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136-570: On April 22, 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered in the Territory of Michigan , to run from the former Port Lawrence, Michigan, now Toledo , Ohio, near Lake Erie , northwest to Adrian , Michigan, on the River Raisin . The Toledo War soon gave about one-third of the route to the state of Ohio. Horse-drawn trains began operating on November 2, 1836; the horses were replaced by

272-459: A church dedicated to Saint Anne , the mother of the Virgin Mary . As part of New France , the upper Great Lakes had first been governed from Michilimackinac , then Detroit; this was essentially a military regime that reported to the governor-general at Quebec . Its role was to supply the needs of the fur traders and discourage any settlements not directly supportive of that effort. After

408-509: A Dream " speech in Washington, D.C., two months later. While the civil rights movement gained significant federal civil rights laws in 1964 and 1965, longstanding inequities resulted in confrontations between the police and inner-city black youth who wanted change. I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on

544-637: A branch off that alternate to Monroe. Also included was the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad , leased July 1, 1856, and providing a branch from Toledo, past Monroe, to Detroit , Michigan. The Franklin Canal Company was chartered on May 21, 1844, and built a railroad from Erie , Pennsylvania, southwest to the Ohio border. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad was incorporated February 18, 1848, to build northeast from Cleveland, to join

680-664: A branch to Toledo, and a connection to planned railroads to the east. Due to lobbying by the Michigan Central Railroad , a competitor of the Michigan Southern, the latter's charter prevented it from going within two miles (3.2 km) of the Indiana state line east of Constantine , Michigan. However, the most practical route went closer than two miles, west of White Pigeon , Michigan. To allow for this, Judge Stanfield, of South Bend , Indiana, bought

816-407: A cohesive community, who gradually were superseded as the dominant population after more Anglo-American settlers arrived in the early 19th century with American westward migration. Living along the shores of Lake St. Clair and south to Monroe and downriver suburbs, the ethnic French Canadians of Detroit, also known as Muskrat French in reference to the fur trade, remain a subculture in the region in

952-464: A direct relationship between unfair housing practices and educational segregation, as the composition of students in the schools followed segregated neighborhoods. The District Court held all levels of government accountable for the segregation in its ruling. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed some of the decision, holding that it was the state's responsibility to integrate across the segregated metropolitan area. The U.S. Supreme Court took up

1088-612: A federally subsidized, extensive highway and freeway system around Detroit, and pent-up demand for new housing stimulated suburbanization ; highways made commuting by car for higher-income residents easier. However, this construction had negative implications for many lower-income urban residents. Highways were constructed through and completely demolished neighborhoods of poor residents and black communities who had less political power to oppose them. The neighborhoods were mostly low income, considered blighted, or made up of older housing where investment had been lacking due to racial redlining, so

1224-778: A large portion of the Dakotas . Meanwhile, in 1835, the Toledo War was fought with Ohio because Michigan Territory wanted to retain the disputed " Toledo Strip ." The Toledo area of Ohio was finally surrendered in exchange for the western section of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . Slavery was forbidden in the territory under the Northwest Ordinance , but British and French residents in Michigan were permitted to retain possession of slaves already owned at

1360-540: A majority of black people in Detroit resorted to living in all-black neighborhoods such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. At this time, white people still made up about 90.4% of the city's population. White residents attacked black homes: breaking windows, starting fires, and detonating bombs. In the 1940s the world's "first urban depressed freeway" ever built, the Davison , was constructed. During World War II ,

1496-509: A majority of the territory's freeholders favored the creation of a general legislative assembly to replace the system of governors and judges in effect at the time, as provided for by the Northwest Ordinance . The election was called by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass , and results showed a majority opposed changing the system of government. In 1824, the Michigan Territory graduated to the second grade of territorial status, and

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1632-538: A mixed-use office and retail complex, opened in 1977. This group of skyscrapers was an attempt to keep businesses in downtown. Young also gave city support to other large developments to attract middle and upper-class residents back to the city. Despite the Renaissance Center and other projects, the downtown area continued to lose businesses to the automobile-dependent suburbs. Major stores and hotels closed, and many large office buildings went vacant. Young

1768-714: A newly arrived steam locomotive , Adrian No. 1, in August 1837. The Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad was chartered in Indiana on February 6, 1835, to run from Buffalo , New York, to the Mississippi River . The name was changed on February 6, 1837, to the Northern Indiana Railroad , which would run from the eastern border of Indiana, west to Michigan City , Indiana, on Lake Michigan . Some grading between Michigan City, and La Porte , Indiana,

1904-496: A presence in Michigan. Fort Mackinac was turned over soon after but Drummond Island remained as part of Canada until 1828. By proclamation of acting governor and territorial secretary Winthrop Sargent , the "first" Wayne County was established from Knox and Hamilton counties on August 15, 1796, and included most of the area that later became the Michigan Territory, as well as portions of what are now Ohio and Indiana. In 1800,

2040-568: A rented workshop on Mack Avenue. During this growth period, Detroit expanded its borders by annexing all or part of several surrounding villages and townships. In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company . Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant , Horace and John Dodge, James and William Packard, and Walter Chrysler —established the Big Three automakers and cemented Detroit's status in

2176-563: A riverfront revitalization project. Detroit is an increasingly popular tourist destination which caters to about 16 million visitors per year. In 2015, Detroit was given a name called " City of Design " by UNESCO , the first and only U.S. city to receive that designation. Detroit is named after the Detroit River , connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie . The name comes from the French word détroit meaning ' strait ' as

2312-475: A state of urban decay which has continued to the present, as a result of industrial restructuring, the loss of jobs in the auto industry, and rapid suburbanization . Since reaching a peak of 1.85 million at the 1950 census , Detroit's population has declined by more than 65 percent. In 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy , but successfully exited in December 2014. Detroit

