Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 28,006 at the 2000 census. Wyandotte is located in the southeastern lower peninsula, approximately eleven miles south of Detroit on the Detroit River and is part of the collection of communities known as Downriver. Wyandotte is bounded by Southgate (west), Lincoln Park (northwest), Riverview (south) and Ecorse (north).
History
Incorporated as a city in 1867, the site where Wyandotte sits today was in the 1700s a village for the Native American tribe known as the Wyandot or Wendat, part of the Huron nation. It was from here in 1763 that Chief Pontiac plotted his attack on Detroit. The center of the village was near modern-day Eureka Avenue and Oak Street.
In 1818, the Wyandot signed a treaty with the United States that handed over the land and forced them to move to what is today Flat Rock 10 miles to the south. Through the early 1800s, the tribe was moved several times, once to Ohio, then to Kansas, then to Oklahoma (where the name somewhat lives on as Wyandotte County, Kansas).
In 1818 the Wyandot Indians signed a treaty with the US government relinquishing this land, moving to an area near Flat Rock, Michigan then to Ohio, Kansas, and finally Oklahoma.[1]
One of the first white settlers to come to Wyandotte in the years after the Native Americans left was John Biddle, a Pennslyvania-born former Army Major who fought in the War of 1812 (and later went on to a prolific political career, serving as mayor of Detroit, delegate from the Territory of Michigan in the U.S. Congress, president of the Michigan Central Railroad, member and later speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives and one-time candidate for Michigan governor[2]. (West Jefferson Boulevard, which runs from downtown Detroit south to Monroe County is named renamed Biddle Avenue within Wyandotte city limits.)
Biddle purchase a 2,200-acre plot near modern Biddle Avenue and Vinewood Avenue in 1835 and created a farm he called "The Wyandotte." He sold the plot in 1854 to Eber Ward of the Eureka Iron Co. for $44,000. In 1864, he took iron ore from Upper Peninsula and smelted it into iron in huge furnaces which came to be known as Bessemer steel mills, the first in the nation. [3]. In 1865, the process created steel rails and allowed an explosion of iron-related businesses to open in the region. As a result, Detroit soon became a major center of iron production, especially for use in stoves (Wyandotte was home to several companies as well, including the Regeant Stove Co.) It would be this technology that would give Henry Ford from nearby Dearborn the capabilities to create large amounts of steel for his automobile assembly lines.
A Eureka representative named John Van Alstyne laid out a master plan for the city in the late 1850s. In 1867, Wyandotte became a city, with Van Alstyne as major (a street along Wyandotte's Detroit River is named after him).
Eureka Iron Works prospered through the late 1800s, but suffered a shortage of raw materials. It closed in 1892, but not before Wyandotte became a major hub in the chemical production industry, possible because of the many salt mines deep below the city.
An early figure was Capt. John Baptiste Ford, who used the salt to create soda ash, which in turn was used to create plate glass. In 1893, he created Michigan Alkali Co., which created baking soda, soda ash and lye. The company, later renamed Wyandotte Chemicals Co., went on to create a variety of soaps and cleaners
Ward also help create Wyandotte's ship-building role, which existed from the 1870s into the 1920s. During that time, a wide variety of boats were created along Wyandotte's riverbank, from steamers and tugs to huge ferries. In 1873, Ward's Wyandotte Iron Ship Building Works built the nation's earliest stell-hulled vessel, a tug called the Sport [4].
In the 1920s well into the 1950s, Wyandotte was also a major center of toy production. The Wyandotte Toy Co. created an array of metal toys including cars, planes and boats. [5]
Today, much of the industry has disappeared, aside from two notable exceptions: BASF and Atofina (a division of Elf Aquitane) located nearby. BASF's campus is located in Wyandotte's north end while Atochem's operations sit just across the city's southern boundary, in the community of Riverview. In July 2001, three workers at Atofina were killed when a rail car leaked a colorless, odorless gas called methyl mercaptan. The gas exploded into flames and led to the emergency evacuation of 2,000 area residents, including some Wyandotte citizens.
Roosevelt High School
Wyandotte's high school is Theodore Roosevelt High School, with the sports teams being known as the Bears. The school runs a full sports program, including football, tennis, basketball, softball, swimming, volleyball, ice hockey, crew, track and field and -- more recently -- bowling.
The school also has a strong music program. In March 2004, the Roosevelt High School A Capella Choir performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and followed just over a year later with a May 2005 performance at National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The choir is scheduled to appear at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, in summer 2006.
In August 1996, the Roosevelt High School marching band performed for then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, who stopped at Bacon Memorial Library during his campaign[6].
In 2006 the Roosevelt High School jazz ensemble performed in Lansing, Michigan and competed in the Western Michigan University Jazz festival.
Street Layout
For the most part, north-and-south streets are numbered, starting with 1st Street on the East Side and ending with 23rd Street on the West Side. The city is divided into East and West sides with 4 sets of railroad tracks. (The divider line in Detroit is Woodward Avenue.)
Michigan State Highways criss-cross Wyandotte: M-85/Fort Street.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.1 km² (7.0 mi²). 13.8 km² (5.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.3 km² (1.7 mi²) of it (23.82%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 28,006 people, 11,816 households, and 7,420 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,036.4/km² (5,278.1/mi²). There were 12,303 housing units at an average density of 894.6/km² (2,318.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.32% White, 0.52% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.91% of the population. Residents are predominately of Polish descent.
There were 11,816 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,740, and the median income for a family was $54,106. Males had a median income of $42,469 versus $27,261 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,185. About 4.7% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
Notable People From Wyandotte
- Amy Hayes, boxing announcer and fashion model.
- Lee Majors, actor most noted as The Six Million Dollar Man.
- Thomas McGuane, novelist known for such works as Ninety-Two in the Shade and husband of actress Margot Kidder.
- Charles Hendrix, actor. IMDB page for Charles Hendrix
- Dave Preston, actor and production designer. IMDB page for Dave Preston (II)
- Michelle Belaskie, actress. IMDB page for Michelle Belaskie
- Valerie Meachum, actress. IMDB page for Valerie Meachum
- Garrett Shatzer, film composer. IMDB page for Garrett Shatzer
Wyandotte facts
Wyandotte provides its own power through a municipal power plant and operates city-owned water and cable television services. It is also home of the first plant in North America to utilize the Bessemer steel process.
The city also holds its annual Wyandotte Street Fair on Biddle Avenue. It is the second largest such event in Michigan, behind the Ann Arbor Street Art Fairs, and draws artists and exhibitors from across the United States.
James R. Desana is the mayor of Wyandotte. A city council and other elected officials oversee the community's governance.
Wyandotte is a sister city to Komaki, Japan, and each year delegates from Komaki come to Wyandotte to tour the city.
External links
School [7]