Romulus

01 / Why it matters

Why Romulus matters

Fly into Detroit and you'll most likely touch down in Romulus: this is home to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, DTW for short. It was dedicated on September 4, 1930; the airlines moved over from Willow Run in 1958; the McNamara Terminal opened in 2002 and the Evans Terminal in 2008. McNamara's Concourse A runs about a mile, with the ExpressTram gliding overhead and a pedestrian tunnel lit by a light show synced to music.

Behind the runways is a much older town. Romulus Township was organized on March 17, 1835, two years before Michigan became a state, and it became a city in 1970. In the 1800s it was a stop on the Underground Railroad: freedom seekers hid in the cellar of the Samuel Kingsley home, and the White Church at Five Points, today's 5 Points Church, helped too.

In the downtown Historical Park you can still see the 1839 first schoolhouse, now the local history museum, and the 1855 Kingsley House. Every September the same park hosts the Romulus Pumpkin Festival, running since 1997, with a Parade of Lights where everything from bikes to cement trucks glows, plus a classic car show and a craft fair.