Editing Northville, Michigan (section)

==History==

===Settlement===
[[Image:Pic-Community-History-NortheastMain-Northville.jpg|thumb|left|View of NE side of Main St, frame building built in 1830 by John Miller]]
Northville was first settled by European Americans in 1825, and was incorporated as a Village in 1867. It was not incorporated as a City until 1955. Originally one of two communities within Plymouth Township, Northville Township split off in 1898 to form its own township.

The first [[land patent]] in the Northville area was granted to Gideon Benton in 1823; the current Cass Benton Park is located here. The first settlers did not arrive, however, until 1825. Many of these first settlers were originally from central and western [[New York State]], with ancestors in New England. Others came from the nearby, already settled Plymouth community to Northville.

Among these early settlers were Alanson Aldrich, followed by Alvale Smith, who sold his property to John Miller. Miller built the first mill in Plymouth Township, sometime between 1825 and 1828. Mill Race Historical Village is now preserved at this site. Many employees of the mill began to build their houses near it. Northville was named for its relation north of [[Plymouth, Michigan|Plymouth]].

In 1827, Northville was home to a post office, and Gideon Benton was the US postmaster. Also in 1827, J.F. Davis, became the first resident doctor in Northville. A tailor, tavern, shoe shop, and two blacksmiths also started business in the village. Many of Northville's first settlers' surnames became namesakes for contemporary street names today. These include Rufus Thayer Jr. (Thayer Blvd.), Joseph Yerkes (Yerkes St.), Daniel and Samuel Cady (Cady St.), William Dunlap (Dunlap St.), and other settlers. The first church was constructed in 1836 by a Methodist congregation.<ref name=nvillehistory>Louie, Barbara. ''Northville, Michigan'', Arcadia Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7385-2359-3}}</ref>

===Victorian era===
Northville continued to grow throughout the [[Victorian era]]. This is evident in the architecture around downtown where many homes are in the [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne]] style. Northville's Victorian heritage is celebrated every September in the Victorian Festival, which was recently rechristened the "Heritage Festival".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/northville/2016/02/02/northville-victorian-festival-heritage-festival-facelift/79692086/|title=Heritage: Chamber gives Victorian Fest a facelift|access-date=October 19, 2016}}</ref>

The first schoolhouse in Northville opened in 1853 and was taught by Jacob Ramsdell. Northville was incorporated as a village in 1867 from a portion of Plymouth Township.<ref name=nvillehistory/> By the end of the nineteenth century, it had established a public school system headed by a superintendent.

===Village era===
[[Henry Ford]] purchased a factory in Northville and moved machinery from plants in the area to the factory in 1919. Known as the Northville Valve Plant, the plant was rebuilt in 1936, and enlarged in 1956. The plant provided valves for every [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Mercury (automobile)|Mercury]], and [[Lincoln (automobile)|Lincoln]] vehicle, except for the [[Lincoln Continental]], until closing and being sold in 1981. The building now houses offices and a health club. In 1925, the Penniman-Allen Theater opened downtown and remained open through the mid-70's. The theater eventually closed, but opened again in 1978 as the Marquis Theater and is now home to live children's theater.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northvillemarquistheatre.com/history.htm |title=History |publisher=Northvillemarquistheatre.com |access-date=2009-10-10}}</ref> When Northville was more rural, skiing was popular and tournaments were held often. In 1944, Northville Downs opened as the first nighttime [[harness racing]] track in Michigan. The Downs were built on the site of the former Wayne County Fair, where [[Joe Louis]] trained in 1939 for his World Championship later that same year. Northville Downs stayed in continuous operation from 1944 to 2024 and was located at the corner of Center Street and [[7 Mile Road]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2024/02/08/northville-downs-michigans-last-horse-racing-track-closes/72472028007/ |title=Northville Downs closes after 80 years: How horse track outlasted others in Michigan |publisher= Detroit Free Press |access-date=2024-06-21}}</ref><ref name=nvillehistory/>

===City era===
[[Image:Northville downtown.JPG|thumb|left|Downtown Northville]]
The city was incorporated in 1955 along the boundaries of the Village of Northville, and grew rapidly during the prolonged period of [[white flight]] from the [[Detroit|City of Detroit]] in the middle and late 20th century. The Village of Northville included portions of Novi Township in Oakland County and Northville Township in Wayne County. Over the next several years, the city boundaries expanded through annexation of portions of Novi Township and the Village of Novi both east and west of the city and north of Baseline Road. The city's northern boundary was fixed by the incorporation of the Village of Novi into the City of Novi in 1969. The city has also annexed small portions of Northville Township, the most recent of which was an expansion of the Rural Hill Cemetery. Northville Township's status as a Charter Township generally precludes the city from annexing any significant portion of the Township. The most recent annexation was permitted by the Township in order for the city to expand the city-owned and operated cemetery.

===Libraries===
In 1889, the Ladies Library Association was organized by Mary Lapham, and had 1,200 books and 150 members by 1892. The library was located in the former Young Men's Hall until 1964, when it moved temporarily to the new City Hall.<ref name=nvillehistory/> In 1975, the library moved again temporarily to the Northville Square Mall; in 1980 it returned to City Hall. In 1996, it moved into the newly built Northville District Library.<ref name=nvillehistory/>