2448-784: A third incarnation of Wayne County that included all lands within Michigan Territory that had been ceded by Indians through the 1807 Treaty of Detroit . During the War of 1812 , following General Isaac Brock 's capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, the Michigan Territory was at least nominally a part of the Province of Upper Canada . On August 24, Colonel Henry Proctor proclaimed the continuation of civil government under existing laws with Proctor acting as Governor and Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward acting as Secretary. On February 4, 1813, Proctor suspended civil government and imposed martial law . When Indiana (1816) and Illinois (1818) joined

2584-825: Is a port on the Detroit River, one of the four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the St. Lawrence Seaway . The city anchors the third-largest regional economy in the Midwest and the 16th-largest in the United States. It is also best known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry , and the " Big Three " auto manufacturers— General Motors , Ford , and Stellantis North America ( Chrysler )—are all headquartered in Metro Detroit. It houses

2720-541: Is quoted as saying, "Thank God for Michigan!" George Armstrong Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the Civil War and called them the "Wolverines". The city's tensions over race, and nationally, the draft led to the Detroit race riot of 1863 , in which violence erupted, leaving some dead and over 200 Black residents homeless. This prompted the establishment of a full-time police force in 1865. During

2856-575: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan . It is the largest U.S. city on the Canadian border and the county seat of Wayne County . Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census , making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States. The Metro Detroit area, home to 4.3 million people, is the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area and

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2992-541: The Appalachian Mountains . For all practical purposes, however, the county government never exercised actual control beyond an area limited to a few old French settlements along the major rivers. The overwhelming majority of the northwestern lands were controlled by the native tribes. New York , Connecticut , and Massachusetts also claimed portions of what was to become Michigan, but were even less able to enforce their pretensions, given Britain's control of

3128-530: The Buffalo and Erie Railroad . The Junction Railroad was chartered March 2, 1846, to build from Cleveland, west to Toledo. The Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad was chartered March 7, 1850, to build from Toledo, east to Grafton , Ohio, on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad . The latter company opened on January 24, 1853, finally forming a continuous Buffalo-Chicago line. On September 1,

3264-572: The Chicago Tribune , it was the 3rd most costly riot in the United States. On August 18, 1970, the NAACP filed suit against Michigan state officials, including Governor William Milliken , charging de facto public school segregation. The NAACP argued that although schools were not legally segregated, the city of Detroit and its surrounding counties had enacted policies to maintain racial segregation in public schools. The NAACP also suggested

3400-595: The Detroit Metropolitan Airport , one of the most important hub airports in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor constitute the second-busiest international crossing in North America, after San Diego–Tijuana . Detroit's culture is marked with diversity, having both local and international influences. Detroit gave rise to the music genres of Motown and techno , and also played an important role in

3536-634: The Erie West Subdivision , from Erie, to east of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision , into downtown Cleveland. From the former Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad junction in Cleveland, west to Chicago, the line is now Norfolk Southern's Chicago Line . Amtrak 's New York City–Chicago Lake Shore Limited runs along the full route from Buffalo west. The Capitol Limited joins in Cleveland, at

3672-427: The Great Lakes region . The city's population rose to be the fourth-largest in the nation by 1920, after New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia , with the expansion of the automotive industry in the early 20th century. One of its main features, the Detroit River , became the busiest commercial hub in the world—carrying over 65 million tons of shipping commerce each year. In the mid-20th century, Detroit entered

3808-801: The Great March on Detroit ) Longstanding tensions in Detroit culminated in the Twelfth Street riot in July 1967. Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan National Guard into Detroit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in U.S. Army troops. The result was 43 dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, mostly in black residential and business areas. Thousands of small businesses closed permanently or relocated to safer neighborhoods. The affected district lay in ruins for decades. According to

3944-758: The Lake Shore Railway on March 31, 1868, and on February 11, 1869, the Lake Shore absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo. On April 6, the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and Lake Shore merged to form the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway , which absorbed the Buffalo and Erie Railroad on June 22, giving one company the whole route from Buffalo to Chicago. The main route passed through Dunkirk; Erie; Ashtabula , Ohio; Cleveland; Toledo; Waterloo , Indiana; and South Bend. An alternate route,

4080-610: The Potowatomi , Ojibwe and Huron, launched Pontiac's War in 1763 and laid siege to Fort Detroit but failed to capture it. In defeat, France ceded its territory in North America east of the Mississippi to Britain following the war. When Great Britain evicted France from Canada , it also removed one barrier to American colonists migrating west. British negotiations with the Iroquois would both prove critical and lead to

4216-869: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which limited settlements below the Great Lakes and west of the Alleghenies . Many colonists and pioneers in the Thirteen Colonies resented and then defied this restraint, later becoming supporters of the American Revolution . By 1773, after the addition of the Anglo-American settlers, the population of Detroit was 1,400. During the American Revolutionary War,

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

4352-680: The Treaty of Saginaw in 1819, the two Treaties of Chicago ( 1821 and 1833 ), the Carey Mission in 1828 and the Treaty of Washington in 1836 and a later treaty of January 14, 1837 . Wayne County, Michigan , originally part of the vast Northwest Territory, was eventually whittled down into its current size by the separation of several tracts: Monroe in 1817, Michilimackinac County (later called Mackinac ) and Macomb counties in 1818, St. Clair and St. Joseph counties in 1820 and Washtenaw County in 1822. The first township organization

4488-547: The right-of-way from White Pigeon to the state line, and leased it to the railroad company for about 10 years, until the charter was modified to allow the company to own it. The Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad was chartered on November 30, 1850. Its initial tracks, from the Michigan Southern at the state line running west-southwest to Elkhart , Indiana, then west through Osceola , Indiana, and Mishawaka , Indiana, to South Bend, opened on October 4, 1851. The full line west to Chicago, opened on February 20, 1852, (running to

