Trenton is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A Downriver suburb of Detroit, Trenton is located roughly southwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,544.
A Shawnee village was built in the area by legendary war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The area later became the site of the Battle of Monguagon between Americans and a British-Indian coalition during the War of 1812. The battle is commemorated with a Michigan State Historical Site marker in present-day Elizabeth Park, which was the first county park in Michigan when it was established in 1919. Portions of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge are within the southern portion of Trenton.
The area was once part of the now-defunct Monguagon Township. Trenton was incorporated as a village in 1855 and again as a city in 1957. Trenton is known for its waterfront and growing boating community. Major industries include Stellantis-Chrysler's Trenton Engine Plant, Solutia, and the DTE Energy Trenton Channel Power Plant. Corewell Health Trenton Hospital is located within city limits and has 203 beds. The former McLouth Steel plant is also located in the city. The city operates the Trenton Veterans Memorial Library and a historical museum. History The founder of Trenton is considered to be Abram Caleb Truax, a member of the territorial militia in attendance when General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British General Isaac Brock early in the War of 1812. After the war, in 1816, Truax acquired a large tract of land in the Michigan Territory along the Detroit River from the U.S. government and constructed a sawmill, church and store in what is today downtown Trenton. When Territorial Governor Lewis Cass organized Monguagon Township in 1827, Truax became the first township supervisor. He laid out the village of Truaxton in 1834. A post office had been established there named "Monguago" in 1828 with Truax as the first postmaster. The post office name was changed to "Truago" in 1837, and to "Trenton" in 1847, after a type of limestone mined from a local quarry. The village was platted and recorded under the name Trenton in 1850 by Abram Truax's son and daughter George Brigham Truax and Sophia Slocum, the wife of industrialist Giles Slocum. The Slocum family estate was given to the county, becoming what is known as Elizabeth Park, named after Elizabeth Slocum.
In 1834 an industrialist, Giles Bryan Slocum, constructed a dock, making Trenton a major hub of steamboat traffic. In 1846, Captain Arthur Edwards founded the Detroit & Cleveland Steamboat Company in Trenton. Through the late 1880s Trenton, like several Downriver communities, was known for its extensive shipyards. Sibley, Michigan would not be incorporated into Trenton until 1929.
Trenton was incorporated as a village in 1855.
A Detroit businessman and later Michigan's first U.S. attorney, Solomon Sibley, started a limestone quarry near Trenton, near what is today Fort Street and Sibley Road. Materials from the quarry were used to construct structures in Detroit, most notably Fort Detroit along the Detroit River. The quarry was later sold to Austin Church, who used limestone to make baking soda, which he sold under his family's nameplate, Arm & Hammer. In 1900 the quarry was the site of the Sibley Quarry explosion.
Through the late 1880s and even early 1900s, Trenton prospered because it was roughly a day's journey between Detroit and Monroe, Michigan, which meant people traveling between the two cities would have to stop overnight in Trenton. Painted center lines, an innovation vital to the traffic control of modern road transport, were first implemented in 1911 by the innovator Edward N. Hines on River Road (modern West Jefferson Avenue).
Trenton annexed the village of Sibley (along the modern Riverview border) in 1929, extending the city's northern boundary to modern-day Sibley Road. Trenton was incorporated as a city in 1957. In 1920 a small light railroad ran along West Jefferson to Wyandotte. The rail services ended in 1934. The tracks were removed in 1942 for the war effort.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city is located between Detroit and Monroe, Michigan, in the southeastern part of the state. The city is located on the western bank of the Detroit River and is bounded by Grosse Ile to the east, Gibraltar to the south, Riverview to the north, Brownstown Township to the west and south and Woodhaven to the west.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Trenton city, Michigan – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)18,68817,54916,15795.42%93.08%87.13%Black or African American alone (NH)732513770.37%1.33%2.03%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)7889690.40%0.47%0.37%Asian alone (NH)1501331360.77%0.71%0.73%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)4210.02%0.01%0.01%Other race alone (NH)18610.01%0.04%0.33%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2002237651.02%1.18%4.13%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3905989781.99%3.17%5.27%Total19,58418,85318,544 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Trenton had a population of 18,544. The median age was 46.8 years. 18.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,246 households in Trenton, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.5% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 8,600 housing units, of which 4.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.6%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 16,487 88.9% Black or African American 387 2.1% American Indian and Alaska Native 91 0.5% Asian 139 0.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2 0.0% Some other race 197 1.1% Two or more races 1,241 6.7%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 18,853 people, 7,988 households, and 5,159 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,539 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White, 1.3% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.
There were 7,988 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% 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 2.95.
The median age in the city was 45 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 19,584 people, 8,137 households, and 5,590 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 8,345 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.92% White, 0.37% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.
There were 8,137 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.6% 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 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,566, and the median income for a family was $61,891. Males had a median income of $52,123 versus $31,892 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,288. About 4.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation : Known locally as Fort Street, it runs north–south through the center of Trenton and connects with Interstate 75 about south of Trenton. West Jefferson Avenue runs north–south along the eastern portion of Trenton near the Detroit River. Wayne County Bridge connects the city of Trenton to Grosse Ile Township across the Trenton Channel of the Detroit River.
Economy Trenton has an unemployment rate of 6.5%, higher than the US average of 3.7%. The sales tax rate is 6.0%, below the US average of 6.2%. The income tax rate is 4.3%, below the US average is 4.6%. The recent job growth rates in Trenton is at 0.7%, below the US average of 1.6%. The future job growth rates are estimated to be 35%, above the US average of 33.5%. Per capita income in Flat Rock is at an average rate of $31,870, above the average of $31,177. The average household income is $59,943, above the US average of $57,652. The family median income is $78,100 above the US average of $70,850.
Trenton is home to many large industrial facilities, including Solutia, Chrysler Trenton Engine Plant, the Trenton Channel Power Plant, Kerkstra Precast, and the former Vulcan Mold and McLouth Steel properties.
Trenton Channel Power Plant
The Trenton Channel Power Plant, a coal-burning power station in Trenton, opened on the shoreline of Detroit River in 1924, on the south side of Slocum Island. It is owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It had 6 turbine generators with 13 coal-fired boilers when first commissioned. Each unit produced a rated 50 megawatts of electricity. Five short smoke stacks exhausted gases from the boilers. These were the first Detroit Edison units to use pulverized coal rather than the older style stoker-fired beds of coal. They were also the first power plants in the US to use electrostatic precipitators to capture fly ash from the stacks. Electrostatic precipitators, however, were in use in other industries at the time. In 1950, a second plant started up at the same site and adjoined the first plant. It had two turbine generators, #7 and #8, with a rating of 120 megawatts each. Two short smoke stacks released gases from the four boilers. Finally in 1968, Unit #9 was placed in service. It is a 550-megawatt turbine generator fed by a single boiler. It adjoins the high side plant and is located on the south side. One 563-foot-tall smoke stack is used for this unit. Soon afterwards, another stack, identical to the #9 stack, was erected to replace the two short stacks on the high side plant. Both tall stacks remain in service as of 2012.