Emagine Saline1335 E. Michigan Avenue, Saline, MI 48176
Metro Detroit Washtenaw County City
Saline
Salt springs, bagpipes and a small-town main street on the old Chicago Road
- People (2025 estimate)
- 9,001
- Land area
- 4.3 sq mi · 11.2 km²
- From downtown
- 38.9 miles · 63 km · west
- Incorporated
- 1931
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Saline matters
Saline grew up along the old Detroit–Chicago military road, today's US 12, which runs through town as Michigan Avenue. Surveyor Orange Risdon laid out that road, liked the look of the Saline River valley and stayed; he founded the village in 1832, and by 1835 the Detroit–Chicago stagecoach was rolling through daily.
Today it's a tidy small town with century-old brick buildings, summer street events and two small museums. July brings the Saline Celtic Festival with Highland Games and pipe bands, which fits: Saline has been sister cities with Brecon, Wales, since 1966, and with Lindenberg, Germany, since 2003.
It's in Washtenaw County, so statistically it belongs to the Ann Arbor metro area. It isn't part of the six-county Detroit–Warren–Dearborn metro, only of the wider Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area.
02 / Known for
What Saline is known for
The salt springs where six Native trails converged, and which gave the town its name.
The Saline Celtic Festival, a July celebration with Highland Games, pipe bands and dancing.
The US 12 Heritage Trail, the old Chicago Road that follows the Sauk Trail and runs through town as Michigan Avenue.
The Davenport House, an 1875 Second Empire home and one of the town's best-known landmarks.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Saline
Nothing on our calendar in Saline right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
3 places on our site in Saline
Emagine Saline1335 E. Michigan Avenue, Saline, MI 4817605 / What to do
If you’re in Saline
Saline History & Depot Museum
The late-Victorian depot built in 1870 served for almost a century and is now a museum on the National Register; look for the red caboose. Open Saturdays year-round.
Official site ↗Rentschler Farm Museum
A 14-building farmstead just east of town, worked by four generations of Rentschlers from 1901; the museum shows farm life from 1900 to 1950. Open third Saturdays, May through September.
Official site ↗Downtown Saline
Stroll Michigan Avenue and Ann Arbor Street for local shops, restaurants, the farmers market and summer music nights.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Saline through the years
- 1832
Surveyor Orange Risdon buys 164 acres from the federal government and founds the village of Saline.
- 1835
Weather permitting, the Detroit–Chicago stagecoach passes through daily.
- 1866
Saline incorporates as a village.
- 1870
The railroad arrives and the depot, today the history museum, is built.
- 1931
A century after its founding, Saline becomes a city.
07 / People
Famous names from here
- Orange Risdon the surveyor of the Detroit–Chicago military road who founded the town and also served as its postmaster, justice of the peace, storekeeper and innkeeper
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Saline city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- salinehistory.org/hidden-stories
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline,_Michigan
- salinemi.gov/how_do_i/find_learn_about/saline_history.php
- salineceltic.org
- www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/geographies/reference-files/2023/delineation-files/list1_2023.xlsx
- salinehistory.org/our-museums
- salinemi.gov/community/about_saline.php
- salinemi.gov
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: +0.7 percent.
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