Kensington: The Michigan Town That Disappeared The non-existent village of Kensington resides in Oakland County and was eventually wiped out completely by the railroad, bad business deals, greed...and the construction of I-96 and Kensington Metropark. Kensington was settled in 1831, with a post office appearing in 1834 named “Lyon”, the same name of the township. In 1836, the town was re-platted and the post office name was changed to 'Kensington'. At Kensington's peak there were five blacksmiths, a boot shop, brick store, two brickyards, three churches, flour mill, three general stores, ...