Editing Sterling Heights, Michigan (section)

==History==
As a result of the [[War of 1812]] and the 1817 [[Treaty of Fort Meigs]], the area of the [[Michigan Territory]] which now makes up Sterling Heights was first surveyed by Deputy Surveyor Joseph Wampler; his survey was approved on February 20, 1818.<ref>{{cite web |title=Survey Details - BLM GLO Records |url=https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/survey/default.aspx?dm_id=26465&sid=ixm4sm01.3pk |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=glorecords.blm.gov |archive-date=2022-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815044705/https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/survey/default.aspx?dm_id=26465&sid=ixm4sm01.3pk |url-status=live }}</ref> Wampler had been one of two deputy surveyors of [[Perrysburg, Ohio]], in 1816.
[[File:SterlingHeightsNameChanges.png|thumb|Acts which created & modified Sterling Township]]
Originally created as part of [[Shelby Charter Township, Michigan|Shelby Township]] in April 1827,<ref>"An act to divide the several counties in this Territory into Townships, and for other purposes" - Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Volume 2, Pgs. 478-479</ref> it was broken off as Jefferson Township in March 1835.<ref>"An Act organizing certain townships" - Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Volume 3, pgs. 1367-1369</ref> In March 1838, it was renamed Sterling Township.<ref>"An Act to organize certain townships and for other purposes" - Acts of the Michigan Legislature adjourned session of 1837, regular session of 1838; pgs. 76-84</ref>

Until the 1950s, Sterling Township was an agricultural area, largely devoted to growing [[rhubarb]] and other crops sold in Detroit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sterling Heights, MI - Official Website|url=https://www.sterling-heights.net/Archive.aspx?AMID=43|access-date=2021-01-12|website=www.sterling-heights.net|archive-date=2021-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122184913/https://sterling-heights.net/Archive.aspx?AMID=43|url-status=live}}</ref> Road improvements led to decreased commute times and lower costs for the delivery of goods and services to and from businesses. The population increased when suburban homes were built for the workers in metropolitan Detroit's booming automobile industry. When Sterling Township was [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] as a city in 1968, "Heights" was added to the name to satisfy a state law that prevents incorporated municipalities from having the same name, as there was already a small village named [[Sterling, Michigan|Sterling]] in [[Arenac County, Michigan|Arenac County]].<ref>[https://www.sterling-heights.net/bins/site/templates/default.asp?area_2=pages/comm/history/pre-cityhistory/pre-cityhistory_506.dat&area_1=pages/nav/comm/history/history.dat&area_3=0.dat&area_0=0.dat&area_8=0.dat&objectid=BEB01220&ml_index=2&NC=758X Pre-City History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628204002/https://www.sterling-heights.net/bins/site/templates/default.asp?area_2=pages%2Fcomm%2Fhistory%2Fpre-cityhistory%2Fpre-cityhistory_506.dat&area_1=pages%2Fnav%2Fcomm%2Fhistory%2Fhistory.dat&area_3=0.dat&area_0=0.dat&area_8=0.dat&objectid=BEB01220&ml_index=2&NC=758X|date=2014-06-28}}, The Official Site of the City of Sterling Heights</ref>

Gerald Donovan became the first mayor of the city and F. James Dunlop became the first mayor [[Pro tempore|pro-tempore]]. In the 1960s and 1970s, many residents came to live in Sterling Heights to work in automobile plants operated by [[Chrysler]] and [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]. [[Lakeside Mall]] opened in Sterling Heights in 1976.

The city is home to many groups of immigrants. It has received many people of eastern European origins, including ethnic Albanians, Bosnians, Croatians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Poles, Serbians and Slovenians.<ref name="DublinMurray" /> After the 2003 [[2003 invasion of Iraq|U.S.-Iraqi War]], millions of Iraqi citizens were displaced, particularly [[Assyrians]], whom the majority of which adhere to the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]. Of these, 30,000-50,000 resettled in Sterling Heights, giving parts of the city the nickname "Little Nineveh", especially around 15 Mile Road and Ryan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.secondwavemedia.com/metromode/features/SterlingHeightsChaldean0227.aspx|title=Little Baghdad in Sterling Heights|first=Nicole|last=Rupersburg|date=October 6, 2011|website=Metromode|language=en|access-date=2020-04-25|archive-date=2021-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529183942/https://www.secondwavemedia.com/metromode/features/SterlingHeightsChaldean0227.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hourdetroit.com/art-and-entertainment/weam-namou-iraqi-american-author/|title=The Story Iraqi-American Author Weam Namou Almost Did Not Tell|last=Namou|first=Weam|date=2019-11-26|work=[[Hour Detroit Magazine]]|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-25|archive-date=2020-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820093720/https://www.hourdetroit.com/art-and-entertainment/weam-namou-iraqi-american-author/|url-status=live}}</ref>