Contributed by William C. Purdy
From 1910 to 1920, Hamtramck Michigan grew from 3,589
To 45,615 residents, leading the nation in growth for that period.
During the lumber boom era, the row of saloons
that lined Water Street in Bay City was known as 'Hell's Half Mile'.
In 1936, Escanaba, Michigan harvested and
processed 100,000 sq. ft. of birds eye maple to be used
In the English Luxury Liner, the Queen Mary.
When the territory of Michigan was created on
Jan. 11, 1805, Detroit was chosen as its capital.
Bagley's Corner was the original name of Bloomfield Hills.
The world's only marble lighthouse is
located on Belle Isle. (Livingston Lighthouse)
Hog's Hollow was the original name of Utica, Mich.
There are over 11,500 lakes in Michigan .
The home offices of Life Savers Candy, Beech-Nut Gum,
And Squirt soft drinks are in Holland , Michigan
In 1870, Detroit became the nation's first
telephone customers to have phone numbers assigned to them.
Charles A Lindbergh was born in Detroit on Feb. 4,1902.
The Stars and Stripes first flew over Michigan
soil on July 11, 1796.
In Sept. 1908, William C Durant organized several independent automobile plants into what was to become General Motors.
Michigan began charging an annual license fee of
50 cents in 1915 for autos
Michigan 's first police woman began walking
the beat in Detroit in 1893.
In 1942, the Davison Freeway in Detroit was
completed and became the world's first urban freeway.
The first soft drink, (Vernor's Ginger Ale)
was introduced by a Detroit Pharmacist,
James A Vernor, in 1866. Note:
There were several 'elixirs' on the market at that time,
including what would later be called Coca Cola,
these contained alcohol, whereas Vernor's didn't. Thus the name 'soft' drink
The intersection of Woodward Avenue and Grand
Avenue in Detroit proudly displayed the world's first
traffic light in 1915, leaders of 19 countries
and 26 States came to check it out in the first six months.
In 1688, Father Jacques Marquette founded
the first permanent settlement in what
would later become Michigan.
The world's first shopping mall (Northland Mall),
Opened in the Detroit suburb of Southfield in
1954. Newspapers from overseas as well as
this country wrote that it would never catch on......Duh?
The world's first painted highway center lines were
featured in Trenton, MI in 1911. They were used in
other towns and was how Center Line, MI got its name.
Michigan ranks Number 1 nationally in the
production of dog sleds.
The nation's largest indoor/outdoor museum
complex is Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village .
Opened in 1904, the nation's oldest
freshwater aquarium (was) the Belle Isle Aquarium.
The onion is Michigan's largest fresh-market vegetable crop.