16 Facts About Wyoming Michigan

Wyoming Michigan is the second most-populated community in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is bordered by Grand Rapids on the northeast.

The area that is the city of Wyoming Michigan was the second location settled by European-Americans in Kent County.

Wyoming Michigan began to grow as a suburb of Grand Rapids in 1890 with the city's next major area of development occurring in the northeast section of the township with much of the city's population moving southward in the early 1900s.

Growth of Wyoming Michigan saw the emergence of profitable bussinesses in Wyoming Michigan, including the Leonard Refrigerator Company, the Pierre Marquette railroad car repair shop and gypsum mines.

Farmers in Wyoming Michigan began to sell their farms for development as prices for their produce declined, with farming families either assuming jobs in Grand Rapids or leaving the area.

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Since Wyoming Michigan did not have adequate zoning regulations like neighboring Grand Rapids, land speculators began the platting of small, cheap residential properties, especially the neighborhoods of Godwin Heights, Home Acres, Wyoming Michigan Park and along Division Avenue, with plat proposals occurring during every town meeting at the time.

Citizens already established in the Grand Rapids and Wyoming Michigan area deplored the new residents who moved to the Home Acres and Division corridor, referring to the area as "Shanty Town" and as a place of crime.

White Protestants in Wyoming Michigan prevented African Americans from residing in the township, engaging in housing segregation and redlining, with some sales agreements explicitly stating that a property "shall never be occupied by a negro", extending such agreements to second parties, heirs and others.

One major incident of Grand Rapids preventing industrial development in Wyoming occurred in the early-1920s when Ford Motor Company attempted to purchase the unfinished picric acid factory that was being constructed during World War I Kendall Furniture quickly purchased the property before Ford could acquire the site, later selling the property to repay back taxes.

General Motors sought to construct a new facility in Grand Rapids, though there were no areas for development or future expansions, so the cities of Grand Rapids and Wyoming Michigan collaborated to have General Motors purchase land in Wyoming Michigan while Grand Rapids supplied utilities to the site.

In July 1966, the Lake Michigan pipeline to Wyoming began to supply water to the city, a major accomplishment after years of difficulties with low-quality wells.

Wyoming Michigan began to establish many municipal facilities in the 1970s, including a public works building, a centralized fire station, a combined Police-Justice building and a new public library.

The city of Wyoming Michigan formed a Downtown Development Authority in an effort to help support the city in keeping businesses in the area in 1999.

In 2013, the City of Wyoming Michigan introduced the 28 West plan, a plan to develop downtown Wyoming Michigan along 28th Street into a more pedestrian friendly environment that will provide food, retail and entertainment.

Wyoming Michigan used a caucus election system that was frequently plagued with ballot stuffing until the township switched to a primary election system in 1928.

In 1937, voters in then Wyoming Michigan Township elected its first Democratic supervisor, Herman Wierenga.