4624-644: The "Amtrak Connection" from the former Pennsylvania Railroad, C&P line, just east of the present Cleveland Station (MP 181), on its way from Washington, D.C. , to Chicago. Passenger trains along the route originally terminated at LaSalle Street Station , but now run to Union Station , switching to the parallel former Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway , Pennsylvania Railroad, at a crossover in Whiting, Indiana , Indiana, ( 41°41′05″N 87°29′43″W  /  41.68480°N 87.49534°W  / 41.68480; -87.49534 ) to get there. A major branch of

4760-574: The "Paris of the West" for its architecture, grand avenues in the Paris style, and for Washington Boulevard, recently electrified by Thomas Edison . The city had grown steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a major port and transportation hub. In 1896, a thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile in

4896-715: The "vice president" or "secretary", and Laura Smith Haviland the "superintendent". Numerous men from Detroit volunteered to fight for the Union during the Civil War, including the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment . It was part of the Iron Brigade , which fought with distinction and suffered 82% casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. When the First Volunteer Infantry Regiment arrived to fortify Washington, D.C. , President Abraham Lincoln

5032-466: The 14th-largest in the United States. A significant cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Alphonse de Tonty founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit . During the late 19th and early 20th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of

5168-482: The 155 people on board, as well as two people on the ground. In 1993, Young retired as Detroit's longest-serving mayor, deciding not to seek a sixth term, with Dennis Archer succeeding him. Archer prioritized downtown development, easing tensions with its suburban neighbors. A referendum to allow casino gambling in the city passed in 1996; several temporary casino facilities opened in 1999, and permanent downtown casinos with hotels opened in 2007–08. Campus Martius ,

5304-525: The 1800s and early 1900s until employment reached about 1,500. A second shop site was established in 1874 in Collinwood on the northeast side of Cleveland, Ohio . In 1901, the railroad bought a new property in Collinwood for $ 2 million to build a much larger repair center that by the 1920s employed more than 2,000 people. In 1913, a freight car repair shop was established in Ashtabula, Ohio , to maintain

5440-509: The 1920s the city had become a stronghold of the KKK", whose members primarily opposed Catholic and Jewish immigrants but also practiced discrimination against Black Americans. Even after the decline of the KKK in the late 1920s, the Black Legion , a secret vigilante group, was active in the Detroit area in the 1930s. One-third of its estimated 20,000 to 30,000 members in Michigan were based in

5576-455: The 21st century. The Great Fire of 1805 destroyed most of the Detroit settlement, which had primarily buildings made of wood. One stone fort, a river warehouse, and brick chimneys of former wooden homes were the sole structures to survive. Of the 600 Detroit residents in this area, none died in the fire. The legacy of the fire of 1805 lives on in many aspects of modern Detroit heritage. The cities motto, "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus"

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

5712-561: The Allegheny River crossing on the new extension. This line included perhaps the most impressive engineering structures on the LS&;MS, as well as the later NYC, with several large trestles, bridges, and tunnels, near Brookville, including a bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-fill combination near Piney , Pennsylvania, and two magnificent trestles west of Brookville, near Corsica , Pennsylvania. The New York Central used trackage rights over

5848-573: The American auto industry. Detroit manufacturers such as Packard and Hudson merged into other companies and eventually disappeared. At its peak population of 1,849,568, in the 1950 Census , the city was the fifth-largest in the United States. In this postwar era, the auto industry continued to create opportunities for many African Americans from the South, who continued with their Great Migration to Detroit and other northern and western cities to escape

5984-648: The British or Americans for most of the territory by 1783. The majority of it was gained by cession, coerced or otherwise. The people who resided in Michigan before American settlement were the Ottawa , the Potawatomi , Ojibwa and the Wyandot . Treaties ceding the land were signed between 1795 (the Treaty of Greenville ) and 1842 (the Treaty of La Pointe ). Other notable treaties were Governor Hull's treaty of 1808,

6120-538: The Canal Company's railroad at the state line, and the full line from Erie to Cleveland, opened November 20, 1852. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula bought the Franklin Canal Company on June 20, 1854. The Buffalo and State Line Railroad was incorporated October 13, 1849, and opened January 1, 1852, from Dunkirk ,New York, west to Pennsylvania . The rest of the line from Dunkirk to Buffalo, opened on February 22. The Erie and North East Railroad

6256-530: The Detroit River carried 67,292,504 tons of shipping commerce through Detroit to locations all over the world. For comparison, London shipped 18,727,230 tons, and New York shipped 20,390,953 tons. The river was dubbed "the Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth" by The Detroit News in 1908. The prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 resulted in the Detroit River becoming a major conduit for smuggling of illegal Canadian spirits. With

6392-600: The Great Lakes and the hostility of the tribes. Virginia surrendered its claim to lands north and west of the Ohio River effective March 1, 1784. Coincidentally (or not), this was the same day that the findings of a Congressional committee on the western lands, chaired by Thomas Jefferson since the previous October, were reported. Jefferson's recommendations became the basis for the Land Ordinance of 1784 , which established that new states equal in all respects to

6528-587: The Great Lakes, but Frederick Haldimand , the Governor of Quebec, refused to provide a passport, and negotiations collapsed before they had begun. Starting in 1784, the British administered their Michigan holdings as part of the District of Hesse along with what is now Western Ontario ; in 1791 the Province of Quebec was split into Lower Canada (today's Province of Quebec ) and Upper Canada ( Ontario ), and

6664-505: The Iroquois League, with whom they were at war in the 1630s. The Huron and Neutral people held the north side of Lake Erie until the 1650s, when the Iroquois pushed them and the Erie people away from the lake and its beaver -rich feeder streams in the Beaver Wars of 1649–1655. By the 1670s, the war-weakened Iroquois laid claim to as far south as the Ohio River valley in northern Kentucky as hunting grounds, and had absorbed many other Iroquoian peoples after defeating them in war. For

6800-434: The LS&MS extended from Northeastern Ohio, to the coal and oil fields of northwestern Pennsylvania, terminating near Brookville. Originally the line extended to the oil fields and refineries on the Allegheny River , at Franklin , and Oil City , Pennsylvania. The line was later extended from Polk Junction, west of Franklin, to Rose , Pennsylvania, just west of Brookville. Also added was a connector south from Franklin, to

