Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn
Flag of Dearborn
Official seal of Dearborn
Motto: 
"Home Town of Henry Ford"[1]
Location within Wayne County, Michigan
Location within Wayne County, Michigan
Dearborn is located in Michigan
Dearborn
Dearborn
Location within Michigan
Dearborn is located in the United States
Dearborn
Dearborn
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 42°18′52″N 83°12′48″W / 42.31444°N 83.21333°W / 42.31444; -83.21333
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyWayne
Settled1786
Incorporated1893 (village)
1927 (city)
Government
 • TypeMayor–council
 • MayorAbdullah Hammoud (D)
 • ClerkGeorge Darany
Area
 • City24.52 sq mi (63.49 km2)
 • Land24.25 sq mi (62.80 km2)
 • Water0.27 sq mi (0.69 km2)
Elevation
591 ft (180 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City109,976
 • Density4,535.65/sq mi (1,751.25/km2)
 • Metro
4,285,832 (Metro Detroit)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
48120, 48121, 48123, 48124, 48126, 48128
Area code313
FIPS code26-21000
GNIS feature ID0624432[3]
Websitecityofdearborn.org

Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Detroit, bordering Detroit to the south and west, roughly 7 miles (11.3 km) west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976, ranking as the seventh-largest city in Michigan. Dearborn is best known as the home of the Ford Motor Company, and the birthplace and hometown of its founder, Henry Ford.

The first written settlement of Dearborn dates to 18th century by French Canadian voyageurs who initially called the settlement La Belle Fontaine or Place aux Fontaines because of the abundant springs in the city. Therefore, Dearborn was once named Springwells, an anglicization of the French name.[4] The settlement was connected to the Detroit River ribbon farm communities and other farms connected to the Rouge River and the Sauk Trail. The community grew in the 19th century with the establishment of the Detroit Arsenal on the Chicago Road linking Detroit and Chicago. In the 20th century, it developed as a major manufacturing hub for the automotive industry.

Henry Ford was born on a farm that was once at the intersection of Ford Road and Greenfield Road. Ford later built his estate, Fair Lane, and his River Rouge Complex, the largest factory of his empire, in Dearborn. He developed mass production of automobiles, and based the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company here. The city has a campus of the University of Michigan, and Henry Ford College. The Henry Ford is the largest indoor-outdoor historic museum complex in the United States, and Metro Detroit's leading tourist attraction.[5][6]

Dearborn residents are Americans primarily of European or Middle Eastern ancestry, many descendants of 19th and 20th-century immigrants. The census identifies primary European ethnicities as German, Polish, Irish, and Italian. New waves of immigration came from the Middle East in the late 20th century, Muslims and Christians from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Dearborn has the largest Muslim population in the United States per capita and the largest mosque in North America.[7]

  1. ^ "City of Dearborn, Michigan". City of Dearborn, Michigan. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  2. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "Dearborn". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ^ ""The Dearborn Historian," Dearborn Historical Commission" (PDF). 1978.
  5. ^ America's Story, Explore the States: Michigan (2006). Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village Archived October 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Library of Congress, Retrieved on May 2, 2007.
  6. ^ State of Michigan: MI Kids (2006).Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village Archived December 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on May 2, 2007.
  7. ^ Population of Michigan Cities, Villages, Townships, and Remainders of Townships. www.michigan.gov.[better source needed]