Some In Ypsilanti Township Push For Name Change

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP (WWJ/AP) - Could a name change help give Ypsilanti Township a fresh identity?

The Ann Arbor News reports that some residents of Ypsilanti Township want their community to be called "Ford Lake Township" instead — and the group is working to gather 6,000 signatures so the township's Board of Trustees will consider the proposal.

The group began circulating petitions last week and already has signatures from three board members. The group said there's "a lot of enthusiasm" from township residents.

Ypsilanti City Council Member Pete Murdock says he believes that the petition effort, which began last week, may partially stem from a desire by some to not be associated with the name and history of Ypsilanti, a city in Washtenaw County near Ann Arbor.

"People easily want to change their names because they don't like the reputation the name has," Murdock told Mlive. "It's been floated around and it was obviously unsuccessful before."

Similar name changes have happened in other communities.

Murdock said Eastpointe, which was formally known as East Detroit, is still referred to as Detroit despite the change.

"East Detroit did that because they didn't want to be known as Detroit," Murdock said. "It's a lot of good stuff in Ypsilanti's past and present, too. There are the good chapters and the bad. There's a lot of history there and it won't go away because of a name change."

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