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″N83°39′33″W / 42.51167°N 83.65917°W / 42.51167; -83.65917). 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]
