Wayne County apartments for rent

Those living in – or thinking of relocating to – Wayne County, Michigan will enjoy playing a version of the game “six degrees of separation” with this historic county. Wayne County encompasses the cities of Dearborn Heights, Grosse Pointe, Highland Park, Lincoln Park and Detroit, Michigan’s largest city and the county seat.

So let’s connect Batman, the comic book hero, with Wayne County. It’s easier than you think.

Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general Anthony Wayne, whose nickname was “Mad Anthony.” It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan; its boundaries began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River then west to Fort Wayne, to the southernmost point of Lake Michigan and along the western shore north to Lake Superior and through Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie.

Mad Anthony was a United States Army general whose military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him the rank of brigadier general. He famously led a successful charge against British forces, even though outnumbered, and went on to sever British alliances with Native American tribes in Georgia. He negotiated peace treaties with both the Creek and the Cherokee, for which he was rewarded with a large Georgia rice plantation.

In 1785, after the war, Anthony moved to Georgia to settle down on the plantation. President George Washington recalled Wayne once more during the Northwest Indian War, where Wayne achieved a decisive victory for the US forces, ending the war.

And the connection to Batman? Bruce Wayne, the real name of the superhero character Batman, was given his surname by comic book writer Bill Finger after Anthony Wayne; in the DC Comics, Bruce Wayne is depicted as General Wayne’s direct descendant, and the property on which Wayne Manor is built was given to General Wayne for his service during the Revolution.