6936-468: The Lower Peninsula, much of the Upper Peninsula, and those portions of today's Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin that drained into Lake Michigan. In many respects, the change from the government of the Northwest Territory to that of the Indiana Territory had little effect on Wayne County's limited operations. By Governor Harrison's proclamation of January 11, 1803, the courts of Wayne County—common pleas, orphans, and quarter sessions—kept their organization under

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7072-433: The New York Central main line from Buffalo, west to Chicago, along with the route across southern Ontario , the Canada Southern Railway and the Michigan Central Railroad. On December 22, 1914, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form the New York Central Railroad. While the original main line was to the south of Sandusky Bay , between Toledo and Elyria,

7208-437: The Northern Indiana Railroad. On April 25, 1855, that company in turn merged with the Michigan Southern Rail Road to form the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad . In 1858, [1] the new alignment ( Northern Indiana Air Line ) from Elkhart, east to Air Line Junction, in Toledo, was completed. The company now owned a main line from Chicago to Toledo, with an alternate route through southern Michigan, east of Elkhart, and

7344-420: The Northwest eventually followed Virginia's example, and in 1787, the Congress of the Confederation enacted the Northwest Ordinance , which created the Northwest Territory . The first settlement under the Northwest Ordinance was at Marietta (Ohio) in 1788. The region that became Michigan was initially unorganized territory and essentially remained under British control; that did not stop Arthur St. Clair ,

7480-422: The Pennsylvania Railroad and the B&O Railroad to connect from Rose to NYC lines at Clearfield , Pennsylvania. There were several mines on this line near Brookville, as well as a connection to the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion (LEF&C) at Sutton , Pennsylvania, and connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and via the Pennsy, to the Pittsburgh & Shawmut, at Brookville. Once coal traffic dried up in

7616-434: The Sandusky Division, in Ohio, ran north of the main line between Elyria, and Millbury, Ohio, not all track was laid until 1872. From Toledo to Elkhart, the Old Road ran to the north, through southern Michigan, and the through route was called the Air Line Division or Northern Indiana Air Line. Along with various branches that had been acquired (see below ), the Monroe Branch ran east from Adrian, to Monroe, where it intersected

7752-518: The South. Whites, including ethnic Europeans, feared black competition for jobs and scarce housing. The federal government prohibited discrimination in defense work, but when in June 1943 Packard promoted three black people to work next to whites on its assembly lines, 25,000 white workers walked off the job. The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in June, three weeks after the Packard plant protest, beginning with an altercation at Belle Isle . A total of 34 people were killed, 25 of them black and most at

7888-400: The South; they were outnumbered by southern whites who also migrated to the city. Immigration brought southern and eastern Europeans of Catholic and Jewish faith; these new groups competed with native-born whites for jobs and housing in the booming city. Detroit was one of the major Midwest cities that was a site for the dramatic urban revival of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) beginning in 1915. "By

8024-468: The U.S. president, with consent of the U.S. Senate. Their terms had no fixed limits. In 1823, the U.S. Congress passed an act reorganizing territorial government and setting a four-year term of office for justices. In 1819, Michigan Territory was given the authority to elect a Congressional delegate . Detroit Detroit ( / d ɪ ˈ t r ɔɪ t / dih- TROYT , locally also / ˈ d iː t r ɔɪ t / DEE -troyt )

8160-412: The Union, remnants of their territories were joined to Michigan Territory. An area equal to 30 townships was also transferred from Michigan Territory to Indiana to allow that state access to Lake Michigan. Soon afterward, the federal government rapidly began signing treaties with local Native American tribes and acquiring their lands. In 1818, a general assembly referendum was held to determine whether

8296-460: The Wisconsin Territory in 1836 upon its organization. Milwaukee County was established in 1834 and was also transferred to Wisconsin Territory two years later. These census numbers do not include most Native Americans , defined in the U.S. Constitution as "Indians not taxed" (Article I, Sec. 2). Under the Northwest Ordinance, a territory could apply for statehood once it had surpassed 60,000 inhabitants. The 1830 United States census reported

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8432-499: The arrival of Europeans, the area that became the Michigan Territory was first under French and then British control. The first Jesuit mission, in 1668 at Sault Saint Marie , led to the establishment of further outposts at St. Ignace (where a mission began work in 1671) and Detroit, first occupied in 1701 by the garrison of the former Fort de Buade under the leadership of Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac . Soon after their arrival, his troops erected Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit and

8568-409: The basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin ... I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream ... —Martin Luther King Jr. (June 1963 Speech at

8704-425: The capital until March 17, 1847 when Lansing was chosen as a replacement. The population of Michigan at the time of statehood is estimated to have been about 200,000, which was well above the Northwest Ordinance 's minimum requirement of 60,000. The area that became Michigan had been British territory, and was ceded to the United States in 1783, although the native peoples of the area had not ceded control to either

8840-455: The case February 27, 1974. The subsequent Milliken v. Bradley decision had nationwide influence. In a narrow decision, the Supreme Court found schools were a subject of local control, and suburbs could not be forced to aid with the desegregation of the city's school district. "Milliken was perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of that period", said Myron Orfield , professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School . "Had that gone

8976-421: The center of the flag of the city. From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan as a territory and as a state. William Hull , the United States commander at Detroit, surrendered without a fight to British troops and their Native American allies during the War of 1812 in the siege of Detroit , believing his forces were vastly outnumbered. The Battle of Frenchtown was part of a U.S. effort to retake

9112-653: The city was situated on a narrow passage of water linking the two lakes. The river was known as le détroit du Lac Érié in French, which means ' the strait of Lake Erie ' . In the historical context, the strait included the St. Clair River , Lake St. Clair , and the Detroit River. [REDACTED]   Kingdom of France 1701–1760 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Great Britain 1760–1796 [REDACTED]   United States 1796–1812 [REDACTED]   United Kingdom 1812–1813 [REDACTED]   United States 1813–present Paleo-Indians inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago including

