a series of ribbon farms along the Rouge River and the Sauk Trail, the community grew in the 19th century with the establishment of the Detroit Arsenal on the Chicago Road linking Detroit and Chicago. In the 20th century, it developed as a major manufacturing hub for the automotive industry.
Henry Ford was born on a farm here and later established an estate in Dearborn, as well as his River Rouge Complex, the largest factory of his Ford empire. He developed mass production of automobiles, and based the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company here. The city has a campus of the University of Michigan as well as Henry Ford College. The Henry Ford, the United States' largest indoor-outdoor historic museum complex and Metro Detroit's leading tourist attraction, is located here.
Dearborn residents are Americans primarily of European or Middle Eastern ancestry, many descendants of 19th and 20th-century immigrants. The primary European ethnicities, as identified by respondents to the census, are German, Polish, Irish, and Italian. Because of new waves of immigration from the Middle East in the late 20th century, the largest ethnic grouping is now composed of descendants of various nationalities of that area: Muslims and Christians from Lebanon and Palestine, as well as immigrants from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
Historical timeline
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
European exploration and colonization
- 1603 – French lay claim to unidentified territory in this region, naming it New France.
- July 24, 1701 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his soldiers first land at what is now Detroit.
- November 29, 1760 – The British take control of the area from France.
- 1780 – Pierre Dumais clears farm near what is today's Morningside Street in Dearborn's South End.
Early U.S. history
- 1783 – By terms of the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolutionary War, Great Britain cedes territory south of the Great Lakes to the United States, although the British retain practical control of the Detroit area and several other settlements until 1797.
- 1786 – Agreed year of first permanent settler in present-day Dearborn.
- 1787 – Territory of the US north and west of the Ohio River is officially proclaimed the Northwest Territory.
- December 26, 1791 – Detroit environs become part of Kent County, Ontario.
- 1795 – James Cissne becomes first settler in what is now west Dearborn.
- 1796 – Wayne County is formed by proclamation of the acting governor of the Northwest Territory. Its original area is , stretching from Cleveland, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois, and northwest to Canada.
- May 7, 1800 – Indiana Territory, created out of part of Northwest Territory, although the eastern half of Michigan including the Dearborn area, was not attached to Indiana Territory until Ohio was admitted as a state in 1803.
- January 11, 1805 – Michigan Territory officially created out of a part of the Indiana Territory.
- June 11, 1805 – Fire destroys most of Detroit.
- November 15, 1815 – Current boundaries of Wayne County drawn, county split into 18 townships.
- January 5, 1818 – Springwells Township established by Gov. Lewis Cass.
- October 23, 1824 – Bucklin Township created by Gov. Lewis Cass. The area ran from Greenfield to approximately Haggerty and from Van Born to Eight Mile.
- 1826 – Conrad Ten Eyck builds Ten Eyck Tavern at Michigan Avenue and Rouge River.
- 1827 – Wayne County's boundaries changed to its current .
- April 12, 1827 – Springwells and Bucklin townships formally organized and laid out by gubernatorial act.
- October 29, 1829 – Bucklin Township split along what is today Inkster Road into Nankin (west half) and Pekin (east half) townships.
- March 21, 1833 – Pekin Township renamed Redford Township.
- March 31, 1833 – Greenfield Township created from north and west sections of Springwells Township, including what is now today east Dearborn.
- April 1, 1833 – Dearborn Township created from southern half of Redford Township south of Bonaparte Avenue (Joy Road).
- 1833 – Detroit Arsenal built.
- October 23, 1834 – Dearborn Township renamed Bucklin Township.
- March 26, 1836 – Bucklin Township renamed Dearborn Township.
- January 26, 1837 – Michigan admitted to the Union as the 26th state. Stevens T. Mason is first governor.
- 1837 – Michigan Central Railroad extended through Springwells Township. Hamlet of Springwells rises along railroad.
- April 5, 1838 – Village of Dearbornville incorporates. Village later unincorporated on May 11, 1846.
- 1849 Detroit annexes Springwells Township east of Brooklyn Street.
- April 2, 1850 – Greenfield Township annexes another section of Springwells Township.
- February 12, 1857 – Detroit annexes Springwells Township east of Grand Boulevard.
