Web Design in Grosse Ile, MI

Grosse Ile, Michigan

Grosse Ile is in Wayne County.

Well-Known Places in Grosse Ile

Grosse Ile Lighthouse, Former Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Grosse Ile Toll Bridge.

About Grosse Ile, Michigan

Grosse Ile is a township made entirely of islands, twelve of them scattered in the Detroit River about 18 miles southwest of downtown Detroit, and it is the largest and most populated island in that river. Two bridges are the only way on or off by car, one a private toll span opened on Thanksgiving Day 1913 and the other a 1931 conversion of an abandoned railroad crossing that locals still call the Free Bridge. Auto barons summered here, the Navy trained George H.W. Bush here, the world's only successful metal-skinned airship was built here, and the outboard motor was invented on the island.

History of Grosse Ile

• The Potawatomi occupied the island and called it Kitcheminishen. French explorers named it la grosse île, the big island, in 1679, and Father Louis Hennepin came with La Salle; Hennepin Point still carries his name.
• On July 6, 1776, the Potawatomi deeded the island to brothers Alexander and William Macomb, who are considered the founders of the European-American community there.

Landmarks and Places in Grosse Ile

• Grosse Ile Lighthouse, first built in 1894 on wooden pilings with a 170-foot walkway to shore, rebuilt in 1906 as the white tower seen today. The beacon went dark in the 1940s and the township bought the structure from the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1965 for $350.
• St. James Episcopal Church, an 1867 Carpenter Gothic frame church built in part with a bequest from Lisette Denison Forth (recorded elsewhere as Elizabeth Denison), a formerly enslaved woman. Its red doors are dedicated to her memory, and it holds an 1898 Tiffany window titled Angel of Praise.

The Grosse Ile Economy

• A high-income residential township rather than an industrial one. The 2020 census recorded a median household income of $125,469 and per capita income of $65,696, with about 3.2% of residents below the poverty line.

Community Life in Grosse Ile

• Islandfest, formerly the Azalea Festival, is the township's annual celebration and is staged around the municipal airport.
• Boating is the island's native pastime. By the late 19th century Grosse Ile was a favorite destination for recreational boaters, and paddle steamers carried Detroiters to an amusement park, dance pavilion and bathing beach on Sugar Island.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org