Romulus, Michigan: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 203: Line 203:
== Notable residents ==
== Notable residents ==


* [[John Holifield]] - a running back for the [[West Virginia Mountaineers]] (b. [[1964]])
* [[John Holifield]] - a former running back for the [[West Virginia Mountaineers]] (b. [[1964]])
* [[Charley Lau]] - an American catcher and a hitting coach in [[Major League Baseball]] (b. [[1933]] - d. [[1984]])
* [[Charley Lau]] - an American catcher and a hitting coach in [[Major League Baseball]] (b. [[1933]] - d. [[1984]])
* [[John Long (basketball)|John Long]] - a retired [[NBA]] [[basketball]] player, a former [[Detroit Pistons]] (b. [[1956]])
* [[John Long (basketball)|John Long]] - a retired [[NBA]] [[basketball]] player, a former [[Detroit Pistons]] (b. [[1956]])

Revision as of 02:20, 1 August 2007

Romulus, Michigan
Nickname(s): 
"Gateway to the World",
"Rom-City"
Motto(s): 
"With Pride, With Unity"
(Industry and its Citizens working together)
Location of Romulus, Michigan
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyWayne County
Settled1826
Organized1835
Incorporation1970
Government
 • MayorAlan R. Lambert
Population
 (2006)
 • Total24,137
ZIP code
48174
Websitewww.romulusgov.com

Romulus is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,979 at the 2000 census. The 2006 U.S. Census population estimate was 24,137. It is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 93.0 km² (35.9 mi²). 93.0 km² (35.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.03% is water. The City of Romulus is bound to the North by Van Born Road, to the South by Pennsylvania Road, to the East by Inkster Road, and to the West by Hannan Road.

Adjacent communities

Expressway access

The following is a list of freeway exits to access to the city:

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 22,979 people, 8,439 households, and 5,941 families residing in the city. The population density was 247.1/km² (639.9/mi²). There were 8,943 housing units at an average density of 96.2/km² (249.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.36% White, 29.99% African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 2.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.01% of the population.

There were 8,439 households out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,088, and the median income for a family was $51,497. Males had a median income of $41,372 versus $27,517 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,679. About 10.6% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

City government

  • Mayor - Alan R. Lambert
  • City Clerk - Linda Choate
  • Treasurer - Pamela Morrison-Kersey

City Council

  • Randolph Gear (Pro-Tem)
  • John Barden
  • Ellen Bragg
  • Leroy Burcroff
  • Harry Crout
  • William Crova
  • William Wadsworth

History

The first white settler in Romulus was Samuel Polyne, a French-Canadian, who located on section 2 in 1826, though he left soon after the township was organized in 1835. Solomon Whitaker, Charles and Joseph Pulcifer located in the area in 1830, and in 1833, Jenks Pullen and his six sons settled at what became known as "Pullen's Corners" (located in section 19 at the intersection that is now commonly called "Five Points"). Pullen's Corners was platted in 1836. The community later took on the name of the Township.[1][2][3][4]

The Township of Romulus was set off from a part of Huron Township by an Act of the Territorial Legislature on March 17, 1835, and the first township meeting was held on April 16, 1835 in the house of Joseph T. Pullen. The first supervisor was David J. Pullen. The Township's name was changed to "Wayne" on March 19, 1845, but was changed back to Romulus on January 16, 1848.[1][2][3][4]

Romulus incorporated as a city in 1970.

Underground Railroad stops

  • Samuel Kingsley Home is a famous historic landmark in Romulus. During slave times, Samuel L. Kingsley lived in a house on Ozga Rd near Pullens Corners, what is today known as Five Points. He hid slaves in an underground cellar. Today, the house is located on Hunt Street across from the Romulus Historical Museum. The address to the house was 37426 S. Huron River Drive.
  • The White Church at the Pullens Corner / Five Points was also an underground railroad stop. Today, the church, which is now called Romulus Wesleyan Church, still sits at the corner.

Historical places

The following are historic places in the City of Romulus:

  • Romulus Memorial Cemetery
  • Block's Greenhouse & Produce Market
  • Peter C. Byrd Home (located at Wayne Rd. and Grant St.)
  • Merril - Morris House
  • Grange Hall (current Western Wayne Alano Club)
  • Morris Homestead
  • Romulus School House No.# 1 (currently Romulus Historical Museum)
  • Old Romulus South Junior High School (currently the Romulus Police Department)

Some of these historic sites are also Michigan Historic Sites.


Parks and recreation

Recreation

Currently, a new recreation center is being built on Wayne Rd at Northline Rd, just west of Detroit Metro Airport.

