Metro Detroit Wayne County Township

Grosse Ile Township

An island in the Detroit River with a lighthouse, two bridges and a 250-year-old deed

People (2025 estimate): 10,409
Land area: 9.0 sq mi · 23.4 km²
From downtown: 14.9 miles · 24 km · south
Incorporated: 1914

Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.

NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory · CC BY-SA 2.0

01 / Why it matters

Why Grosse Ile Township matters

Grosse Ile is the largest island in the Detroit River, and you feel it every day: two bridges are the only way on or off. On July 6, 1776, two days after the Declaration of Independence, 18 Potawatomi chiefs signed the deed that handed the island to the Macomb brothers of Albany. The island marked the 250th anniversary on July 6, 2026, with the original deed on display at Township Hall for three days.

This is also an aviation island. Naval Air Station Grosse Ile opened in 1929, the same year the locally built ZMC-2, the only metal-skinned airship ever flown successfully, made its first flight, and in World War II it became a key flight-training base: a young George H. W. Bush trained here for about two months in 1945. The Navy closed the base in 1969, and the township airport runs there now.

Today it's a quiet, green waterfront community of old estates, yacht clubs and protected land. Westcroft Gardens has belonged to Macomb descendants since 1776, making it Michigan's oldest farm still in the same family. The swing toll bridge to Riverview opened on Thanksgiving Day 1913, and the township bought it on March 31, 2025.

14.9 miles south of downtown Detroit The three counties Imagery: EOxCloudless 2016, CC BY 4.0 · boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau

02 / Known for

What Grosse Ile Township is known for

The Grosse Ile Lighthouse, built in 1894 and redesigned in 1906; the township bought it for $350 in 1965
The July 6, 1776, deed from the Potawatomi to the Macomb brothers
Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, 1929 to 1969, and the ZMC-2 metal-clad airship
Westcroft Gardens, Michigan's oldest family farm, with azaleas and rhododendrons hybridized there in the 1920s and 1930s
The 1913 Grosse Ile Toll Bridge, the first car bridge to the island, owned by the township since 2025

03 / What’s on

What’s on in Grosse Ile Township

Nothing on our calendar in Grosse Ile Township right now. Try the neighbors:

Trenton Gibraltar Riverview Brownstown Charter Township All Metro Detroit events ↗

04 / Places

3 places on our site in Grosse Ile Township

Search all places ↗

Max Flight9161 Groh Road, Grosse Ile Township, MI 48138

Pagoda House20653 West River Rd, Grosse Ile Township, MI 48138

St. James Episcopal Church25150 E River Rd, Grosse Ile, MI 48138

05 / What to do

If you’re in Grosse Ile Township

Grosse Ile History Museum & Customs House
The 1904 Michigan Central depot and the circa-1873 Customs House on East River Road; free, open Thursday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
Official site ↗
Westcroft Gardens
More than three acres of heritage gardens on West River Road, at their best in late May and early June when the azaleas pop.
Official site ↗
Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy
The local land trust founded in 1993 to protect the island's wetlands and woods, with nature programs and volunteer days.
Official site ↗

06 / History

Grosse Ile Township through the years

1776
On July 6, 18 Potawatomi chiefs deed the island to the Macomb brothers.
1913
The toll bridge opens on Thanksgiving Day, November 27.
1914
Grosse Ile splits from Monguagon Township and becomes its own township.
1929
Naval Air Station Grosse Ile opens, and the ZMC-2 airship makes its first flight.
1969
The Navy closes the air station in November.
2025
The township takes ownership of the toll bridge on March 31.