Grand Rapids, Michigan

==== European settlement ====
In 1820, General [[Lewis Cass]], who was on his way to negotiate the first [[Treaty of Chicago#1821 Treaty of Chicago|Treaty of Chicago]] with a group of 42 men, commissioned [[Charles Christopher Trowbridge]] to establish missions for Native Americans in the Grand River Valley, in hopes of evangelizing them.<ref name="HISTORY1870">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bad0957.0001.001.umich.edu |title=History and Directory of Kent County, Michigan, Containing a History of Each Township, and the City of Grand Rapids; the Name, Location and Postoffice Address of All Residents Outside of the City: A List of Postoffices in the County; a Schedule of Population; and Other Valuable Statistics |date=November 21, 1870 |publisher=Daily Eagle Steam Printing House |location=Grand Rapids, MI |pages=114–136 <!-- |access-date = September 28, 2016-->}}</ref><ref name=WILD>{{Cite book |last1=Simon-Tibbe |first1=Dorothy |title=Wilderness to Wyoming |last2=Branz |first2=Bill |last3=White |first3=Kelly |publisher=Franklin Press, Inc. |year=2009 |isbn=9780578028583 |edition=1 |location=[[Wyoming, Michigan]] |language=en}}</ref> In 1821, the [[Council of Three Fires]] signed the first [[Treaty of Chicago#1821 Treaty of Chicago|Treaty of Chicago]], ceding to the United States all lands in Michigan Territory south of the Grand River, except for several small reservations, and required a native to prepare land in the area to establish a mission.<ref name="WILD" /><ref name=":5">{{cite web |title=September 26, 1833 – Treaty of Chicago |url=https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/culture-and-history/treaties/september-26-1833-treaty-of-chicago/ |access-date=August 8, 2020 |website=Forest County Potawatomi |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812205919/https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/culture-and-history/treaties/september-26-1833-treaty-of-chicago/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The treaty also included "One hundred thousand dollars to satisfy sundry individuals, in behalf of whom reservations were asked, which the Commissioners refused to grant" of which Joseph La Framboise received 1,000 dollars immediately and 200 dollars a year, for life.<ref name=":5" /> Madeline La Framboise retired the trading post to [[Rix Robinson]] in 1821 and returned to Mackinac.<ref name="HISTORYlowell" /> That year, Grand Rapids was described as being the home of an Odawa village of about 50 to 60 huts on the north side of the river near the 5th Ward, with Kewkishkam being the village chief and Chief Noonday being the chief of the Odawa.<ref name="HISTORY1870" />

The first permanent European-American settler in the Grand Rapids area was [[Isaac McCoy]], a [[Baptist]] minister.<ref name="HISTORY1870" /> In 1823, McCoy, Paget, a Frenchman who brought along a Native American pupil, and a government worker traveled to Grand Rapids from Carey Mission near present-day [[Niles, Michigan]] to arrange a mission they called the "Thomas Mission", though negotiations fell through with the group returning to the Carey Mission for the Potawatomi on the [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|St. Joseph River]].<ref name="HISTORY1870" /><ref name="WILD" /> The government worker stayed into 1824 to establish a blacksmith shop, though the shop was burned down by the Odawa.<ref name="WILD" /> Later in May 1824, Baptist missionary Reverend Leonard Slater traveled with two settlers to Grand Rapids to perform missionary work, though the group began to return to the Carey Mission after only three days due to threats.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/><ref name="WILD" /> While the group was returning, they encountered Chief Noonday who asked for the group to stay and establish a mission, believing that the Odawa adapting to European customs was the only chance for them to stay in the area.<ref name="WILD" /> The winter of 1824 was difficult, with Slater's group having to resupply and return before the spring.<ref name="WILD" /><ref name="HISTORY1870"/> Chief Noonday, deciding to be an example for the Odawa, chose to be baptized by Slater in the Grand River, though some of his followers believed that this was a wrestling match between the two that Slater won.<ref name="WILD" /> Slater then erected the first settler structures in Grand Rapids, a log cabin for himself and a log schoolhouse.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> In 1825, McCoy returned and established a missionary station.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Goss |first = Dwight |title = The Indians of the Grand River Valley |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSLiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA178 |journal = Michigan Historical Collections |volume = 30 |pages = 178–80 |year = 1906 |via = Google Books }}</ref> He represented the settlers who began arriving from Ohio, New York and New England, the Yankee states of the Northern Tier.[[File:Grand Rapids 1831.jpg|250px|thumb|right|A sketch of Grand Rapids in 1831. The collection of houses across the river on its west side is the Baptist mission. The three buildings in the middle right are Louis Campau's trading post.]]
Shortly after, Detroit-born [[Louis Campau]], known as the official founder of Grand Rapids, was convinced by fur trader William Brewster, who was in a rivalry with the American Fur Company, to travel to Grand Rapids and establish trade there.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> In 1826, Campau built his cabin, trading post, and blacksmith shop on the south bank of the Grand River near the rapids, stating the Native Americans in the area were "friendly and peaceable".<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> Campau returned to [[Detroit]], then returned a year later with his wife and $5,000 of trade goods to trade with the Odawa and Ojibwa, with the only currency being fur.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> Campau's younger brother Touissant would often assist him with trade and other tasks at hand.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

