Ann Arbor: History

Ann Arbor: History

Easterners Found Settlement; Industry Attracts Immigrants

By some accounts, Virginians John and Ann Allen and New Yorkers Elisha and Ana Rumsey arrived in the southeastern Michigan Territory in 1824 at a place named Allen's Creek. The men built an arbor for the wild grapevines they found there and named their settlement Anns' Arbor in honor of their wives. According to an unsubstantiated story, however, the settlement was named after a mysterious young woman guide named Ann D'Arbeur who led parties from Detroit westward into the wilderness as early as 1813. Local Native Americans called the settlement "Kaw-goosh-kaw-nick" after the sound of John Allen's gristmill. Settlers from Virginia and New York and immigrants from Ireland and Germany soon arrived as other mills, a tannery, and a general store were opened. Ann Arbor was made the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827; it was incorporated as a village in 1833 and chartered as a city in 1851. Ann Arbor's strategic location on the Huron River, the Territorial Road, and the Michigan Central Railroad contributed to its development as a trading center.

City Becomes Site of Major American University

The most significant event in the city's history was the relocation of the University of Michigan from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1841 by the new state legislature after Ann Arbor citizens effectively lobbied for the move. But it was not until 1852 that the university's first president, Henry Philip Tappan, was appointed. President Tappan broke from academia's traditional classical curriculum and introduced a scientific program and elective courses. Erastus Otis Haven, the university's second president, secured an annual state subsidy to bring the institution's finances under control, and President James Burrill Angell's administration added new buildings and programs during a 38-year tenure. Today the University of Michigan is regarded as one of the nation's top public universities, noted for its undergraduate education, research and graduate programs, and athletic teams that compete in the Big Ten Conference.

The university has been the site of historically significant political announcements. Senator John F. Kennedy introduced his plan for a Peace Corps on the steps of the university's Student Union during his 1960 presidential campaign, and President Lyndon Baines Johnson unveiled his Great Society program at commencement exercises there in 1964. A high proportion of Michigan graduates have become astronauts; in fact, during the Apollo 15 flight a flag was planted on the moon in recognition of University of Michigan alumni astronauts. The influence of the University of Michigan is such that Ann Arbor is the highest-ranked community in the United States for the educational and medical facilities available to its residents.

High-technology research and development has contributed to the growth in Ann Arbor's population, which also includes an increasing number of residents who commute to work in the Detroit area. Ann Arbor combines big-city amenities with a small-town atmosphere to produce a desirable quality of life. Multi-cultural influences can be seen in the city's shops, restaurants and arts offerings. The arts are a flourishing and integral part of the community, in part fueled by the university.

Historical Information: Kempf House Center for Local History, 312 S. Division, Ann Arbor, MI; telephone (734)994-4898. U of M Bentley Historical Library, 1150 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI; telephone (734)764-3482 (re-search facility on U of M's North Campus that contains the Michigan Historical Collections)