9248-415: The city's access to the Canada–US border made it a key stop for refugee slaves gaining freedom in the North along the Underground Railroad . Many went across the Detroit River to Canada to escape pursuit by slave catchers. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 African-American refugees settled in Canada. George DeBaptiste was considered to be the "president" of the Detroit Underground Railroad, William Lambert

9384-403: The city's population declined to less than 10 percent of the state's population. During the same time period, the sprawling metropolitan area grew to contain more than half of Michigan's population. The shift of population and jobs eroded Detroit's tax base. In June 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major speech as part of a civil rights march in Detroit that foreshadowed his " I Have

9520-412: The city, and U.S. troops suffered their highest fatalities of any battle in the war. This battle is commemorated at River Raisin National Battlefield Park south of Detroit in Monroe County . Detroit was recaptured by the United States later that year. The settlement was incorporated as a city in 1815. As the city expanded, a radial geometric street plan developed by Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward

9656-486: The city. It was defeated after numerous prosecutions following the kidnapping and murder in 1936 of Charles Poole, a Catholic organizer with the federal Works Progress Administration . Some 49 men of the Black Legion were convicted of numerous crimes, with many sentenced to life in prison for murder. By 1940, 80% of Detroit deeds contained restrictive covenants prohibiting African Americans from buying houses they could afford. These discriminatory tactics were successful as

9792-548: The culture referred to as the Mound Builders . By the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron , Odawa , Potawatomi , and Iroquois peoples. The area is known by the Anishinaabe people as Waawiiyaataanong , translating to 'where the water curves around'. The first Europeans did not penetrate into the region and reach the straits of Detroit until French missionaries and traders worked their way around

9928-464: The development of jazz , hip-hop , rock , and punk . A globally unique stock of architectural monuments and historic places was the result of the city's rapid growth in its boom years. Since the 2000s, conservation efforts have managed to save many architectural pieces and achieve several large-scale revitalizations , including the restoration of several historic theaters and entertainment venues, high-rise renovations, new sports stadiums, and

10064-548: The districts of Upper Canada were renamed the next year, with the Hesse District designated as the Western District . In addition to the British remaining in the region, several states also held competing claims on the future state of Michigan. In 1779, Virginia established Illinois County with boundaries that encompassed all of the land east of the Mississippi River , north of the Ohio River and west of

10200-449: The early 20th century as the world's automotive capital. The growth of the auto industry was reflected by changes in businesses throughout the Midwest and nation, with the development of garages to service vehicles and gas stations, as well as factories for parts and tires. Because of the booming auto industry, Detroit became the fourth-largest city in the nation by 1920, following New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia . In 1907,

10336-792: The eastern portion of the Dakotas. Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837, and included the Upper Peninsula as part of the resolution to the conflict over the Toledo Strip , which had blocked Michigan statehood for several years. The western border of the Upper Peninsula was marked at the Montreal River on the Lake Superior shoreline and the Menominee River on the coast of Lake Michigan . Detroit remained

10472-550: The establishment of the United States as an independent country, Britain ceded Detroit and other territories in the region under the 1783 Treaty of Paris , which established the southern border with its remaining colonial provinces in British North America , later Upper Canada . However, the area remained under British control, and its forces did not withdraw until 1796, following the 1794 Jay Treaty . By

10608-481: The final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan . Detroit was the territorial capital. The earliest European explorers of Michigan saw it mostly as a place to control the fur trade. Small military forces, Jesuit missions to Native American tribes, and isolated settlements of trappers and traders accounted for most of the non-native inhabitants of what would become Michigan. After

10744-726: The first Governor of the Northwest Territory, from establishing a structure of government for the area, if only on paper. Knox County was established on June 20, 1790 with boundaries that included the western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and roughly the middle third of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . In 1792, the boundaries of Hamilton County were expanded to include the eastern portions of Michigan not included in Knox County. American claims to Michigan were frustrated by Britain's refusal to evacuate

10880-761: The following population counts for 13 counties in present-day Michigan and 3 in Wisconsin . The boundaries of counties at that time differed significantly from present-day boundaries. The 1810 United States census was reported in terms of four Civil Districts of a single Wayne County: Michilimackinac, Detroit, Erie, and Huron. The 1810 population shown in the table for Mackinac County is that reported for Michilimackinac Civil District, for Macomb County that reported for Huron Civil District. for Monroe County that reported for Erie Civil District, and for Wayne County that reported for Detroit Civil District. From 1805 through 1823, Territorial Supreme Court Justices were appointed by

11016-591: The forts at Detroit , Mackinac and elsewhere. Britain's tacit support for the Northwest tribes during the Northwest Indian War was dependent on Detroit remaining out of American hands. But the position of the British and their allies in the Northwest deteriorated after the signing of Jay's Treaty and the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and after negotiations, the British evacuated Detroit on July 11, 1796. The United States had finally established

11152-500: The founding thirteen would be erected in the territory, that they would forever be a part of the United States, and that their governments would be republican in form. The Land Ordinance of 1785 would go further by establishing a procedure for land sales in the new territory. However, the Ohio River remained an effective boundary between the United States and the Northwest tribes for a few more years. The other states with claims in

11288-712: The government encouraged retooling of the American automobile industry in support of the Allied powers , leading to Detroit's key role in the American Arsenal of Democracy . Jobs expanded so rapidly due to the defense buildup in World War II that 400,000 people migrated to the city from 1941 to 1943, including 50,000 blacks in the second wave of the Great Migration, and 350,000 whites, many of them from

11424-706: The government's power was transferred from the Governor and a handful of judges to the people. The people elected 18 to the Legislative Council , of which nine were approved by the President , and it first sat in council on June 7, 1824. This council was expanded from nine members to 13 in 1825, with the 13 being chosen by the President from a field of 26. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, allowing settlers from New England and New York to reach Michigan by water through Albany and Buffalo . In 1834, all of

