Westland

History

During the 18th century, the area was inhabited by the people of a Potawatomi Native American village. Other tribes, particularly three Algonquian tribes, used the area as hunting territory. Though white settlers did not begin to settle the area until about 1824, they began passing through at the beginning of the 19th century. Before becoming Westland, the area had several other names. In 1827, the area became known as Bucklin Township, which included what is now the cities of Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township. In 1829, it was proposed that Bucklin Township be divided into Lima and Richland; the former is what eventually became Westland. Due to name conflicts under territorial law prohibiting duplication of post office names, Lima was renamed Nankin Township, after the Chinese city of Nanking, and Richland was renamed Pekin Township, after Peking. Nankin Township was mostly rural until World War II. The Norwayne subdivision is one of the oldest areas of the city, having existed for over 65 years. The area was built immediately after World War II to provide temporary housing for returning soldiers who worked in nearby factories. By 1960, Nankin Township's population had increased to 70,000, giving the area the distinction of being the state's largest township. During the early 1960s, the city of Livonia wanted to annex the part of Nankin in which a large shopping mall, Westland Shopping Center, was to be built. The shopping center eventually opened in 1965, joining Northland and Eastland malls in Southfield and Harper Woods, respectively. In reaction to Livonia's annexation attempts, the people of Nankin Township voted on May 16, 1966, to take all other territory to form the City Of Westland. At that…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  26,337
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,536
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,837
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,185
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,763
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,633
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  17,076
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,893