- March 25, 1873 – Springwells Township annexes back section of Greenfield Township south of Tireman
- May 28, 1875 – Postmaster general changes name of Dearbornville post office to Dearborn post office, hence changing the city's name.
- 1875 – Detroit Arsenal closed.
- 1875 – Detroit annexes another section of Springwells Township.
- 1876 – William A. Nowlin writes The Bark Covered House in honor of country's 100th birthday.
- June 20, 1884 – Detroit annexes Springwells Township east of Livernois.
- 1889 – First telephone installed in Dearborn at St. Joseph's retreat.
Incorporation as village
- March 24, 1893 – Village of Dearborn incorporates.
- 1906 – Detroit annexes another section of Springwells Township.
- 1916 - Henry, Clara, and Edsel Ford move to Dearborn.
- 1916 – Detroit annexes more of Springwells Township, forming Dearborn's eastern boundary.
- 1917 – Rouge "Eagle" Plant opens.
- November 1, 1919 – The first house numbering ordinance in Dearborn starts. Residents required to place standard plate number on right side of the main house entrance five feet up.
- December 9, 1919 – Springwells Township incorporates as village of Springwells.
- October 16, 1922 – Springwells Township annexes small section of Dearborn Township east of present-day Greenfield Road.
- December 27, 1923 – Voters approve incorporation of Springwells as a city. It officially became a city April 7, 1924.
- September 9, 1924 – Village of Warrendale incorporates.
- November 1924 – Ford Airport opens.
- April 6, 1925 – Warrendale voters and residents of remaining Greenfield Township approve annexation by Detroit.
- May 26, 1925 – Village of Dearborn annexes large portion of Dearborn Township.
- December 23, 1925 – Springwells changes name to city of Fordson.
- February 15, 1926 – First U.S. airmail delivery made, going from Ford Airport in Dearborn to Cleveland.
- September 14, 1926 – Election approves incorporation of village of Inkster. Unincorporated part of Dearborn Township split into two unconnected sections.
- October 11, 1926 – Only dirigible to ever moor in Dearborn docks at Ford Airport.
Reincorporation as city
- February 14, 1927 – Village of Dearborn residents approve vote to become a city.
- June 12, 1928 – Voters in Dearborn, Fordson and part of Dearborn Township vote to consolidate into one city.
- January 9, 1929 – Clyde Ford elected as first mayor of Dearborn.
- 1929 – Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village opens.
- July 1, 1931 – Dearborn Inn opens as one of the first airport hotels in world.
- March 7, 1932 – Ford Hunger March crosses Dearborn city limits. Four marchers are shot to death by police and Ford service men.
- 1936 – John Carey becomes mayor of Dearborn.
- June 19, 1936 – Montgomery Ward opens in Dearborn.
- May 26, 1937 – Harry Bennett's Ford "service" men beat United Auto Workers (UAW) official Richard Frankensteen in the Battle of the Overpass
- June 21, 1941 – Ford Motor Company signs its first union contract.
- 1939 – The Historic Springwells Park Neighborhood is established by Edsel B. Ford to provide company executives and auto workers with upscale housing accommodations.
- January 6, 1942 – Orville L. Hubbard takes office as mayor of Dearborn for first time.
- April 7, 1947 – Henry Ford dies.
- October 20, 1947 – Dearborn City Council approves purchase of land near Milford, Michigan for what would become Camp Dearborn. First section of camp opens following year.
- October 21, 1947 – Ford Airport officially closes.
- 1950 – First Pleasant Hours senior citizen group formed.
- 1950 – Dearborn Historical Museum formally established.
- January 1953 – Oakwood Hospital formally opened and dedicated.
- April 22, 1958 – Election held to annex part of South Dearborn Township to Dearborn. Proposal fails.
- 1959 – University of Michigan (Dearborn Campus) opens.
- April 6, 1959 – Election held to annex part of North Dearborn Township to Dearborn. Proposal fails.
- 1960 – Remaining parts of Dearborn Township incorporated as Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
- 1962 – St. Joseph's retreat closed and razed
- 1962 – New Henry Ford Community College campus dedicated.
- November 9, 1962 – Ford Rotunda burns down
- 1967 – Dearborn Towers in Clearwater, Florida opens.
- March 2, 1976 – Fairlane Town Center opens.
- 1978 – John B. O' Reilly, Sr. becomes mayor of Dearborn
- November 6, 1981 – Cable Television reaches first home in Dearborn, on Abbot Street.
