Metro Detroit Oakland County City
Wixom
Where Thunderbirds and Town Cars were built, with a new downtown on Pontiac Trail
- People (2025 estimate)
- 17,313
- Land area
- 9.1 sq mi · 23.7 km²
- From downtown
- 28.1 miles · 45 km · northwest
- Incorporated
- 1958
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Wixom matters
Wixom started out as Sibley's Corners: its first permanent settler, 20-year-old Alonzo Sibley, arrived in 1831. In 1871 Willard Wixom gave the railroad a right of way through his farm and platted a town, and the rail junction grew into one of Michigan's biggest grain and produce shipping points.
In the 20th century one factory shaped Wixom. Ford opened its Lincoln plant here on April 15, 1957, and over fifty years more than 6.6 million vehicles rolled off its lines, from Lincoln Continentals, Town Cars and Thunderbirds to the GT40s of the 1960s and the Ford GT of the 2000s. The plant is why Wixom became a village in 1957 and a city in 1958; it closed in 2007, and demolition began in 2012.
Today the city is building a new downtown along Pontiac Trail, where The Junction social district lets anyone 21 and over carry a drink from a local bar onto the sidewalks and into the parks. Detroit PBS has its headquarters in Wixom, and the Wixom-Wire House, a pastor's home from 1855, keeps the old days alive.
02 / Known for
What Wixom is known for
Ford's Wixom Assembly Plant (1957 to 2007), which built 6,648,806 vehicles in fifty years
The Ford Thunderbird built here was Motor Trend Car of the Year in both 1958 and 2002
Headquarters of Detroit PBS, the region's public television station
In the late 1800s, one of Michigan's largest grain and produce shipping points, built around the rail junction
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Wixom
Nothing on our calendar in Wixom right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
4 places on our site in Wixom
05 / What to do
If you’re in Wixom
Downtown Wixom és The Junction
The new downtown along Pontiac Trail, with restaurants and bars; in The Junction social district you can carry your drink into Sibley Square Park from noon to 10 p.m.
Official site ↗Wixom-Wire House
Built in 1855 by Lucy Wixom for the Rev. Samuel Wire at Wixom and Maple roads, it's now a museum and Michigan Historic Site.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Wixom through the years
- 1831
The first permanent settler, 20-year-old Alonzo Sibley, arrives; the place becomes Sibley's Corners.
- 1871
Willard Wixom grants the Holly, Wayne & Monroe Railway a right of way through his land and plats the town.
- 1957
Ford's Lincoln plant opens on April 15, and in May Wixom incorporates as a village.
- 1958
Despite opposition from Novi Township officials, Wixom becomes a city.
- 2007
On May 31 the last car, a Lincoln Town Car, rolls off the line and the plant closes.
- 2012
Ford begins demolishing the plant; a Menards store has since been built on the site.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Wixom city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- wixomhistoricalsociety.org/wixom-history
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wixom,_Michigan
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wixom_Assembly_Plant
- detroitpbs.org/about/who-is-detroit-pbs/who-we-are
- downtownwixom.org
- wixomgov.org
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: +0.7 percent.
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