Springwells Township, Civil township in Wayne County, Michigan
Springwells Township was a civil township in Wayne County that once covered an area now divided between Detroit and Dearborn. It contained several distinct settlements including Delray, Fort Wayne, and Woodmere before those communities were incorporated into the expanding city.
Territorial governor Lewis Cass established the township in 1818, naming it after the natural springs throughout the region. A significant treaty was signed in 1815 at a sand hill location between Native American tribes and the future president William Henry Harrison.
The Treaty of Springwells, signed at the sand hill location in 1815, marked negotiations between Native American tribes and future President William Henry Harrison.
Visitors should understand that the territory is now spread across two urban centers, so there is no single coherent historic site to visit. Learning about the former township works best by exploring the neighborhoods that carry its old settlement names and local historical markers.
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was born within these former township boundaries before the area became part of modern Detroit. This connection to the automobile industry shaped the region's transformation in the early 1900s.
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