Clarence Monroe Burton - The City of Detroit, 1701 -1922, Volume 1

The City of Detroit

1701 1922

Volume 1: The Early Years & Political and Civic History

CLARENCE M. BURTON

The City of Detroit 1, C. M. Burton

Jazzybee Verlag Jrgen Beck

86450 Altenmnster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849650391

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Wayne County, of which Detroit is the county seat, is situated in the southeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is bounded on the north by the counties of Oakland and Macomb; on the east by the Detroit River, which separates it from the Dominion of Canada; on the south by the County of Monroe, and on the west by the County of Washtenaw. According to Rand-McNally 's Atlas of the United States, the area of the county is 626 square miles. (For changes in area and boundary lines see Chapter LVII.) Observations made by the United States Geological Survey show Detroit to be located in latitude 43 19' 50" north and in longitude 83 2' 5" west of Greenwich.

TOPOGRAPHY.

In January, 1839, Bela Hubbard, then assistant state geologist, submitted to Governor Mason the first; official report concerning the topography of the county. This report says: "Nearly the whole of Wayne County is included in that portion of the peninsula constituting the eastern border, in which no considerable prominences occur, and the descent to the coast is gradual and uniform. In this county, consequently, if we except the township in the northwest corner, the general level is varied only by gentle undulations or isolated sand ridges, forming no continuous ranges and seldom exceeding the relative height of twenty feet. Along the whole eastern border of the county the altitude at a distance of six miles from the coast varies but little from thirty-three to thirty-six feet. At a single point only, in the vicinity of Detroit, it attains to forty-five feet above the river."

Below the River Rouge, beginning about two or three miles from the Detroit River, was in early days a chain or network of wet prairies, the ground gradually rising until at the west line of the county it was about one hundred and forty feet higher than at the river. The streams in the southwestern part of the county therefore have a swifter current and are available for water power. Mr. Hubbard reported sixty-three square miles of marsh land, distributed over the county as follows: Eleven sections in Brownstown Township; eighteen sections in Ecorse; four sections in Greenfield and Bedford, which he describes as "good cranberry land;" ten sections in Hamtramck; ten sections in Huron and ten in Romulus.

About the little lakes and ponds in these wet prairies and marshes was once a fruitful field for the trapper. Beavers were plentiful here until about the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, when they disappeared. The early settlers cut large quantities of wild hay from these wet lands to provide sustenance for their livestock during the long, cold winters.

In the northwestern part the ground is more rolling and broken into frequent ridges, which often rise sixty or eighty feet above the general surface. The dividing line between the lands of this character and the more level tracts, which constitute the remainder of the county, is marked by a low gravelly ridge, supposed to have been at some remote period in the past the shore of the lake. The course of this ridge is from northeast to southwest, passing through the northwest corner of Livonia Township, entering Plymouth about two miles from the northern boundary, and crossing the west line of the county near the southwest comer of Canton Township.

THE DETROIT RIVER.

The Detroit River, which flows along the eastern border, forms the international boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, though the United States exercises jurisdiction over the greater portion of the stream. By act of Congress, approved by President Monroe on December 19, 1819, the river was declared to be a public thoroughfare for the passage of vessels. It receives all the waters of Wayne County except the Huron River. The name, which is of French origin, means "The Strait."

From the point where it leaves Lake St. Clair to the point where it empties into Lake Erie, the distance is a little less than twenty-eight miles. At its narrowest point, in front of the City of Detroit, it is a little over half a mile wide. The greatest width, at the foot of Grosse Ile, is about three miles, and the average width is about one mile. The average depth is about thirty-five feet and it is navigable for the largest vessels on the lakes. There are but few rivers in the world that surpass the Detroit in the volume of water that passes through its channel. It is the outlet of the largest three of the Great Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior and all the streams that empty into them. The area drained by the Detroit is as great as that drained by the Ohio, though the latter is nearly one thousand miles long. Likewise, there are but few rivers that present more attractive scenery. Along its course are numerous islands, which rise like emeralds from the clear, tranquil water, and passengers upon the great steamers never tire of watching the constantly changing panorama.

ISLANDS OF THE RIVER.

Beginning at Lake St. Clair, the principal islands in the Detroit River are as follows: La Peche, or Isle of the Fishes, which is on the Canadian side of the river and was once the summer home of Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawa nation. Belle Isle {formerly called Rattlesnake and later Hog Island) is now the property of the City of Detroit and one of its most beautiful parks. (A history of Belle Isle appears in another chapter.) Turkey Island (also called Fighting Island) a long, narrow island on the Canadian side, takes its name from the great numbers of wild turkeys found there in early times. This island was the scene of the contest between the Indians under Pontiac and the vessel sent to relieve the fort at Detroit in 1763. The remains of an old Indian earthwork at the upper end were plainly visible in the early years of the Nineteenth Century. Near the foot of this island are Little Turkey and Mammy Judy islands. The latter, containing about thirty acres, was named for an old Indian squaw who used to come there every year during the fishing season, and who finally died on the island. Mud and Grassy islands lie between Turkey Island and the Michigan shore.

Grosse Ile is the largest in the river. An old French document of 1717 says: "It is very fine and fertile and extensive, being as it is estimated from six to seven leagues in circumference. There is an extraordinary quantity of apple trees on this island, and those who have seen the apples on the ground say they are more than half a foot deep; the apple trees are planted as if methodically and the apples are as large as small pippins. Abundance of excellent millstones are found on this island; all around it are very fine prairies. It was a long time doubtful whether Detroit should not be founded there. The cause of the hesitation was the apprehension that the timber might someday fail."

About the foot of Grosse Ile are grouped a number of smaller islands, viz.: Bois Blanc (or Whitewood), Calf, Celeron (or Tawa), Elba, Fox, Hickory, Horse, Humbug and Sugar. Several of the islands in the river were the scenes of stirring events during the early wars.

DRAINAGE

As previously stated, the Detroit River receives the waters of all the streams of Wayne County, except those of the Huron River, which empties into Lake Erie at the southeast comer of the county. The Huron, the largest stream in the county, has its source in the lakes and marshes of Livingston and Washtenaw counties. At first it flows in a southerly direction, but near the City of Dexter it turns eastward and enters Wayne County about nine miles north of the southwest corner. Near the Village of Romulus it turns toward the southeast and follows that direction until it empties into Lake Erie, near the mouth of the Detroit River. During the last eight or ten miles of its course it forms the boundary line between Wayne and Monroe counties.