Metro Detroit Wayne County Charter township
Redford Charter Township
The red ford on the Rouge: a big residential township on Detroit's west edge
- People (2025 estimate)
- 47,432
- Land area
- 11.2 sq mi · 29.1 km²
- From downtown
- 13.4 miles · 22 km · west
- Incorporated
- 1926
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Redford Charter Township matters
Redford is Detroit's western neighbor, a big, densely settled community that legally isn't a city but a charter township. Its history is full of name changes: it was born as Pekin in 1829, when Bucklin Township split in two during a wave of interest in China, and it was renamed Redford in March 1833.
The township once reached all the way to Greenfield Road, but in the 1920s Detroit annexed its eastern sections piece by piece, until charter township status stopped the land grab in 1926. Don't mix it up: the famous Redford Theatre, a 1928 movie palace and organ house decked out in Japanese and Chinese motifs, stands in Detroit's Old Redford neighborhood, which was annexed from Redford Township in 1926.
Today it's mostly residential, with schools and parks; the middle branch of the Rouge runs through Lola Valley Park. On the site of the old library, the Marquee opened in 2008 as an open-air market and stage, with a summer farmers market, Oktoberfest and events all year. Sufjan Stevens even wrote a song about his childhood here on his 2003 album Michigan.
02 / Known for
What Redford Charter Township is known for
Its name points to the old ford across the Rouge, the “red ford.”
The 2012 unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Redford's Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran church and school, holding that federal anti-discrimination laws don't apply to how religious groups choose their ministers.
Sufjan Stevens's “Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)” on his 2003 album Michigan draws on childhood memories of his grandparents' place in Redford.
Its sister cities are St. Johann in Tirol, Austria, and Gau-Algesheim, Germany.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Redford Charter Township
Nothing on our calendar in Redford Charter Township right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
3 places on our site in Redford Charter Township
05 / What to do
If you’re in Redford Charter Township
The Marquee
An open-air market and stage on the old library site: a farmers market in summer, Oktoberfest in the fall and community events year-round.
Official site ↗Lola Valley Park
A park in the township with the middle branch of the Rouge River running through it.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Redford Charter Township through the years
- 1827
On April 12 Bucklin Township was organized by the governor's act.
- 1829
On October 29 Bucklin Township split along today's Inkster Road into Nankin (west) and Pekin (east).
- 1833
In March Pekin was renamed Redford, and its southern half became Dearborn Township in April.
- 1926
The state legislature granted the township charter status, ending Detroit's annexations; that same year the Old Redford neighborhood was annexed into Detroit.
- 2008
In July the Marquee open-air market and amphitheater opened on the old library site.
- 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the Redford Hosanna-Tabor school case, recognizing the so-called ministerial exception.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Redford charter township).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redford,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosanna-Tabor_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_%26_School_v._Equal_Employment_Opportunity_Commission
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_(album)
- redfordtwp.gov
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redford_Theatre
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −4.1 percent.
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