Parks

The following parks are affiliated with The Department of Parks & Recreation:

  • Beverly McAnally Neighborhood Park - Located on Cordell Street, off of Joan Street, East of Middlebelt Road
  • Boice Neighborhood Park - extension to Eugenio Fernandez Park
  • Cypress Neighborhood Park - Corner of Hunt and Cypress Streets, West of Wayne Rd
  • Elmer Johnson Community Park - Ozga Road between McBride and Wick Roads, North of Five Points
  • Eugenio Fernandez Neighborhood Park - Located on Avalon Street, off of Fourth Street, East of Wayne Road
  • Historical Park - Corner of Bibbins and Hunt Streets, located in the outside of the Historical museum
  • Mary Ann Banks Community Park - Located at Five Points, behind the White Church
  • Merriman Neighborhood Park - Located on Merriman Road, next to Merriman Elementary
  • Romulus - Park #1 - Corner of Henry Ruff and Beverly Roads, next to Romulus Elementary
  • Senior Citizens Neighborhood Park - Located at the corner of Bibbins and Olive Street, behind the Senior Citizens Center

The following parks are in the community, but not affiliatted with the Department of Parks & Recreattion:

  • Civic League Park - Located on Grover Street behind the Romulus Civic League Center, West of Wayne Road
  • Halecreek Park - Located behind Halecreek Elementary on Harrison Street.
  • VFW Park - Located at Wayne Rd & Waynecourse Dr.

Media

Newspapers

Education

Romulus Community Schools

School name School mascot Grades
Romulus Senior High School Eagles 9th - 12th Grade
Romulus Middle School Bulldogs 7th & 8th Grade
Romulus Community High/Middle School Lions 7th - 12th Grade
Barth Elementary School Bears Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Cory Elementary School Cougars Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Halecreek Elementary School Hawks Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Merriman Elementary School Superstars Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Romulus Elementary School Jaguars Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Wick Elementary School Wildcats Kindergarten - 6th Grade
Lorena G. Burton Center No Mascot Early Childhood / Pre-Kindergarten

Michigan Blue Ribbon Schools

  • In 2004, Barth Elementary was awarded the Michigan Blue Ribbon School Award by the Michigan Department of Education.
  • In 2007, Wick Elementary received this award as well.

Other schools

Summit Charter Academies and National Heritage Academies are one of the Top 100 schools in the country. The following are the schools in the city:

  • Summit North Elementary Academy (K - 5)
  • Summit Middle School Academy (6 - 8)
  • Summit High School Academy (9 - 12)
  • Metro Charter Academy (K - 8)

Notable residents

Unfortunate Events

The following are serious events that took place.

Chemical plant explosion

Wikinews has related news:

On August 9, 2005 at approximately 9:30 p.m., the EQ Recovery Plant caught fire. Citizens within 1 to 1⅓ mile radius were forced to evacuate their homes. Romulus fire crews and crews from Taylor, Belleville, Woodhaven,Westland, Canton & Sumpter Township managed to put out the fire after letting it burn down a little bit. Chemical-filled smoke filled the sky, causing respiratory problems. Many citizens from both Romulus and Wayne were taken to Oakwood Annapolis Hospital, about 2 miles from the explosion site. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Northwest Flight 255 Crash

On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed after taking off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. All crew and passengers was killed except for a 4-year old girl. Today, a memorial sits on top of a hill at the site of the crash located on Middlebelt Rd between Interstate 94 and Wick Rd/Interstate 94 East Service Dr.

CSX Train Incident

In 2001, a CSX Transportation train crashed into a car on Tobine Road. The driver and passenger of the vehicle were killed, the engineer suffered major injuries. Today, a marker is placed at the site of the incident.

Music

Musician Sufjan Stevens wrote a song titled "Romulus" on an album entitled Michigan (aka, Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State).

References

  1. ^ a b Fuller, George Newman (2005) [1928?]. "County Organization and Government". Local history of Detroit and Wayne County / edited by George B. Catlin. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. pp. pp. 109-110. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Farmer, Silas (2005) [1890]. "Romulus Township". History of Detroit and Wayne County and early Michigan. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. pp. pp. 1362-1364. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. ^ a b Wayne County Historical and Pioneer Society. (2005) [1890]. "Romulus". In Frederick Carlisle (ed.). Chronography of notable events in the history of the Northwest Territory and Wayne County. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. pp. p. 81. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Brief History of Romulus". City of Romulus. Retrieved 2007-04-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romulus, Michigan.

42°13′20″N 83°23′48″W / 42.22222°N 83.39667°W / 42.22222; -83.39667

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Romulus,_Michigan&oldid=148410306"