Kensington, Michigan
Kensington is an unincorporated community and former village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Lyon Township.
Kensington, Michigan | |
|---|---|
Unincorporated community and former village | |
  Kensington Location within the state of Michigan | |
| Coordinates: 42°30′42″N 83°39′33″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Oakland |
| Townships | Lyon |
| Settled | 1831 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code(s) | 48178 (South Lyon) |
| Area code(s) | 248 |
| FIPS code | 26-84240[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1627218[2] |
Settled in 1831, Kensington suffered population loss when the railroad diverted the Detroit to Lansing traffic southward to South Lyon. The later building of I-96 and the Kensington Metropark in the 1950s caused the community to disappear.[3]
History
Kensington was settled in 1831 and platted in 1836.[3] On June 9, 1834 a U.S. Post Office opened with the name of Lyon on Kent Lake Road between Grand River Avenue and Silver Lake Road (42°30′42″N 83°39′33″W). On September 5, 1836, the Lyon Post Office was renamed Kensington.[4] By 1854 it had over 300 residents. With the building of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad in 1871 it suffered a significant loss of population that was further accelerated by the building of the Michigan Air Line Railroad in 1882 that went through New Hudson.[3] On July 31, 1902, the Kensington Post Office was closed.[4] By 1905 there were only four families left in the village. Most of its buildings were leveled when Kensington Metropark and I-96 (then US-16) were built in the 1950s.[3]
External links
Sources
- "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kensington, Michigan
- Hagman, Arthur A., ed. Oakland County Book of History. 1970. p. 34.
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kensington Post Office (historical), Michigan & GNIS in Google Maps Citation: Ellis, David M. Michigan Postal History, The Post Offices 1805-1986. 12-Dec-1993.