11560-402: The hands of the white police force, while 433 were wounded (75% of them black), and property valued at $ 2 million (worth $ 30.4 million in 2020) was destroyed. Rioters moved through the city, and young whites traveled across town to attack more settled blacks in their neighborhood of Paradise Valley . Industrial mergers in the 1950s, especially in the automobile sector, increased oligopoly in

11696-489: The highways were presented as a kind of urban renewal. These neighborhoods (such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley) were extremely important to the black communities of Detroit, providing spaces for independent black businesses and social/cultural organizations. Their destruction displaced residents with little consideration of the effects of breaking up functioning neighborhoods and businesses. In 1956, Detroit's last heavily used electric streetcar line , which traveled along

11832-477: The indigenous and loyalist raids of 1778 and the resultant 1779 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to even more westward emigration, which began almost immediately. By 1778, its population reached 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in what was known as the Province of Quebec since the British takeover of former French colonial possessions. After the American Revolutionary War and

11968-504: The influence of union leaders in the city such as Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters and Walter Reuther of the UAW. Detroit, like many places in the United States, developed racial conflict and discrimination in the 20th century following the rapid demographic changes as hundreds of thousands of new workers were attracted to the industrial city. The Great Migration brought rural blacks from

12104-407: The influx of black Detroiters to white neighborhoods, believing that their presence would lead to neighborhood deterioration. This perpetuated a cyclical exclusionary process that marginalized the agency of black Detroiters by trapping them in the unhealthiest, least safe areas of the city. As in other major American cities in the postwar era, modernist planning ideology drove the construction of

12240-644: The lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase that were as yet unallocated and lay east of the Missouri River (generally, the Dakotas , Iowa and the western half of Minnesota ) were attached to the Michigan Territory, an area that was officially characterized as "north of Missouri and east of the Missouri and White Earth Rivers ." At this point, Michigan Territory included what is now the states of Michigan, Wisconsin , Iowa , Minnesota and

12376-405: The large roster of ore and coal cars operating at the nearby port. In 1952, as the railroad was converting its motive power from steam to diesel, the repair shops were consolidated at Collinwood. Around 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt , and his New York Central and Hudson River Railroad , gained a majority of stock of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The line provided an ideal extension of

12512-655: The largest European settlement between Montreal and New Orleans , both also French settlements, in the former colonies of New France and La Louisiane , respectively. During the French and Indian War (1754–63)—the North American front of the Seven Years' War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of France —British troops gained control of the settlement in 1760 and shortened its name to Detroit. Several regional Native American tribes, such as

12648-632: The late 1990s, this line was severed and cut back to the mine at Piney. Many of the larger trestles were taken out in the late 2000s, reportedly on orders of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), although the bridge across the Clarion River survived, as of 2015. Territory of Michigan The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when

12784-535: The late 19th century, wealthy industry and shipping magnates commissioned the design and construction of several Gilded Age mansions east and west of the current downtown, along the major avenues of the Woodward plan. Most notable among them was the David Whitney House at 4421 Woodward Avenue , and the grand avenue became a favored address for mansions. During this period, some referred to Detroit as

12920-563: The leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. At some point the original line to Toledo was abandoned west of the branch to Jackson , Michigan, the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad , with the new connection at Lenawee Junction, the crossing between that branch and the line to Monroe. The railroad established its first significant repair shop in 1851 along Mason Street in Elkhart, Indiana . These shops were occasionally expanded and upgraded in

13056-417: The length of Woodward Avenue, was removed and replaced with gas-powered buses. It was the last line of what had once been a 534-mile network of electric streetcars. In 1941, at peak times, a streetcar ran on Woodward Avenue every 60 seconds. All of these changes in the area's transportation system favored low-density, auto-oriented development rather than high-density urban development. Industry also moved to

13192-491: The majority of the black community: with overall lower incomes and facing the backlash of discriminatory housing policies, the black community was limited to lower cost, lower quality housing in the city. The surge in the black population augmented the strain on housing scarcity. The livable areas available to the black community were limited, and as a result, families often crowded together in unsanitary, unsafe, and illegal quarters. Such discrimination became increasingly evident in

13328-431: The new territorial government, with almost identical composition. But the logistics of government went from difficult to almost impossible, with the mail between Detroit and the capital at Vincennes being routed at one point through Warren in northeastern Ohio. The deciding factor may have come when an election was called by Governor Harrison for September 11, 1804, to decide whether Indiana Territory (which by this time

13464-458: The next hundred years, virtually no British or French action was contemplated without consultation with the Iroquois or consideration of their likely response. On July 24, 1701, the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac , with his lieutenant  Alphonse de Tonty and more than a hundred other settlers, began constructing a small fort on the north bank of the Detroit River. Cadillac named

13600-829: The northern alignment, the Sandusky Division, eventually became the main line. In 1968, the New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to form the Penn Central Transportation Company , Penn Central, which two years later, filed for bankruptcy. In 1976, it became part of Conrail . In 1976, the Southern Division, from Elyria to Millbury,

13736-601: The northern boundary of the United States." A historical marker at a roadside park, approximately three miles east of Naubinway at 46°05′50″N 85°23′51″W  /  46.09722°N 85.39750°W  / 46.09722; -85.39750 , commemorates the northernmost point of Lake Michigan, which is located approximately one mile west of the park. The first territorial governor, William Hull , abolished Wayne County and established new districts of his own making, which proved to be short-lived. Lewis Cass became governor in 1813 and promptly undid Hull's work and re-established

13872-547: The other side of Erie, and for the Buffalo and State Line to operate the Erie and Northeast. This would result in through passengers no longer having to change trains at Erie, and on December 7, 1853, the Erie Gauge War began between the railroads and the townspeople. On February 1, 1854, the relaying was finished and the first train passed through Erie. On May 15, 1867, the two companies between Buffalo and Erie merged to form

