Livonia

History

After most members of the indigenous tribes were pushed out of the area, ethnic European-American pioneers from New England and New York settled here. The borders of Livonia Township were defined by the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan on March 17, 1835. The settlers named the community "Livonia", after Livonia, New York, a town in the western part of the state, from where many had migrated. Livonia Township was split off from Nankin Township, in which a Livonia post office had been established in June 1834. During the days of the township, a number of small communities developed. One of these was Elmwood, initially known as McKinley's Station. It was a stop on the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. It had a separate post office from 1858 until 1906. Another post office in the township was Giltedge, which operated from 1899 until 1902. Livonia was incorporated as a city on May 23, 1950, by vote of the citizens of the township. An incentive was that this status would allow the residents to gain tax revenues from the Detroit Race Course (DRC). From 1985, it ran only flat racing for Thoroughbreds, and the track closed in 1998, when the large property was sold for redevelopment. The last race tracks operating in the state were Hazel Park Raceway, which closed in 2018, and Northville Downs, which closed in 2024. Among the immigrants attracted to Detroit for its industrial jobs in the 20th century have been Palestinian and Lebanese Christians, as well as Muslims. By 1985, Palestinian Christians had settled in Livonia, as well as the western suburbs of Farmington and Westland. As of 2005, there were a number of Christian Palestinian Americans who had immigrated from Ramallah. They have developed and operated several small- and medium-sized businesses. Six…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city has many creeks and rivers, but most notably majority portions of both Newburgh and Nankin Lake in the south and south-west. The two lakes are connected by both a river and Edward N. Hines Drive, known simply as Hines Drive by locals.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  34,352
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,200
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,077
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,761
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  32,719
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  24,715
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,812
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,380

Largest nearby schools

• Northville High School
  High · NORTHVILLE · 2,499 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• Dearborn High School
  High · DEARBORN · 1,969 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• Plymouth High School
  High · CANTON · 1,931 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Canton High School
  High · CANTON · 1,890 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Salem High School
  High · CANTON · 1,859 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Star International Academy
  Other · DEARBORN HEIGHTS · 1,698 students · 20:1 ratio
• Stevenson High School
  High · LIVONIA · 1,636 students · 22.7:1 ratio
• John Glenn High School
  High · WESTLAND · 1,542 students · 21.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-05-04
  8 km N of Maybee, Michigan
• M 3 — 2026-04-26
  7 km SSE of Amherstburg, Canada
• M 2.5 — 2024-03-18
  4 km WSW of Millbury, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2023-05-20
  3 km SSE of Walbridge, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2022-05-23
  2 km NNW of Corunna, Canada
• M 3.2 — 2020-08-21
  2 km SSE of Detroit Beach, Michigan