Metro Detroit Wayne County City
Riverview
Riverside town with an 1812 battlefield, a Cold War missile and 27 holes of golf
- People (2025 estimate)
- 11,947
- Land area
- 4.6 sq mi · 11.8 km²
- From downtown
- 13.4 miles · 22 km · southwest
- Incorporated
- 1959
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Riverview matters
Riverview is a small, quiet residential town on the Detroit River, with most of its shops and restaurants strung along Fort Street. The name is exactly what it sounds like: this was the river view section of Monguagon Township. It became a village in 1923 and a city on March 24, 1959.
Its past is louder than you'd guess. On August 9, 1812, American troops clashed here with the British and their Native allies at the Battle of Monguagon, where the Shawnee leader Tecumseh was wounded. In the 1950s, Nike air-defense missiles stood ready where Young Patriots Park is now; site D-54 was deactivated in February 1963.
Today the city is known for two things it runs itself: the 27-hole Riverview Highlands golf course on Sibley Road, and the Riverview Land Preserve landfill, open since 1968, which turns landfill gas into electricity. Hungarian footnote: when I-75 split Delray, Detroit's Hungarian neighborhood, in the 1960s, some of those families moved to Riverview.
02 / Known for
What Riverview is known for
The Battle of Monguagon on August 9, 1812, part of the War of 1812
Nike missile site D-54 during the Cold War, now Young Patriots Park, where a Nike missile stands on display
The city-run Riverview Highlands golf course: 27 holes, the first nine opened in 1973
The Riverview Land Preserve, a city-owned landfill since 1968 with a gas-to-electricity plant
The limestone quarry near Sibley and Fort that brought jobs and spin-off businesses to the early village
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Riverview
Nothing on our calendar in Riverview right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
1 places on our site in Riverview
05 / What to do
If you’re in Riverview
Riverview Highlands Golf Course
A public 27-hole city course on Sibley Road, built as three nines.
Official site ↗Young Patriots Park
A park on the old missile site, where a Nike missile on a pedestal tells the Cold War story.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Riverview through the years
- 1812
The Battle of Monguagon is fought on August 9; Tecumseh is wounded.
- 1923
The Village of Riverview incorporates, with Sam Vreeland as first village president.
- 1959
Riverview becomes a city on March 24.
- 1963
Nike site D-54 is deactivated in February.
- 1968
The city landfill, today's Riverview Land Preserve, opens.
- 1973
The first nine at Riverview Highlands opens.
08 / People
Famous names from here
- Lloyd Carr moved to Riverview at ten, quarterbacked the high school to an undefeated 1962 season, and later coached Michigan to the 1997 national title
- Bill McCartney the longtime Colorado football coach and Promise Keepers founder was born in Riverview in 1940
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Riverview city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- cityofriverview.com/community/history_of_riverview
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverview,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maguaga
- waynecountymi.gov/Government/Departments/Economic-Development/Our-Communities/Riverview
- cityofriverview.com/departments/riverview_highlands_golf_course/review_of_course_-_detroit_news.php
- cityofriverview.com/departments/land_preserve/index.php
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Carr
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_McCartney
- cityofriverview.com
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −4.4 percent.
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