Early History
The earliest known residents of this area, of course, were indigenous people from various tribes: the Hurons, Ottawas, Ojibwas, Pottawatomies, and Iroquois. Fort Pontchartrain was established in 1701 in what became Detroit. The first stable roads in the area were along Grand River and Woodward. In 1817 the state of Michigan was divided into counties, and the counties were then further divided into townships of 36 sections. The first know settler of the Southfield Township area was a man named John Daniels, who began residence in 1823. In the early years of Oakland County, two southern townships were considered one, and were referred to as Bloomfield Township. In July 1830, the southern half of Bloomfield Township was designated as Ossewa Township, and 17 days later a group of citizens petitioned the state to change its name to Southfield Township. This became the area bounded by Eight Mile Road, Greenfield Road, Fourteen Mile Road, and Inkster Road.
CURRENT HISTORY
Urbanization grew, and in the 1950’s much of what had been Southfield Township sought their own individual identity. On May 12, 1953 the area known as Lathrup Village became incorporated as a City (by the margin of 85 votes). The Village of Franklin had been settled beginning in 1824, but was incorporated as a Home Rule Village on November 8, 1953. The Bingham Farms area had been first settled in 1833, but joined in the community identity movement and became an incorporated Village on October 4, 1955. The City of Southfield became an incorporated City in September 1957. Finally, the Village of Westwood was incorporated in April 1958, and shortly thereafter changed its name to the Village of Beverly Hills. Now that Lathrup Village and Southfield have become incorporated cities, the remaining 6.2 square miles consist of the three villages of Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, and Franklin, and some unincorporated areas covering approximately 119 acres.why does the township still exist?
By law, cities and townships are considered “stand-alone” communities. State law says that villages must be part of a township, and townships are statutorily required to collect school and county taxes, hold village, state, and national elections, and provide assessing services. Other services provided by the Township are collaborative efforts to reduce costs to the villages.