Charter Township of Brownstown, Michigan | |
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Charter township | |
Township Offices
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Motto: "Where The Future Looks Brighter" | |
Location in Wayne County and the state of Michigan |
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Coordinates: 42°7′34″N 83°15′26″W / 42.12611°N 83.25722°WCoordinates: 42°7′34″N 83°15′26″W / 42.12611°N 83.25722°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Michigan |
County | Wayne |
Government | |
• Supervisor | Andrew Linko |
Area | |
• Total | 30.5 sq mi (79 km2) |
• Land | 22.5 sq mi (58.3 km2) |
• Water | 8 sq mi (20.7 km2) |
Elevation | 584 ft (178 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 30,627 |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP codes | 48100-48199 |
Area code(s) | 734 |
FIPS code | 26-11220 |
GNIS feature ID | 1625993 |
Website | The Charter Township of Brownstown, Michigan |
Brownstown Charter Township is a charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 30,627 at the 2010 census.
It is part of the collection of communities known as Downriver. Brownstown's three separate segments are due to the incorporation of the cities of Flat Rock, Rockwood, and Woodhaven in the early 1960s.
The region now known as Brownstown was, like surrounding areas in Michigan, once a part of the French Province Quebec. The area eventually fell into hands of the British and finally came under American rule in the 18th century. The original 43-square-mile (110 km2) area of land south of Detroit was designated a township by the Michigan Territorial Commission on April 5, 1827, when Moses Roberts was elected its first supervisor. This made Brownstown one of Wayne County's nine original townships.
Research from local historians have found that the township was named for Adam Brown, who was kidnapped by the Wyandot 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.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 30.5 square miles (79 km2), of which 22.5 square miles (58 km2) is land and 8.1 square miles (21 km2) (26.47%) is water. It is divided into three sections, two of which meet at a corner.
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,989 people, 8,322 households, and 6,249 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,024.0 per square mile (395.4/km²). There were 9,008 housing units at an average density of 401.3 per square mile (154.9/km²). The racial makeup 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 population.