Hampton Square

According to one story, Adam Brown is the namesake of the area. At the age of 8, as the story  goes, he was kidnapped by the Wyandot Indians in Virginia.

The young captive grew to manhood among the Wyandots, married a native woman and, according to the history books, led a highly respected life.

As an important Wyandot tribal elder, Adam Brown signed several treaties with the American government. Siding with the British in the War of 1812 Adam Brown moved to Amherstburg, Ont. after the the British defeat.

Canadian church records show that Adam Brown died in September of 1827 in Windsor Ont. and is buried in a churchyard of that city.

The region now known as Brownstown was, like surrounding areas in Michigan, once a part of the French Province Quebec. The area eventually fell into hands of British and finally came under American rule in the 18th Century. What may not be realized at first glance, however, is that the community is 10 years older than the state of Michigan: The original 43-square-mile block of land south of Detroit was designated a township - one of the nine original townships formed in Wayne County - by the Michigan Territorial Commission in 1827.

Michigan did not become a state until 1837.

Brownstown Township was officially organized on April 5, 1827, when Moses Roberts was elected its first supervisor.

As time passed, settlements spread out from the lakeshore to begin changing the swampy, sand-hill countryside into productive farm land.

Various city incorporations down through the years reduced the area of our community to approximately 23 miles today.

Read about the important role that Brownstown played in the history of the Huron Indians.