The final exhibition in the Wayne County History Project features Detroit, Highland Park, River Rouge, Hamtramck, Melvindale, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, seven communities that helped shape Wayne County.
Explore how industrial growth, immigration, migration, and the expansion of the automobile industry transformed these communities, from Detroit’s rise as a major industrial center to the development of surrounding cities shaped by factories, neighborhoods, and diverse cultural traditions. The exhibition examines the people and industries that drove their growth, as well as the realities of segregation, class division, labor, and changing patterns of race and ethnicity that shaped life across these neighboring communities.
The Wayne County History Project honors the people, places, and moments that built Wayne County’s 43 vibrant communities in six rotating exhibitions and an online history archive. Exhibitions will be on display at the Guardian Building (500 Griswold St, Detroit, MI 48226). Presented by the Detroit Historical Society and Wayne County Executive Office.