[[Lucius Lyon]], a Yankee Protestant who would later become a rival to Campau, was contracted by the federal government to survey the Grand River Valley in the fall of 1830 and in the first quarter of 1831. The federal survey of the [[Northwest Territory]] reached the Grand River, with Lyon using a [[surveyor's compass]] and [[Surveyor's chain|chain]] to set the boundaries for Kent County, named after prominent New York jurist [[James Kent (jurist)|James Kent]].<ref name="HISTORY1870" /><ref name="WILD" /> In 1833, a land office was established in [[White Pigeon, Michigan]], with Campau and fellow settler Luther Lincoln seeking land in the Grand River valley.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> Lincoln purchased land in what is now known as [[Grandville, Michigan|Grandville]], while Campau became perhaps the most important settler when he bought 72 acres (291,000 m<sup>2</sup>) from the federal government for $90 and named his tract Grand Rapids. Over time, it developed as today's main downtown business district.<ref name="Grand Rapids Historical Perspective">{{cite web |url = http://grcity.us/city-clerk/Pages/Grand-Rapids-Historical-Perspective.aspx |title = Grand Rapids Historical Perspective |year = 2008 |publisher = City of Grand Rapids |access-date = August 20, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140606231958/http://grcity.us/city-clerk/Pages/Grand-Rapids-Historical-Perspective.aspx |archive-date = June 6, 2014 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In the spring of 1833, Campau sold to Joel Guild, who traveled from New York, a plot of land for $25.00, with Guild building the first frame structure in Grand Rapids, which is now where [[McKay Tower]] stands.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/><ref name=Mlive1>{{cite news |last1 = Ellison |first1 = Garret |title = McKay Tower in Grand Rapids Quietly Sold to Borisch Family for $10.5 Million |url = http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/09/mckay_tower_in_grand_rapids_qu.html |access-date = August 20, 2017 |work = MLive |date = September 18, 2012 |archive-date = August 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170821044326/http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/09/mckay_tower_in_grand_rapids_qu.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Guild later became the postmaster, with mail at the time being delivered monthly from the [[Gull Lake, Michigan]] to Grand Rapids.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> Grand Rapids in 1833 was only a few acres of land cleared on each side of the Grand River, with oak trees planted in light, sandy soil standing between what is now Lyon Street and Fulton Street.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

[[File:Rathbun House 1870.jpg|180px|thumb|left|The large framed building constructed by Campau in 1834, seen in this image converted into part of the Rathbun House.]]

By 1834, the settlement had become more organized. Rev. Turner had established a school on the east side of the river, with children on the west side of the river being brought to school every morning by a Native American on a canoe who would shuttle them across the river. Multiple events happened at Guild's frame structure, including the first marriage in the city, one that involved his daughter Harriet Guild and Barney Burton, as well as the first town meeting that had nine voters. It was also this year Campau began constructing his own frame building—the largest at the time—near present-day Rosa Parks Circle.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

In 1835, many settlers arrived in the area with the population growing to about 50 people, including its first doctor, Dr. Wilson, who was supplied with equipment from Campau.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> [[Lucius Lyon]], using his knowledge from surveying the area, returned to Grand Rapids to purchase the rest of the prime land and called his plot the Village of Kent.<ref name="HISTORY1870" /><ref name="WILD" /> When Lyon and his partner N. O. Sergeant returned after their purchase, they arrived along with a posse of men carrying shovels and picks, intending to build a [[mill race]]. The group arrived to the music of a bugle which startled the settlement, with Chief Noonday offering Campau assistance to drive back Lyon's posse believing they were invaders. Also that year, Rev. Andrew Vizoisky, a Hungarian native educated in Catholic institutions in Austria, arrived, presiding over the Catholic mission in the area until his death in 1852.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

That year, Campau, Rix Robinson, Rev. Slater, and the husband of Chief Noonday's daughter, Meccissininni, traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak about the purchase of Odawa land on the west side of the river with President [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref name="HISTORY1881"/> Jackson was originally unimpressed with Meccissininni, though Meccissininni, who often acquired white customs, asked Jackson for a similar suit to the one the president was wearing. While later wearing his suit that was made similar to Jackson's, Meccissininni also unknowingly imitated Jackson's hat, placing a piece of weed in it, which impressed Jackson since it symbolized mourning the death of his wife.<ref name="HISTORY1881"/>

[[John Ball (pioneer)|John Ball]], representing a group of New York land speculators, bypassed Detroit for a better deal in Grand Rapids traveling to the settlement in 1836. Ball declared the Grand River valley "the promised land, or at least the most promising one for my operations".<ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=l2SbZhZfYfEC&pg=PA70 |title = History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan |first = Albert |last = Baxyer |date = January 1, 1891 |via = Google Books |access-date = October 16, 2015 |archive-date = September 17, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230917135838/https://books.google.com/books?id=l2SbZhZfYfEC&pg=PA70 |url-status = live }}</ref> That year, the first steamboat was constructed on the Grand River named the ''Gov. Mason'', though the ship wrecked two years later in Muskegon.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/> [[Yankee]] migrants (primarily English-speaking settlers) and others began migrating from [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[New England]] through the 1830s. Ancestors of these people included not only English colonists but people of mixed ethnic Dutch, [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]], French Canadian, and [[French Huguenot]] descent from the colonial period in New York. However, after 1837, the area saw poor times, with many of the French returning to their places of origin, with poverty hitting the area for the next few years.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

The first Grand Rapids newspaper, ''The Grand River Times'', was printed on April 18, 1837, describing the village's attributes, stating:<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>

{{blockquote|Though young in its improvements, the site of this village has long been known and esteemed for its natural advantages. It was here that the Indian traders long since made their great depot.}}

''The Grand River Times'' continued, saying the village had grown quickly from a few French families to about 1,200 residents, the Grand River was "one of the most important and delightful to be found in the country," and described the changing Native American culture in the area.<ref name="HISTORY1870"/>