3 Nicks Tap Room14594 Eureka Rd, Southgate, MI 48195
Metro Detroit Wayne County City
Southgate
A 1950s boom suburb that may have taken its name from a shopping center
- People (2025 estimate)
- 28,931
- Land area
- 6.9 sq mi · 17.8 km²
- From downtown
- 12.0 miles · 19 km · southwest
- Incorporated
- 1958
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Southgate matters
Southgate is the classic Downriver suburb. Pierre Michel Campau was the first settler on record in 1795, farms ruled for more than a century after that, and the real boom came after World War II. The city was carved from the last pieces of Ecorse Township on October 8, 1958, and quickly adopted the slogan The Symbol of Progress Downriver.
The name story leads to a shopping center. The Southgate Shopping Center opened at Eureka and Trenton roads in fall 1957, one of the first big strip malls in Detroit's southern suburbs, with more than thirty stores at its peak. First mayor Thomas Anderson said the city was named after it; Southgate Anderson High School was named for him in 1982.
These days Southgate is about getting outside and getting on the ice: two indoor rinks on Reaume Parkway, a city golf course and a roughly 40-acre nature center next to the high school. In early June the Heritage Days festival kicks off summer with carnival rides, a parade and fireworks.
02 / Known for
What Southgate is known for
The Southgate Shopping Center, opened in 1957 and designed by Charles N. Agree; its 135-foot water tower came down in 2005
The Southgate Civic Arena with two ice sheets, home of the Southgate Figure Skating Team
Heritage Days every early June; the 2026 festival ran June 4–7
Southgate Tower, the city's tallest building
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Southgate
Nothing on our calendar in Southgate right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
3 places on our site in Southgate
3 Nicks Tap Room14594 Eureka Rd, Southgate, MI 4819505 / What to do
If you’re in Southgate
Southgate Civic Arena
Two indoor rinks on Reaume Parkway with skating programs all year.
Official site ↗Southgate Nature Center
About 40 acres of woods and fields beside Anderson High School, with trails that link into the Downriver Linked Greenways.
Official site ↗Market Center Park
The city's gathering spot, with weekly summer concerts, outdoor markets and special events.
Official site ↗Southgate Historical Foundation Museum
The local history museum at 14120 Dix, open noon to 3 on the first full weekend of each month.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Southgate through the years
- 1795
Pierre Michel Campau becomes the first settler of record.
- 1923
The Old Homestead subdivision is platted in Ecorse Township, though it stays mostly farmland for two decades.
- 1955
In November a petition to incorporate is filed with the Wayne County Board of Supervisors.
- 1957
The Southgate Shopping Center opens, with its grand opening on October 16.
- 1958
Southgate incorporates as a city on October 8.
- 1982
The high school is named for first mayor Thomas Anderson.
07 / People
Famous names from here
- Thomas J. Anderson Ecorse Township's last supervisor, Southgate's first mayor and the man behind its name
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Southgate city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- southgatemi.gov/community/community_profile/history.php
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southgate,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southgate_Shopping_Center
- southgatemi.gov/departments/parks_recreation/index.php
- littleguidedetroit.com/top-festivals-fireworks-in-metro-detroit-this-june-2026
- southgatemi.gov/departments/downtown_development_authority/events.php
- southgatemi.gov/departments/historical_foundation.php
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Homestead,_Southgate,_Michigan
- southgatemi.gov
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −3.6 percent.
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