Southgate, Michigan

Southgate, Michigan
City
Location in Wayne County and the state of Michigan
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Wayne
Government
• Mayor	Norma Wurmlinger
Area
• Total	6.9 sq mi (17.9 km2)
• Land	6.9 sq mi (17.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	591 ft (180 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	30,136
• Density	4,395.8/sq mi (1,697.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	48195
Area code	734
FIPS code	26-74960Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0638446Template:GR

Southgate is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 30,136 at the 2000 census.

Southgate was the last city to incorporate from the former Ecorse Township, gaining city status in October 1958. The city is bounded by Goddard Road to the north; M-85/Fort Street on the east, Pennsylvania Road to the south, and Allen Road to the west.

Southgate currently houses the headquarters and processing plant of The News-Herald, a local Downriver newspaper which covers over twenty surrounding communities. During the late 1950s and 1960s, The Southgate Sentinel, a Mellus newspaper, was published.

Southgate also houses Splash Park and the Downriver YMCA.Southgate also has the headquarters for ASC or American Speciality Cars.

History

There are two accounts of the city's name: Southgate is described in local guides as being the "South Gate" or entrance to the Metro Detroit area. "A metropolitan daily picture story" in late 1956 also gave this explanation.

Southgate's first mayor, Thomas J. Anderson, also stated in 1956 that the name originated from the newly-built Southgate Shopping Center in the middle of the city. "We were trying to get a separate post office for our community, and were advised that it would help our cause if the township board passed a resolution creating an unincorporated village," Anderson explained. "The name Southgate was chosen because of the shopping center then under consideration, and the board agreed that it was an appropriate name. The resolution was adopted at a regular meeting in the early summer of 1953."

Thomas Anderson became the city's first mayor in 1958 after having been Ecorse Township's supervisor for the previous five years. Anderson also has the High School named after him.

Current Mayor

Southgate's current mayor is Norma Wurmlinger, who previously served on the City Council and as mayor in the 90s before being term-limited out of office. Previous mayors include (alphabetically): Thomas Anderson, Walter Berklich, William Brainard, Dennis David, Suzanne Hall, James Kandrevas, and Robert Reaume. Other elected city officials are the 7 city councilpersons, a treasurer and a clerk. All terms of office are for 2 years.

Current Police Chief

Current Chief Charles Castle succeeded Chief Larry Hall, who retired following 29 years of distinguished service. Mr. Hall, who possesses a Law Degree and a Masters Degree from Wayne State Law School, is currently employed as an Administrative Deputy with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and also serves as an Adjunct Asst. Professor of Criminal Justice at Madonna University.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²), all land. Southgate borders the cities of Riverview(south),Wyandotte(east),Allen Park(northwest),Taylor(west),and Lincoln Park(north).

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 30,136 people, 12,836 households, and 8,048 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,395.8 per square mile (1,696.1/km²). There were 13,361 housing units at an average density of 1,948.9/sq mi (752.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% Caucasian, 2.11% African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.67% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.98% of the population.

There were 12,836 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,927, and the median income for a family was $56,710. Males had a median income of $45,829 versus $28,549 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,219. About 2.6% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

[Schools]

Dorsey Buisness School(Buisness College), Southgate Anderson High School(grades 10-12),
Davidson Middle School(grades 8-9), Gerisch Middle School(grades 6-7), Grogan Elementary, Chormann Elementary,
North Pointe Elementary, Fordline Elementary, Shelters Elementary and Allen Elementary(grades K-5)

Famous Natives

Bedford Drive (Alternative Rock Band)

References

• [1]ClickonDetroit.com- Politics (Wayne County-Southgate)

[2] www.southgate-mi.org