Historic Fort Wayne, built 1843 to guard Detroit from British attack from Amherstburg's Fort Malden, is located at the northeastern end of the neighborhood. The area known as Delray was first platted as "Belgrade" in 1836. It was renamed as "Del Rey" on October 14, 1851. Augustus D. Burdeno, after returning from the Mexican–American War, convinced other residents to rename the town. He had encountered a Mexican village named "Del Rey" ("of the kings") during the Mexican-American War. This was associated with the Battle of Molino del Rey. At a later point the name was anglicized to "Delray". Most of the village sat in what was Springwells Township, with the rest sitting across the River Rouge in Ecorse Township. It incorporated as a village in 1897.