Kensington, Michigan | |
---|---|
Unincorporated community and former village | |
Coordinates: 42°30′42″N83°39′33″W / 42.51167°N 83.65917°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Michigan |
County | Oakland |
Townships | Lyon |
Settled | 1831 |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code(s) | 48178 (South Lyon) |
Area code(s) | 248 |
FIPS code | 26-84240 [1] |
GNIS feature ID | 1627218 [2] |
Kensington is an unincorporated community and former village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Lyon Township.
Settled in 1831, Kensington suffered population loss when the railroad diverted the Detroit to Lansing traffic southward to South Lyon. The later building of I-96 and the Kensington Metropark in the 1950s caused the community to disappear. [3]
Kensington was settled in 1831 and platted in 1836. [3] On June 9, 1834, a U.S. Post Office opened with the name of Lyon on Kent Lake Road between Grand River Avenue and Silver Lake Road ( 42°30′42″N83°39′33″W / 42.51167°N 83.65917°W ). On September 5, 1836, the Lyon Post Office was renamed Kensington. [4] By 1854 it had over 300 residents. With the building of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad in 1871 it suffered a significant loss of population that was further accelerated by the building of the Michigan Air Line Railroad in 1882 that went through New Hudson. [3] On July 31, 1902, the Kensington Post Office was closed. [4] By 1905 there were only four families left in the village. Most of its buildings were leveled when Kensington Metropark and I-96 (then US-16) were built in the 1950s. [3]
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, and the most populous county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents.
Henrietta Township is a civil township of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,673 at the 2020 census.
Commerce Township, officially the Charter Township of Commerce, is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 43,058 at the 2020 census.
Lyon Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,271 at the 2020 census.
The Charter Township of Oakland is a charter township on the north Oakland County outskirts of Metro Detroit, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is colloquially referred to as "Oakland Township". The population was 20,067 at the 2020 census.
Oxford Township, officially the Charter Township of Oxford, is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,419 at the 2020 census.
Springfield Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 14,703. The township was named for the numerous springs in the area.
Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States.
White Lake Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Together with its two unincorporated communities, the township makes up part of the Detroit metropolitan area outskirts. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 30,950.
Augusta Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,083 at the 2020 census.
Dexter Township is a civil township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,696 at the 2020 census. The city of Dexter is located to the southeast but does not border the township, and the two are administered autonomously.
Salem Township is a civil township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,018 at the 2020 census.
Northfield Township is a civil township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,514 at the 2020 census.
Bloomfield Township is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Detroit, Bloomfield Township is located roughly 20 miles (32 km) northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 44,253.
Lucius Lyon was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan. Along with Louis Campau, Lucius Lyon is remembered as one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the state's second-largest city. A Democrat, he served as a Delegate to the U.S. House from Michigan Territory (1833–1835), a U.S. Senator from Michigan (1837–1839), and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's second congressional district (1843–1845).
The Huron River is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river in southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfield Township in northern Oakland County and flowing into Lake Erie, as it forms the boundary between present-day Wayne and Monroe counties. Thirteen parks, game areas, and recreation areas are associated with the river, which passes through the cities of Dexter, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Belleville, Flat Rock and Rockwood that were developed along its banks.
The Huron–Clinton Metroparks system is a regional park system in Metro Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park system includes 13 parks totaling more than 24,000 acres (97 km2) arranged along the Huron River and Clinton River forming a partial ring around the metro area. Plans are in development to finish the ring by building hike/bike trails to connect all the parks as a green belt. The parks draw about 7.5 million visitors a year, down from a peak of 10 million in 2009. The park system is primarily tax-funded with a $50 million annual budget. The system provides employment for 200 full-time and part-time employees year-round and 1,000 additional summer workers. The rivers are prime fishing and canoeing streams with Delhi Metropark including a short rapids, which while runnable, is the only point other than dams on either stream normally portaged.
South Lyon is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,746 at the 2020 census, up from 11,327 at the 2010 census.
Kensington Metropark is a unit of the Huron–Clinton Metroparks system located between Milford and South Lyon, Michigan, USA. Surrounding Kent Lake, the park covers 4,543 acres (18.13 km2). It has wooded hilly terrain and surrounds 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) Kent Lake. The park has an 18-hole regulation golf course, 3 disc golf courses, toboggan hill, a nature center, a farm learning center, picnic areas, beaches, splash pad with water slide and boat rentals. An 8-mile (13 km) paved hike-bike trail, 19 miles (31 km) of horse trails and 7 miles (11 km) of hiking-only trails are available as well as connecting trails to other nearby parks. The only camping is in organized group camping or canoe-in sites. The park receives 2.5 million visitors a year. Kensington Metropark opened in 1947. The area the Metropark is located in was once home to the village of Kensington which turned into a ghost town after a railroad line that went through the village diverted to South Lyon.
Paint Creek is a stream mostly located within Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The stream flows south before entering as a tributary to Stony Creek along the county line with Monroe County.