Jump Starts in Redford Michigan

Redford, officially the Charter Township of Redford, is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township shares its eastern border with the city of Detroit. The population was 49,504 at the 2020 census.

Springwells Township and Bucklin Township were formally organized and laid out by gubernatorial act on April 12, 1827. Postal regulations prohibiting two post offices having the same name required—when a township was subdivided—unique names to be found. The Bucklin name was extinguished when it was split on October 29, 1829, along what is now Inkster Road into Nankin Township (west half) and Pekin Township (east half), named as a result of a wave of interest in China. In March 1833, Pekin was renamed Redford and the southern half became Dearborn Township on April 1. The name Redford was chosen because natives and colonial European immigrants forded the River Rouge where the river runs through Redford. “Rouge” is French for “red.”

The township used to go all the way to Greenfield Road, but in the 1920s the eastern portions of the township were annexed by Detroit. This annexation ceased
in 1926 when the township was given “charter” status by the Michigan legislature. In 1918 there was a post office named “Five Points” operating between 6 Mile Road and 7 Mile Road along the road of that name.

Redford is the site of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, whose hiring practices spurred the 2012 Supreme Court Case Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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