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DHistory
History · Southgate

Southgate dates to 1958

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #699 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Southgate was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1960.

1958founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Southgate began

When was Southgate founded?

1958

Southgate dates its founding to 1958 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 29,404 in 19602020 census: 30,01468 years

How historic is Southgate?

D

More historic than 8% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Southgate’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Southgate is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #699 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Southgate’s overall grade.
Founding era1958, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19402.8% of homes (±1.0) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MI town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 8%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#699 of 701

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Southgate’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1958.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Southgate’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Southgate are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19068 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1981. Watch Southgate change.Old housesHalf of Southgate’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Southgate’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Southgate’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Southgate on the map, 1906 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Southgate. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Southgate on the 1906 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1912 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1929 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1936 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1952 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1967 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1973 USGS mapSouthgate on the 1981 USGS map1906Wyandotte sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Southgate.

The story

How Southgate came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Southgate.

Read it all →

Pierre Michel Campau was the first white settler in Southgate. He moved into the area in 1795, which subsequently became a farming community. Other people from the Detroit area at the Rouge and Detroit Rivers followed him to Southgate.

Historically a rural area of Ecorse Township, the areas within present-day Southgate were originally platted with street grids beginning in the 1920s - though most developments only started just after World War II. Among the oldest residential areas in the city is the Old Homestead neighborhood, on the east side.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Southgate, 1906 to 1982

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1958
    FoundingSouthgate is established
  4. 1982Born hereNate Kiser is born here
By decade

Southgate, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Southgate Tower2021Southgate TowerSouthgate Tower (2021)2021Southgate Tower (2021)Southgate, MI (Dix Toledo Rd)2019Southgate, MI (Dix Toledo Rd)Southgate Municipal Complex2019Southgate Municipal ComplexSouthgate Sign - Eureka Rd2016Southgate Sign - Eureka RdSouthgate Shopping Center - Sign2016Southgate Shopping Center - SignSuper Kmart2015Super KmartSouthlandCenterMacyscourtentrance2015SouthlandCenterMacyscourtentranceSouthgateShoppingCentertowardsWards2015SouthgateShoppingCentertowardsWardsSouthgateShoppingCenteremptystoreinterior2015SouthgateShoppingCenteremptystoreinteriorSouthgateShoppingCenterEurekaside2015SouthgateShoppingCenterEurekasideI-75 at Allen Road and Northline Aerial2015I-75 at Allen Road and Northline AerialSouthgateTower2014SouthgateTowerOldHomesteadEurekaRoad2014OldHomesteadEurekaRoadMeijerSouthgateInterior2014MeijerSouthgateInteriorSouthgate Free Will Baptist Church, 14755 Goddard Road2011Southgate Free Will Baptist Church, 14755 Goddard RoadMallie's Sports Grill & Bar2011Mallie's Sports Grill & BarIt Dies Today Live in2008It Dies Today Live in
People over time

Southgate, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001960198020002020Peak: 33,909

Between 29,404 and 33,909 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Southgate’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Allen ParkIts storyDWyandotte7 historic placesA−Lincoln Park1 historic placeC+

Questions about Southgate’s history

What year was Southgate founded?

In 1958, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 29,404 people here.

How does Southgate rank for history?

Southgate is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #699 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Southgate?

3% of Southgate’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1963.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.