Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Metro Detroit Wayne County City
A Victorian small town straddling 8 Mile and two counties
01 / Why it matters
Northville is one of the best-preserved small towns in Metro Detroit: Queen Anne Victorians ring the downtown, and the city passed a historic preservation ordinance back in 1974. Fun twist: 8 Mile Road, the county line, runs right through it, so the south half is in Wayne County and the north half in Oakland.
The town grew up around John Miller's mill in the 1820s, became a village in 1867 and a city in 1955. Henry Ford set up a factory here in 1919, and the Northville Valve Plant made valves for nearly every Ford, Mercury and Lincoln until 1981. From 1926 to 1929 Eddie Stinson built his first airplanes here before moving on to Wayne.
From 1944 to 2024 this was home to Northville Downs, Michigan's first nighttime harness racing track, on the old Wayne County Fair grounds where Joe Louis trained in 1939. In June 2026 Downs River Park opened along the newly daylighted Rouge River, and on Sundays Mill Race Village lets you stroll straight into the 1800s.
02 / Known for
A Victorian downtown protected by city ordinance since 1974
Mill Race Village, including the 1832 Cady Inn, a documented stop on the Underground Railroad
Northville Downs (1944 to 2024), Michigan's first nighttime harness track
The Heritage Festival every September, with Victorian-costumed parade entries (called the Victorian Festival until 2016)
03 / What’s on
Oct 2, 2026, 5:00 PMDowntown Northville · For the 15th year, the Northville Downtown Development Authority lets life-sized skeletons take over downtown Northville for all of October, kicking off with a launch party on Friday, October 2, 5–10 p.m.
04 / Places
05 / What to do
An open-air village on the site of John Miller's old gristmill on Griswold Street, with relocated 1800s houses, a schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop and an interurban station. Open Sunday afternoons.
Official site ↗Cafes, restaurants and boutiques around Main and Center; summer Friday night concerts on Town Square since 1986.
Official site ↗Opened June 17, 2026, along the daylighted Rouge River: riverside paths, open green space and links to the town's trail network.
Official site ↗06 / History
Northville incorporates as a village out of Plymouth Township.
Henry Ford buys a factory in the village; it becomes the Northville Valve Plant.
Northville Downs opens as Michigan's first nighttime harness racing track.
Northville becomes a city.
Mill Race Village opens, made possible by a Ford Motor Company donation.
Downs River Park opens on June 17.
07 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Northville city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −1.6 percent.
