The community was first settled by Irish and German immigrants in the 1830s. In October 1897, a Post Office was established there with the name of "Half-way", as it was near the halfway point of the stage run between downtown Detroit and the Macomb County seat at Mount Clemens. It incorporated as the village of Halfway in December 1924 and reincorporated as the City of East Detroit in January 1929. The city changed its name to "Eastpointe" after a vote in 1992; the name change had been proposed to reduce its association with the adjacent city of Detroit, and the "-pointe" is intended to associate the city with the exclusive communities of the Grosse Pointes. Prior to 1924, the majority of the city was part of Erin Township. The school district that serves most of the city was unaffected by the municipal name change, and still uses the name East Detroit Public Schools. In fact, the local highschool is call EDHS. Standing for East Detroit High School. The balance of the city (which was part of Lake Township) is served by the South Lake Public Schools