Metro Detroit Wayne County Charter township
Northville Township
Woods, a state park and the site of a vanished hospital next door to Northville
- People (2025 estimate)
- 31,399
- Land area
- 16.2 sq mi · 41.9 km²
- From downtown
- 23.3 miles · 38 km · west
- Incorporated
- 1898
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Northville Township matters
Northville Township broke away from Plymouth Township in 1898, supposedly because locals felt the township leaders only cared about Plymouth village. It lies south of the city of Northville, has been a charter township since 1985, and runs its own police and fire departments.
The township's crown jewel is Maybury State Park. A tuberculosis sanatorium stood here until 1969, and in 1975 the land became Wayne County's first state park: nearly a thousand acres of woods and meadows with hiking, biking and horse trails. Next door, Maybury Farm has animals to meet and a corn maze in the fall.
On Seven Mile Road, the Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital operated from 1952 to 2003. After it closed, the huge property was fought over for years; in 2009 residents voted to buy most of it as open space, and the buildings came down between 2018 and 2023. And on July 20, 1907, Michigan's worst passenger train collision happened here: an excursion train headed for Belle Isle slammed into a freight train, killing 34. History remembers it as the Salem train wreck.
02 / Known for
What Northville Township is known for
Maybury State Park, Wayne County's first state park (1975), on the site of a former tuberculosis sanatorium
Maybury Farm, a working farm run by the Northville Community Foundation
The former Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital (1952 to 2003) and the long fight over its land
Site of the 1907 Salem train wreck, Michigan's worst passenger train collision
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Northville Township
Nothing on our calendar in Northville Township right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / What to do
If you’re in Northville Township
Maybury State Park
Nearly a thousand acres of rolling woods and meadows on Eight Mile Road: hiking trails, horseback riding, a fishing pond and a playground. The mountain bike trail is closed for renovation through fall 2026.
Official site ↗Maybury Farm
A family-friendly farm next to the park with barnyard animals and a fall corn maze; closed Mondays.
Official site ↗
05 / History
Northville Township through the years
- 1898
Northville Township splits from Plymouth Township.
- 1907
On July 20, a Pere Marquette excursion train collides with a freight train near Napier Road; 34 people die.
- 1952
Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital opens on Seven Mile Road.
- 1975
The former Maybury Sanatorium grounds become Wayne County's first state park.
- 1985
Northville Township becomes a charter township.
- 2009
On August 4, residents vote for the township to buy most of the former hospital land.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Northville township).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northville_Township,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northville,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybury_State_Park
- michigan.gov/recsearch/parks/Maybury
- mayburyfarm.org
- patch.com/michigan/northville/salem-train-wreck-was-in-northville-township
- twp.northville.mi.us
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.2 percent.
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