14008-411: The other way, it would have opened the door to fixing nearly all of Detroit's current problems." John Mogk, a professor of law and an expert in urban planning at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, says, Everybody thinks that it was the riots [in 1967] that caused the white families to leave. Some people were leaving at that time but, really, it was after Milliken that you saw mass flight to

14144-484: The policies of redlining implemented by banks and federal housing groups, which almost completely restricted the ability of blacks to improve their housing and encouraged white people to guard the racial divide that defined their neighborhoods. As a result, black people were often denied bank loans to obtain better housing, and interest rates and rents were unfairly inflated to prevent their moving into white neighborhoods. White residents and political leaders largely opposed

14280-485: The predecessor of Englewood station , together with the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad ). A more direct line was soon planned from Elkhart, east to Toledo, and the Northern Indiana Railroad was chartered in Ohio, on March 3, 1851. On July 8, 1853, the Ohio and Indiana companies merged, and on February 7, 1855, the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad and the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad were merged into

14416-604: The rapid growth of industrial workers in the auto factories, labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor and the United Auto Workers (UAW) fought to organize workers to gain them better working conditions and wages. They initiated strikes and other tactics in support of improvements such as the 8-hour day/40-hour work week , increased wages, greater benefits, and improved working conditions . The labor activism during those years increased

14552-494: The region losing the majority of funding for rapid transit. The city then moved forward with construction of the elevated downtown circulator portion of the system, which became known as the Detroit People Mover . The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 affected auto industry. Buyers chose smaller, more fuel-efficient cars made by foreign makers as the price of gas rose. Efforts to revive the city were stymied by

14688-470: The settlement Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit , after Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain , Secretary of State of the Navy under Louis XIV . Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit was founded on July 26 and is the second-oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States. France offered free land to colonists to attract families to Detroit; when it reached a population of 800 in 1765, it became

14824-498: The strict Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination policies of the South. Postwar Detroit was a prosperous industrial center of mass production. The auto industry comprised about 60% of all industry in the city, allowing space for a plethora of separate booming businesses including stove making, brewing, furniture building, oil refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and more. The expansion of jobs created unique opportunities for black Americans, who saw novel high employment rates: there

14960-418: The struggles of the auto industry, as their sales and market share declined. Automakers laid off thousands of employees and closed plants in the city, further eroding the tax base. To counteract this, the city used eminent domain to build two large new auto assembly plants in the city. Young sought to revive the city by seeking to increase investment in the city's declining downtown. The Renaissance Center ,

15096-404: The suburbs, seeking large plots of land for single-story factories. By the 21st century, the metro Detroit area had developed as one of the most sprawling job markets in the United States; combined with poor public transport, this resulted in many new jobs being beyond the reach of urban low-income workers. In 1950, the city held about one-third of the state's population. Over the next 60 years,

15232-434: The suburbs. If the case had gone the other way, it is likely that Detroit would not have experienced the steep decline in its tax base that has occurred since then. In November 1973, the city elected Coleman Young as its first black mayor. After taking office, Young emphasized increasing racial diversity in the police department, which was predominantly white. Young also worked to improve Detroit's transportation system, but

15368-458: The surrender of Montreal in 1760, British troops under Robert Rogers occupied Detroit and its dependent posts. In 1763, Pontiac's Rebellion saw the fall of Fort Michilimackinac to the northern tribes, and a lengthy siege of Fort Detroit . The siege was lifted in 1764, and rule under a British lieutenant-governor at Detroit followed soon thereafter. Due to the Quebec Act of 1774, Michigan

15504-404: The tension between Young and his suburban counterparts over regional matters was problematic throughout his mayoral term. In 1976, the federal government offered $ 600 million (~$ 2.5 billion in 2023) for building a regional rapid transit system, under a single regional authority. But the inability of Detroit and its suburban neighbors to solve conflicts over transit planning resulted in

15640-478: The territorial period, others split off later). Jackson and Ingham were created in 1829 from Washtenaw; Isabella was created from parts of Saginaw and Midland counties in 1831. Gratiot County was also established in 1831, with land from Saginaw and Clinton counties. Seven of the 12 counties created in 1829 were named for members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet , and one was named for Jackson himself. Iowa County , with its seat at Mineral Point ,

15776-494: The time the territory became organized. Census records show that the slave population in the territory numbered 24 in 1810 and 32 in 1830. It is believed that those counted as slaves were, in many cases, Indians rather than blacks. On July 3, 1836, in preparation for Michigan statehood, the Wisconsin Territory was organized from Michigan Territory, consisting of the present states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and

15912-522: The track was relaid in 1872, merging with the Southern Division, at Millbury , Ohio, east of Toledo. In 1866, the Southern Division, east of Oberlin , Ohio, was abandoned and a new line was built to Elyria , Ohio, on the Northern Division, ending the use of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. In October 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. The CP&A changed its name to

16048-403: The turn of the 19th century, white American settlers began pouring westwards. The region's then colonial economy was based on the lucrative fur trade , in which numerous Native American people had important roles as trappers and traders. Today the flag of Detroit reflects its both its French and English colonial heritage. Descendants of the earliest French and French-Canadian settlers formed

16184-539: The two companies merged to form the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad , with the Junction Railroad becoming the Northern Division and the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland, the Southern Division. The Northern Division opened from Cleveland, west to Sandusky , Ohio, on October 24, 1853, and the rest of the way to Toledo, on April 24, 1855. The Northern Division was abandoned west of Sandusky, due to lack of business, but

16320-555: The western half of the Lower Peninsula and most of the Upper Peninsula were attached to the Indiana Territory when it was established as a separate government from the Northwest Territory. Wayne County was thereby reduced to the remainder of the two peninsulas, and continued under the government of the Northwest Territory. St. Clair County , another Indiana Territory county, was also expanded at this time to include

