Saline Map
Saline is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,810.
The city is popular for its annual Celtic Festival, which attracts people from all over the United States and its sister cities Brecon, Wales(established 1966) and Lindenberg, Germany (established 2003). It is also the hometown of the Saline Fiddlers and Fiddlers ReStrung, two nationally renowned high school bluegrass/fiddle groups. Saline, whose well-regarded school district is perhaps its biggest draw, was ranked the 43rd best place to live out of 1,300 rated cities in the United States in a 2005 CNN/Money Magazine poll, 59th in 2007's poll, and 63rd in 2009's CNN/Money Magazine and also made CNN/Money's list of best places to retire in 2005.
Before the 18th century, Native Americans traveled to what is now Saline to hunt wildlife and gather salt from the salt springs they found nearby. In the 18th century, French explorers canoed up to the area and also harvested the salt. They named the local river Saline, which means salty or saline in French. Europeans settled the area in the 19th century, most of them coming from England and Germany. Together with Orange Risdon, a government surveyor who is generally considered to be the city's founder, the residents named the town Saline, which was officially established in 1832. In 1870 railroad service, provided by the Detroit-Hillsdale-&-Indiana Railroad, first reached Saline. In 1875 Salinians built one of the city's most famous landmarks, the Second-Empire frame, 2 1?2-story residential building, the Davenport House, a.k.a. Curtis Mansion. The town continued to grow, and in 1931 the Village of Saline became the City of Saline. The Saline Fisheries Research Station was built on the site of a pioneer grist mill. The city of Saline has had its own newspaper since ca. 1874 and is currently served by the Saline Reporter, a weekly print publication, also providing current news on its website.
Nearby cities include Clinton, Britton, Manchester, Tecumseh, Belleville.