Novi Township is a civil township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the township had a population of 160. Of the original survey township, only a small portion of remains unincorporated from the surrounding city of Novi. Novi Township is the smallest township in the state by total land area and the third-smallest municipality after the villages of Ahmeek and Copper City.
The township consists solely of the Brookland Farms #1 subdivision and is served by the Northville 48167 ZIP Code. Students within Novi Township attend Northville Public Schools.
History
Novi Township was organized in 1832 from Farmington Township. The name was offered by resident Dr. J.C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife. Residents were reportedly looking for a shorter name than Farmington. Several popular but historically inaccurate explanations have been suggested for the origin of the name Novi. One version is that it was named after the 6th tollgate on the Grand River toll road (No. VI). However, the township was named in 1832 and the toll road wasn't constructed until the 1850s. A similar claim is made about the township being stop number 6 on the railroad. However, the railroad was not constructed through the township until 1870 - 1871, almost 40 years after it was named.
Annexation and incorporation
Only a small portion of the original Township of Novi remains unincorporated. The majority of the township incorporated first as the Village of Novi in 1958 and later into the City of Novi in 1969. Before the incorporation of the Village of Novi, the northwest portion of the township was incorporated as part of the Village of Wixom, which later incorporated as the City of Wixom. Portions of the township were annexed into the Village of Northville in the early 1900s (the Oakwood Subdivision north of Baseline Road) and the City of Northville in the 1950s. In the 1970s, several areas of the township which had been detached from the Village of Novi were annexed into the City of Novi following a long legal battle between the city and township. These areas include the Hometown Novi Mobile Home Park and land that now includes portions of Chase Farm subdivision, Maples of Novi, and Island Lake of Novi. Some of the legal disputes over the annexations were not resolved until 1984.
Political
The remaining area of the township is a legally separate entity from the surrounding City of Novi and has all the powers granted under Michigan state law to general law townships. The township has no township hall and township board meetings and township elections are held at the homes of the township board members. Most of the township services are provided through contracts with the City of Novi including fire protection and library services. The historic township hall was once located on the west side of Novi Road, south of Grand River Avenue. Moved to the civic center campus in the late 1980s, the building was restored by volunteers. The historic township hall is currently located on Ten Mile Road in the City of Novi, just west of the Novi Public Library and adjacent to the site of the former historic Fuerst Farmstead. The historic township hall is owned by the City of Novi. From 2004 to 2024, the Township Supervisor was John Juntunen. In 2024, Tony Galdikas was elected as Township Supervisor.
Geography and land use
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all land. The township has a gently rolling topography. Most of the township is covered by light to heavy woodland cover and has been developed for single-family homes. The remaining land consists of road right-of-way and a few undeveloped platted lots. At approximately , Novi Township is the smallest township in area in the State of Michigan.