The Secretary of State is the third-ranking official in the State of Michigan. As the name implies, the officeholder was originally responsible for much of state government, but now the duties are similar to those of the other 46 secretaries of states across the United States.
The Redbridge formed part of the ancient parish of Barking, Essex. In 1888 it became part of the new civil parish of Ilford. The civil parish became a local board district in 1890, urban district in 1894 and municipal borough in 1926.
The Northbridge area was part of the colonial Mendon grant of 1667, and was first used by settlers as pasture and, along the rivers, haying meadow. Northbridge and Uxbridge together broke off from Mendon in 1727, and Northbridge became a separate town in 1775. Although Northbridge was primarily a dispersed agricultural community during the Colonial Period, an iron works was established in present-day Whitinsville by 1729.