- December 16, 1982 – Orville Hubbard dies.
- 1986 – Michael Guido becomes mayor of Dearborn.
- 1993 – Michael Guido is the first mayor to run unopposed.
- 2006 – Michael Guido dies at the age of 52 during his 6th term, the only mayor to die in office.
- 2006 – John B. O'Reilly, Jr. is to become temporary Mayor. O'Reilly's father was the mayor who had preceded Mayor Guido.
- 2007 – John B. O'Reilly, Jr. is elected mayor of Dearborn winning 93.97% of the vote.
- 2008 – John B. O'Reilly, Sr. dies at the age of 89; he was Mayor of Dearborn (1978–1985) and also served as Chief of Police for 11 years.
History
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Before European encounter, the area had been inhabited for thousands of years by successive indigenous peoples. Historical tribes belonged mostly to the Algonquian-language family, especially the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi and related peoples. In contrast, the Huron (Wyandot) were Iroquoian speaking. French colonists had a trading post at Fort Detroit and a settlement developed there in the colonial period. Another developed on the south side of the Detroit River in what is now southwestern Ontario, near a Huron mission village. French and French-Canadian colonists also established farms at Dearborn in this period. France ceded all of its territory east of the Mississippi River in North America to Great Britain in 1763 after losing to the English in the Seven Years' War.
Beginning in 1786, after the United States gained independence in the American Revolutionary War, more European Americans entered this region, settling in Detroit and the Dearborn area. With population growth, Dearborn Township was formed in 1833 and the village of Dearbornville in 1836, each named after patriot Henry Dearborn, a general in the American Revolution who later served as Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson. The Town of Dearborn was incorporated in 1893. Through much of the 19th century, the area was largely rural and dependent on agriculture.
Stimulated by industrial development in Detroit and within its own limits, in 1927 Dearborn was established as a city. Its current borders result from a 1928 consolidation vote that merged Dearborn and neighboring Fordson (previously known as Springwells), which feared being absorbed into expanding Detroit.
According to historian James W. Loewen, in his book Sundown Towns (2005), Dearborn discouraged African Americans from settling in the city. In the early 20th century, both whites and African Americans migrated to Detroit for industrial jobs. Over time, some city residents relocated in the suburbs. Many of Dearborn's residents "took pride in the saying, 'The sun never set on a Negro in Dearborn'". According to Orville Hubbard, the segregationist mayor of Dearborn from 1942 to 1978, "as far as he was concerned, it was against the law for a Negro to live in his suburb." Hubbard told the Montgomery Advertiser in the mid-1950s, "Negroes can't get in here. Every time we hear of a Negro moving in, we respond quicker than you do to a fire."
The area between Dearborn and Fordson was undeveloped, and still remains so in part. Once farm land, much of this property was bought by Henry Ford for his estate, Fair Lane, and for the Ford Motor Company World Headquarters. Later developments in this corridor were the Ford airport (later converted to the Dearborn Proving Grounds), and other Ford administrative and development facilities.
More recent additions are The Henry Ford (a reconstructed historic village and museum), the Henry Ford Centennial Library, the super-regional shopping mall Fairlane Town Center, and the Ford Performing Arts Center. The open land is planted with sunflowers and often with Ford's favorite crop of soybeans. The crops are never harvested.
With the growth and achievements of the Arab-American community, they developed and in 2005 opened the Arab American National Museum (AANM), the first museum in the world devoted to Arab-American history and culture. Arab Americans in Dearborn include descendants of Lebanese Christians who immigrated in the early twentieth century to work in the auto industry, as well as more recent Arab immigrants and their descendants from other, primarily Muslim nations.
In January 2019, Dearborn Mayor John "Jack" O'Reilly, Jr., terminated the contract of Bill McGraw, new editor of the Dearborn Historian, a city publication. He refused to allow distribution of the Autumn 2018 issue to subscribers. That issue, on the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford's acquisition of the Dearborn Independent newspaper, discussed the influence that Ford exerted in expressing his anti-Semitism. The mayor's suppression of the issue received national publicity. The Dearborn Historical Commission held an emergency meeting and passed a resolution calling for the mayor to reverse these actions. The suppressed article was published in DeadlineDetroit and may be read here.
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