Birmingham, MI

Updated: Sep 9, 2021

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The formal settlement of the area now known as Birmingham occurred over 180 years ago. The pioneer story of this small Michigan community began when three enterprising men purchased the first land parcels at the crossing of the Rouge River and the Saginaw Trail (now Woodward Ave.) in 1818. Elijah Willits, John Hamilton and John West Hunter brought their families onto their combined 480 acres of wilderness land to start new lives. Unlike other pioneering communities that attracted farmers looking only for rich new farmland, Birmingham's founders diversified, developing new business opportunities relating to the trail and settlement of the area. Foundries, tanneries, blacksmith shops, broom and brick making factories and transportation services were just some of the businesses that were quickly defining this frontier community. Birmingham's name was chosen by those optimistic about the potential growth of the village, with its manufacturing capabilities after England's biggest industrial center.

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Most of the manufacturers of the 1830s were gone by the 1860s and so were the visions of Birmingham as a major industrial center. Instead the quiet Village of Birmingham emerged as a local commercial and agricultural hub for area farmers. The Eccentric Newspaper, banks, merchants, shop owners and other professionals such as doctors, dentists, and lawyers established successful practices in town. By the 1890s, long-time residents who had worked toward infrastructure, education, and cultural improvements began to see better roads, the development of interurban street car lines, quality public schooling, the establishment of a paid fire department, a clean water supply and a new public library.

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These improvements made Birmingham both quaint and progressive, and its location on Woodward Avenue continued to offer commercial and business opportunities into the 20th century. Farms evolved into small subdivisions and the growing automobile industry in Detroit and Pontiac made Birmingham especially appealing as a place to live. In 1933, after more than a decade of preparation, Birmingham successfully made the transition from a Village to a city governmental structure. Today, Birmingham's business district and residential areas still enjoy many of the small town charm that characterized days gone by.

Explore more about Birmingham's History at the Birmingham Museum.

City History