16456-556: The western portion of the Upper Peninsula and a small sliver of the Lower Peninsula along the shore of Lake Michigan . When Ohio was admitted as a state in early 1803, the eastern half of Michigan was incorporated into the Indiana Territory. One of the first acts taken that year by the Indiana government under William Henry Harrison was to reorganize Wayne County under Indiana law, adding territory from Knox and St. Clair counties. Michigan's first county now encompassed all of

16592-485: Was Detroit, in Wayne County, in 1802. Also organized in 1818 were two counties that survive in present-day Wisconsin . Crawford was set up to govern the settlements on the upper Mississippi River from its seat at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin , while Brown performed a similar function for the settlements around Green Bay . These would become part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Oakland County, Michigan

16728-677: Was a 103% increase in the number of blacks employed in postwar Detroit. Black Americans who immigrated to northern industrial cities from the south still faced intense racial discrimination in the employment sector. Racial discrimination kept the workforce and better jobs predominantly white, while many black Detroiters held lower-paying factory jobs. Despite changes in demographics as the city's black population expanded, Detroit's police force, fire department, and other city jobs continued to be held by predominantly white residents. This created an unbalanced racial power dynamic. Unequal opportunities in employment resulted in unequal housing opportunities for

16864-636: Was abandoned, with parts of the former right of way now in use as a recreational trail, the North Coast Inland Trail. Under Conrail, the Lake Shore main line was part of the New York City–Chicago, Chicago Line. In 1998, Conrail was split between CSX and Norfolk Southern . The Chicago Line east of Cleveland, went to CSX, and was split into several subdivisions: the Lake Shore Subdivision , from Buffalo, to Erie,

17000-425: Was chartered April 12, 1842, to build the part from the state line west to Erie, and opened on January 19, 1852. On November 16, 1853, an agreement was made between the two railroads, which had been built at 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ) broad gauge , to relay the rails at 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge to match the Franklin Canal Company's railroad (see below) on

17136-498: Was coined by Father Gabriel Richard as he looked out at the ruins of the city in the fire's aftermath. The city seal, designed by J.O. Lewis in 1827, directly depicts the Great Fire of 1805. Two women stand in the foreground while on the left, the city burns in the background and a woman weeps over the destruction. The woman on the right consoles her by gesturing to a new city that will rise in its place. The city seal also forms

17272-410: Was created in 1819, and over time was subdivided into all or parts of Genesee , Lapeer , Sanilac , Shiawassee and Saginaw counties. Saginaw County would be split further into eight separate counties, three of which ( Isabella , Arenac and Midland ) were established during the territorial period. Lenawee County was created in 1822 from what had been Native American lands, and Hillsdale County

17408-587: Was criticized for being too focused on downtown development and not doing enough to lower the city's high crime rate and improve city services to residents. High unemployment was compounded by middle-class flight to the suburbs, and some residents leaving the state to find work. The result for the city was a higher proportion of poor in its population, reduced tax base, depressed property values, abandoned buildings, abandoned neighborhoods, and high crime rates. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed near Detroit Metro airport, killing all but one of

17544-481: Was done in 1838, but money ran out. Around 1838, the state of Michigan started to build the Southern Railroad , running from Monroe , Michigan, on Lake Erie, west to New Buffalo , Michigan, on Lake Michigan. The first section, from Monroe, west to Petersburg , Michigan, opened in 1839. Extensions opened in 1840, to Adrian, and 1843, to Hillsdale , Michigan. On May 9, 1846, the partially completed line

17680-523: Was established by an act of the United States Congress on January 11, 1805, effective June 30 of that year. The act defined the territory as "all that part of the Indiana Territory, which lies North of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of lake Michigan, until it shall intersect lake Erie, and East of a line drawn from the said southerly bend through the middle of said lake to its northern extremity, and thence due north to

17816-569: Was established in 1829 and transferred to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. Michigan Territory briefly governed lands west of the Mississippi, after the statehood of Missouri left the area north of the new state as unorganized territory; this comprised what is now Iowa and that part of Minnesota west of the river. Such was the case until 1834, when that area was placed under the government of Michigan Territory. Dubuque and Des Moines counties were created in 1834, and transferred to

17952-652: Was followed, featuring grand boulevards as in Paris . In 1817, Woodward went on to establish the Catholepistemiad , or University of Michigania in the city. Intended to be a centralized system of schools, libraries, and other cultural and scientific institutions for the Michigan Territory, the Catholepistemiad evolved into the modern University of Michigan. Prior to the American Civil War ,

18088-583: Was governed during the Revolution as part of the Province of Quebec . Although the 1783 Treaty of Paris gave the fledgling United States a claim to what is now Michigan, British policy was to hold on to Detroit and its dependencies at all costs. In 1784, Baron von Steuben would be sent to Canada by the Congress of the Confederation in a diplomatic capacity to address the question of Detroit and

18224-421: Was responsible for not only the settlements in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, but the newly acquired District of Louisiana as well) should progress to the second stage of territorial government. But word failed to reach Detroit until after the date had passed, and the settlers of Michigan petitioned Congress in December 1804, asking that Wayne County be set off as an independent territory. Michigan Territory

18360-572: Was separated from it in 1829. Other parts of Lenawee were turned into Cass and Berrien . Branch also sprung fully formed from Michigan Territory in 1829. Chippewa County was created from Michilimackinac County in 1826. Kalamazoo County , established 1829 from St. Joseph County, was the dominant tract in Western Michigan and was divided and subdivided into many other counties: Allegan , Barry , Calhoun , Eaton , Ionia , Montcalm , Kent , Ottawa and Clinton (some created during

18496-563: Was sold to the Michigan Southern Rail Road , which changed the planned western terminal to Chicago , using the charter of the Northern Indiana Railroad. The grading that had been done was not used, as the grade was too steep, and instead the original Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad charter was used west of La Porte. The Michigan Southern leased the Erie and Kalamazoo on August 1, 1849, giving it

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