The founder of Trenton is considered to be Abram Caleb Truax, a member of the territorial militia in attendance when General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British General Isaac Brock early in the War of 1812. After the war, in 1816, Truax acquired a large tract of land in the Michigan Territory along the Detroit River from the U.S. government and constructed a sawmill, church and store in what is today downtown Trenton. When Territorial Governor Lewis Cass organized Monguagon Township in 1827, Truax became the first township supervisor. He laid out the village of Truaxton in 1834. A post office had been established there named “Monguago” in 1828 with Truax as the first postmaster. The post office name was changed to “Truago” in 1837, and to “Trenton” in 1847, after a type of limestone mined from a local quarry. The village was platted and recorded under the name Trenton in 1850 by Abram Truax’s son and daughter George Brigham Truax and Sophia Slocum, the wife of industrialist Giles Slocum. The Slocum family estate was given to the county, becoming what is known as Elizabeth Park, named after Elizabeth Slocum.

In 1834 an industrialist, Giles Bryan Slocum, constructed a dock, making Trenton a major hub of steamboat traffic. In 1846, Captain Arthur Edwards founded the Detroit & Cleveland Steamboat Company in Trenton. Through the late 1880s Trenton, like several Downriver communities, was known for its extensive shipyards. Sibley, Michigan would not be incorporated into Trenton until 1929.

Trenton was incorporated as a village in 1855.

A Detroit businessman and later Michigan’s first U.S. attorney, Solomon Sibley, started a limestone quarry near Trenton, near what is today Fort Street and Sibley Road. Materials from the quarry were used to construct structures in Detroit, most notably Fort Detroit along the Detroit River. The quarry was later sold to Austin Church, who used limestone to make baking soda, which he sold under his family’s nameplate, Arm & Hammer. In 1900 the quarry was the site of the Sibley Quarry explosion.

Through the late 1880s and even early 1900s, Trenton prospered because it was roughly a day’s journey between Detroit and Monroe, Michigan, which meant people traveling between the two cities would have to stop overnight in Trenton. Painted center lines, an innovation vital to the traffic control of modern road transport, were first implemented in 1911 by legendary road developer Edward N. Hines on River Road (modern West Jefferson Avenue).

Trenton annexed the village of Sibley (along the modern Riverview border) in 1929, extending the city’s northern boundary to modern-day Sibley Road. Trenton was incorporated as a city in 1957. In 1920 a small light railroad ran along West Jefferson to Wyandotte. The rail services ended in 1934. The tracks were removed in 1942 for the war effort.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.51 square miles (19.45 km), of which 7.28 square miles (18.86 km) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.60 km) is water. The city is located between Detroit and Monroe, Michigan, in the southeastern part of the state. The city is located on the western bank of the Detroit River and is bounded by Grosse Ile to the east, Gibraltar to the south, Riverview to the north, Brownstown Township to the west and south and Woodhaven to the west.

As of the census of 2010, there were 18,853 people, 7,988 households, and 5,159 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,589.7 inhabitants per square mile (999.9/km). There were 8,539 housing units at an average density of 1,172.9 per square mile (452.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White, 1.3% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

There were 7,988 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 45 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21% were from 25 to 44; 30.3% were from 45 to 64; and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,584 people, 8,137 households, and 5,590 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,682.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,035.8/km). There were 8,345 housing units at an average density of 1,143.2 per square mile (441.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 96.92% White, 0.37% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.

There were 8,137 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,566, and the median income for a family was $61,891. Males had a median income of $52,123 versus $31,892 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,288. About 4.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Trenton has four public schools with more than 3,000 students total.

• Anderson Elementary School
• Hedke Elementary school
• Arthurs Middle School (formerly known as Monguagon Middle School)
• Trenton High School

A portion of Trenton, north of King Road, is in the Riverview Community School District.

St. Joseph Catholic School in Trenton opened in February 1948, with the school renovated in 1999.

Slocum Truax Junior High School was a former junior high school that resided in the present-day Slocum Truax Park in a neighborhood nearby downtown Trenton, which ended up closing in July 1979. In October 1980, the city of Trenton made an attempt to auction off the building and property, but the auction was canceled after the rear of the building was broken into and vandalized, according to the Trenton Times newspaper. The headstone of the building was nearly destroyed when the building was demolished in October 1980, but an effort by then-councilman William Muddiman rescued the piece from utter destruction, according to the Trenton Times. The headstone with the school’s name that once hung above the entrance of the school currently rests at the front of the Slocum Truax Park. It is the last remaining piece of the former school.

Former elementary schools included Strohm School (1937-1980s), Owen School (1950s-1980s), Foley School (1950s-1980s), and Taylor School (1968-1980s).