1700s
ETCHING OF FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT OF DETROIT, FORT PONTCHARTRAIN
(Source: Belle Isle Conservancy)
Saginaw Trail, 1700s
"In the 1700s, many trails created by Native Americans crisscrossed southeastern Michigan. The Saginaw Trail linked Detroit to Pontiac. It was used by the Potawatomis to carry their furs to Fort Ponchartrain on the Detroit River and return to their villages with trade goods. Later they used the trail for their semiannual journeys to Detroit to receive government annuities as part of various treaties." [1]
The 1877 History of Oakland County described the trail as follows: "The Indian trail from Detroit to Saginaw was the nearest approach to a road leading towards the region now comprising the county of Oakland, and this was nearly impassable during the greater part of the year, and even in the dryest season was only practicable for footmen and ponies."
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SIDE NOTE: State archeologists have found evidence of Native Americans in Birmingham as far back as 1,000 years ago.
Sources: [1] Images of America: Birmingham. By Craig Jolly with the Birmingham Historical Museum, 2007, p. 11. [2] History of Oakland County, Michigan. By Samuel W. Durant, L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1877. p 25.
Map of Detroit Map, 1796:
Before Woodward Avenue
Fort Shelby (a.k.a. Fort Lernoult, Fort Detroit) is the dominant feature in this Detroit street map from 1796 when the residents were mostly French. It replaced Fort Ponchartrain (a.k.a. Fort Detroit), which was built closer to Detroit River.
Fort Shelby played a significant role in the War of 1812. The fort was built by the British in 1779 as Fort Lernoult and was ceded to the United States by the Jay Treaty in 1796. In 1805, it was renamed Fort Detroit by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. In 1812, the fort was surrendered to the British by William Hull, and in 1813, it was reclaimed by the Americans. The Americans renamed it Fort Shelby in 1813, but references to "Fort Detroit" relating to the War of 1812 are to this fort, not to the earlier Fort Detroit (a.k.a. Fort Pontchartrain), which had been abandoned by the British in 1779 in favor of Fort Lernoult. Fort Shelby was given to the city of Detroit in 1826 and dismantled in 1827. (Source: Wikipedia)
There is no Woodward Avenue on this map. After the Detroit Great Fire of 1805, Woodward Avenue was built to the right of Fort Shelbey.
Note the River Savoyard that flowed between Congress and Larned Streets.
(Sources: Detroit News Archives and Wikipedia)
MAP OF DETROIT, 1796
(Source: Detroit News Photo Galleries)
Map of Detroit Map, 1799:
Before Woodward Avenue
John Joseph Ulrich Rivardi's watercolor captures Detroit's appearance in the early years of American ownership, shortly before the fire of 1805. It reveals the characteristic triangular fortification of Fort Lernoult as it was at the time its British garrison peacefully relinquished the post to United States authorities in 1796. [1]
SIDE NOTE: Fort Lernoult was built by the British in 1779 and was ceded to the United States by the Jay Treaty in 1796. It was renamed Fort Detroit by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn in 1805. The fort was surrendered to the British by William Hull in 1812, and reclaimed by the Americans in 1813. The Americans renamed it Fort Shelby in 1813. It was given to the city of Detroit in 1826 and dismantled in 1827. [2]
Sources: [1] Frontier Seaport: Detroit's Transformation into an Atlantic Entrepôt. By Catherine Cangany, The University of Chicago Press, 2014, p. 138. [2] Wikipedia
MAP OF DETROIT, 1799
(Source: John Joseph Ulrich Rivardi, Plan of Fort Lernoult and the Town of Detroi [1799] via Pinterest.Com)
Detroit - 1700s
Before Woodward Avenue
Antoine de La Mothe Sier de Cadillac landing in Detroit After departing Montreal June 5, 1701, Cadillac and his convoy of 75 canoes sailed down this river and on the evening of July 23 camped 16 miles below the present city of Detroit on what is now Grosse Ile. On the morning of July 24, Cadillac returned upriver and reached a spot on the shore near the present intersection of West Jefferson and Shelby. image: almy.com text: "Local history of Detroit and Wayne County," Fuller, et al.
SIEUR DE CADILLAC (1658-1730). "Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac. French colonial administrator in America. Sieur de Cadillac landing in Detroit in 1701 with his party of one hundred men, including his young son and two missionaries. Drawing by C.W. Jefferys." granger.com
Location: Was located on the Detroit River Wall. Erected: 1979 The marker reads, in part, "After departing Montreal June 5, 1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his convoy of seventy-five canoes sailed down this river and on the evening of July 23 camped sixteen miles below the present city of Detroit on what is now Grosse Ile. On the morning of July 24, Cadillac returned upriver and reached a spot on the shore near the present intersection of West Jefferson and Shelby..." michmarkers.com
Location: Hart Plaza Erected: ~2003 The marker was relocated from river wall into Hart Plaza as part of the River Walk reconfiguration for the Detroit 300 celebration in 2003. A statue of Cadillac was added, too. The marker ends with, "From this fort and settlement, Detroit, the Renaissance City, takes its origin." michmarkers.com
Year Built: 1701 In Use: 1701-1796 After departing Montreal June 5, 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and his convoy of seventy-five canoes sailed down this river and on the evening of July 23 camped sixteen miles below the present city of Detroit on what is now Grosse Ile. On the morning of July 24, Cadillac returned upriver and reached a spot on the shore near the present intersection of West Jefferson and Shelby. Text Source: Landing of Cadillac historical marker.
Pleased with the strategic features, the bank towering some thirty feet above the level of the river, Cadillac landed and planted the flag of France, taking possession of the territory in the name of King Louis XIV. The erection of a fortress was immediately begun. The stockade, formed of fifteen-foot oak pickets set three feet into the ground, occupied an area of about an acre. Text: Landing of Cadillac historical marker. Image: Detroit Historical Society.
The fortress was named Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit in honor of Count Jerome de Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine. ("Landing of Cadillac" historical marker) The city name comes from the Detroit River (French: l'étroit du Lac Erie), meaning the strait of Lake Erie (literally "the narrow Lake Erie"), linking Lake Huron and Lake Erie; in the historical context, the strait included Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. Image: theclio.com
Cadillac ordered Fort Pontchartrain built on the Detroit River to try to keep the British from moving into the west and to monopolize the fur trade in central North America. Note Hog Island, today's Belle Isle. "In the very early days of Detroit, Belle Isle, then known as Ile Aux Cochons or Hog Island, was used by settlers to house pigs and chickens to protect them from coyotes on the mainland. Ottawas and Ojibwa tribes were the 'owners' of the island." (HistoryDetroit.com)
"Madame Cadillac and Madame Tonty, the latter the wife of Cadillac's second in command, arrived in Fort Pontchartrain in September 1701. The were the first women to join the garrison at Detroit." Source: This Is Detroit: 1701-2001, by Arthur M. Woodford, 2001, p 20.
Related links:
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1701-1760 Chronology (French Detroit)
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1760-1796 Chronology (British Detroit)
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1708 Plan From Conveyances of Cadillac (interactive reproduction of Burton's map with lot assignments)