The low-lying Mamajuda Island is off the northeastern tip of Grosse Ile and is visible only during times of low water level.

[citation needed] The Potawatomi occupied areas of the island, which they called Kitcheminishen,[5] for a long period prior to European encounter.

[6] The flags of three nations—France, England, and the United States—have flown over Detroit and Grosse Ile since the first French explorers visited the island during the late 17th century.

[5] The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church on Grosse Ile says that Father Hennepin came ashore and said mass at a location on the east shore of the island near the present site of St. Anne's Chapel.

No record exists of this event, but Father Hennepin wrote in his journals about the fruit orchards and wild animals on Grosse Ile, showing he was here.

French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his convoy of 25 canoes sailed down the Detroit River and camped on the shore of Grosse Ile during the evening of July 23, 1701.

On the morning of July 24, Cadillac returned upriver and landed ashore, where he claimed French possession of the territory under the authority of King Louis XIV.

[5] Westcroft Gardens, a Michigan Centennial Farm located on West River Road, is operated by descendants of the Macombs.

A monument commemorating the day that the tribal chiefs and elders signed the deed to the Macomb brothers is located at the foot of Gray's Drive and near the shoreline of the Detroit River.

In 1894, the federal government funded and constructed a series of channel range lights to assist ships to avoid shallow areas in the Detroit River and its shoreline.

The original 1894 Grosse Ile lighthouse resembled a water tower on stilts, as it was constructed on wooden pilings along with a 170-foot (52 m) walkway to shore.

During the Prohibition era, Grosse Ile became a crossing point for bootleggers illegally smuggling alcoholic beverages from Canada.

[7] During the 1920s and 1930s, a small airport on the southern end of Grosse Ile was the location of historic early aviation activities.

Naval Air Station Grosse Ile opened in 1929 after three years of construction of seaplane and dirigible facilities.

Occasionally it serves as a temporary docking area for blimps that visit southeastern Michigan to fly over major sporting events.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) operated the Large Lakes Research Station in one of the buildings on the airport grounds, until its closure in 2019.

[17] The airport campus is also the site of Grosse Ile Township Hall, which was moved to this location in 2000 from Macomb Street, and a number of private businesses.

Once on the ferryboat, the train cars were taken to Ontario, Canada across the river, where they were put back on a rail track to travel to Buffalo, New York and other points east.

Canada Southern operated trains on this route for about ten years before ceasing service due to financial difficulties.

[18] Today, the MCR train depot is owned and operated as a community museum by the Grosse Ile Historical Society (GIHS).

The GIHS also owns the Custom House, and these are the only structures in the National Historic District along East River Road that are regularly open to the public.

[19] Grosse Ile has good views of commercial shipping and pleasure boat traffic on the Detroit River.

[20] During the later 20th century, Grosse Ile had a significant increase in the rate of residential development, given its advantageous location and other amenities.

Fearing the destruction of the natural character and small-town charm of the community, during the early 1990s the Grosse Ile Township established an "Open Space Program", to be funded by a voter-approved dedicated local property tax to buy undeveloped land.

The township acquired large tracts of environmentally sensitive land to slow the pace of development, preserve the environment, and protect housing values.

A number of private owners donated environmentally important woodland and wetland areas to the Conservancy to protect them (and to get a tax write-off.

)[22] The U.S. EPA granted stewardship responsibilities to the Conservancy for a 40.5-acre (16.4 ha) marsh and upland area on the federally owned section of the Grosse Ile Municipal Airport.

[26] On the same site as Islandfest, the Grosse Ile Youth Recreational Association (GIYRA), a 501c3 charity, runs a haunted house every Halloween.

The Grosse Ile Soccer Association has more than 15 select travel / premier level teams on top of the in-house recreational program.

The club has been active on Grosse Ile since 1925, when friends and neighbors developed a means of entertainment during the long Michigan winters.