Web Design in Melvindale, MI

Melvindale, Michigan

Melvindale is in Wayne County.

Well-Known Places in Melvindale

Melvindale Civic Arena, John K. Kessey Fieldhouse, Oakwood Heights origins.

About Melvindale, Michigan

Melvindale is a small, dense Downriver Wayne County city of about 12,900 people packed into 2.75 square miles just southwest of Detroit. Born in the 1920s to house Ford Rouge autoworkers and ringed by busy rail yards, it keeps a tight-knit, blue-collar identity summed up in its motto, 'The Little City with the Big Heart.'

History of Melvindale

• Began in the early 1920s as the unincorporated subdivision of Oakwood Heights in northwestern Ecorse Township, laid out to house workers from Ford's nearby River Rouge Plant in Dearborn.
• Named for Melvin Wilkinson, one of the settlement's original developers.
• Detroit annexed the eastern portion of Oakwood Heights in 1922; the remainder incorporated as the village of Melvindale that same year, then became a city in 1933.

Landmarks and Places in Melvindale

• Melvindale Civic Arena, a community ice rink.

The Melvindale Economy

• A major railroad crossroads, handling traffic through the Norfolk Southern Oakwood Yard, Canadian National Railway, and Conrail Shared Assets operations.
• Its location at the industrial corridor linking Detroit to Chicago and Detroit to Toledo made it a natural site for the mid-century commercial and industrial boom.
• Local economy today leans on small, family-owned businesses and eateries alongside its industrial and rail base.

Community Life in Melvindale

• Melvindale Days, an annual festival running more than 25 years, brings a carnival midway, live music, vendors, Sunday fireworks, and the Little Miss Melvindale Pageant.
• Seasonal traditions include Harvestfest, Winterfest, and a Parks & Recreation 'Trunk or Treat' with hayrides each October.
• Longtime food institutions include The Original Gonella's (Italian subs for over 75 years), Melvindale Coney Island, Jack's Italian Bakery, and Fredi the PizzaMan.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, melvindale.org, michiganfireworks.com