About Plymouth Township
A vibrant community featuring high quality of life, great neighborhoods and amenities, careful development, and stable growth. Located 20 minutes from Ann Arbor and 30 minutes from Detroit, bordered by major highways, Plymouth Township provides ready access to key attractions and transportation hubs. Public safety is safeguarded by full-time police, fire, and dispatch services. The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools are consistently rated among the best in Michigan. Other attributes include:
• Approximately 60 great neighborhoods to fit every lifestyle
• Single-family homes, condominiums, and rental properties
• Multiple public parks and green spaces
• Variety of public and private K-12 schools
• Predominantly light industrial base
• Some two dozen churches and faith-based organizations
• Proximity to Downtown Plymouth library and museum, recreation, restaurants and shops
• Sixteen square miles; population of 27,500
About Plymouth
The City of Plymouth is a vibrant community that sits approximately ten miles west of Detroit. The center of downtown is beautiful Kellogg Park, a popular space to sit by the fountain, visit with friends or attend a concert or event. A variety of shops and restaurants line the picturesque streets, inviting visitors to stay awhile. Just outside downtown, you'll find traditional neighborhood streets with sidewalks, mature trees and well-kept homes, along with parks and playgrounds. Plymouth is a destination, a home and a place to do business. We pride ourselves on exceeding your expectations.
Plymouth's Beginning
When our nation was young and before Michigan became a state, a tract of land was registered as follows: "The United States of America, by John Quincy Adams, President and Commissioner of the General Land Office to Luther Lincoln, Jr.", dated April 2, 1825. Plymouth was settled in 1825, was incorporated in 1867, and became a city on May 20, 1932.
It was George Starkweather, the first child born to settlers in present Plymouth Township, who in 1871 recognized the importance of a railroad to a community and decided that the North Village of Plymouth would become the new center of town. He built a new store on the corner of Liberty and Starkweather and opened a road through his property for other new stores to locate. This area is presently known as "Old Village" or "Lowertown."
Railroads & Toll Roads
The Plymouth Railroad Station was built in 1871 by the Pere Marquette Railroad. The only place in Michigan where railroad tracks go in all four directions, bringing goods and services from points east and west, and north and south through the Plymouth Community. Local residents may become frustrated when a breakdown on the train causes some of our railroad crossings to be blocked and traffic is at a standstill in the community.
Before the coming of the railroad, Plymouth was serviced by a toll road known as "Plymouth Plank Road" from 1850 to 1872. Planks were on the right side only for heavy-laden wagons going to market. Wagons coming back to Plymouth empty were to use the dirt side and there was no toll for the homeward trip.