Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a population of 112,644 at the 2020 census. The Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area has an estimated 473,000 residents and is the third largest in the state after metropolitan Detroit and Grand Rapids. Lansing benefits from its central location within Mid-Michigan and serves as a regional hub for government, education, insurance and commerce.
Founded in 1835 and designated as Michigan's state capital in 1847, Lansing was selected for its more central location after concerns about Detroit's vulnerability to British attack in the War of 1812. The city's history is closely tied to the rise of industry in Michigan. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lansing became a prominent center in the automobile industry. Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company, both founded by Ransom E. Olds, were among its most prominent manufacturers.
Lansing's economy is diverse, driven by state government operations, higher education, health care, and insurance. Neighboring East Lansing is home to Michigan State University, one of the largest and most prominent research universities in the U.S. Major companies based in the city include Jackson National Life and Auto-Owners Insurance. Cultural attractions include the Michigan State Capitol building, the Impression 5 Science Center, and Library of Michigan. Lansing is the only U.S. state capital that is not also a county seat. The seat of government of Ingham County is Mason, but the county maintains some offices in Lansing.
History
Exploration by Europeans
The first recorded person of European descent to travel through the area that is now Lansing was British fur trader Hugh Heward and his French-Canadian team on April 24, 1790, while canoeing the Grand River. The land that was to become Lansing was surveyed as "Township 4 North Range 2 West" in February 1827 in what was then dense forest. It was the last of the county's townships to be surveyed, and the land was not offered for sale until October 1830. There would be no roads to this area for decades to come.Founding myth
Historians have lamented the persistence of a myth about Lansing's founding.The incorrect story of Lansing's beginnings states that in the winter of 1835 and early 1836, two brothers from New York plotted the area now known as REO Town just south of downtown Lansing and named it "Biddle City". This land lay in a floodplain and was underwater during the majority of the year. Nevertheless, the brothers went back to Lansing, New York, to sell plots for the town that did not exist. They told the New Yorkers this new "city" had an area of 65 blocks, a church and a public and academic square. 16 men bought plots in the nonexistent city, and upon reaching the area later that year found they were the victims of the scam. Many in the group, disappointed and now without funds to move on again, opted to stay and ended up settling around what is now metropolitan Lansing.
The story has persisted due to a 1904 newspaper article, which cited a memoir told by Daniel W. Buck, a respected Lansing mayor and son of one of the early pioneers. His story was cited in Michigan pioneer papers and retold in newspaper articles multiple times in the decades that followed. His characterization of the city as being born from a "land scam" was incorrect, though his story had some elements of truth as well.
Origins as a town
The brothers were William and Jerry Ford. Although they were originally from New York, they were well-respected businessmen who hailed from Jackson and were instrumental during its earliest years.In 1836, they bought 290 acres in the northwest corner of Ingham County. They platted the land and hoped to build a community they named Biddle City, located south of the convergence of the Grand River and the Red Cedar River, in Lansing's present-day REO Town neighborhood. Biddle City's plat map included plans for a public square, church square and academy square. They sold 21 parcels of itmostly to other Michiganders, not New Yorkersand buyers understood that it was not yet a real city. Unfortunately, Biddle City never took off. The financial Panic of 1837 forced the brothers to heavily mortgage the property, and the city never materialized.
Biddle City was not Lansing's original name, nor a precursor to it, as the plat was located outside of Lansing's original city limits.
Originally, all that existed was Lansing Township, named in 1842 by an early settler, Joseph E. North Sr., after Lansing in Tompkins County, NY, where he was from.
The settlement of fewer than 20 people that would become the City of Lansing remained quiet until the winter of 1847. The state constitution required the capital be moved from Detroit to a more central and safer location in the state's interior in 1847; many were concerned about Detroit's proximity to British-controlled Canada, which had captured Detroit in the War of 1812. The United States had recaptured the city in 1813, but these events led to the dire need to have the center of government relocated further away from hostile British territory. There was also concern with Detroit's strong influence over Michigan politics, being the state's largest city as well as the capital city.
During the multi-day session to determine a new location for the state capital, many cities, including Ann Arbor, Marshall, and Jackson, lobbied hard to win this designation. Unable to publicly reach a consensus because of constant political wrangling, the Michigan House of Representatives privately chose the Township of Lansing out of frustration. When announced, many present openly laughed that such an insignificant settlement was now Michigan's capital. Two months later, Governor William L. Greenly signed into law the act of the legislature making Lansing Township the state capital.
Image:Map of the town of Michigan 1847.jpg|thumb|An 1847 plat map of "the town of Michigan", prior to the selection of "Lansing" as the capital's name the following year.
With the announcement that Lansing Township had been made the capital, the small settlement quickly transformed into the seat of state government. Within months after it became the capital city, further individual settlements began to develop around it, along three key points along the Grand River in the township:
- "Lower Village/Town", where present-day Old Town stands, was the oldest of the three villages. It was home to the first house built in Lansing in 1843 by pioneer James Seymour and his family. Lower Town began to develop in 1847 with the completion of the Franklin Avenue covered bridge over the Grand River.
- "Upper Village/Town", where present-day REO Town stands at the confluence of the Grand River and the Red Cedar River. It began to take off in 1847 when the Main Street Bridge was constructed over the Grand River. This village's focal point was the Benton House, a 4-story hotel, which opened in 1848. It was the first brick building in Lansing and was later razed in 1900.
- "Middle Village/Town", where downtown Lansing now stands, was the last of the three villages to develop in 1848 with the completion of the Michigan Avenue bridge across the Grand River and the completion of the temporary capitol building which sat where Cooley Law School stands today on Capitol Avenue between Allegan and Washtenaw Streets, and finally the relocation of the post office to the village in 1851. This area would grow to become larger than the other two villages up and down river.
On February 15, 1859, the settlement, having grown to nearly 3,000 and encompassing about in area, was incorporated as a city, carving off a section of seven square miles from Lansing Township. The boundaries of the original city were Douglas Avenue to the north, Wood and Regent streets to the east, Mount Hope Avenue to the south, and Jenison Avenue to the west. These boundaries would remain until 1916. Lansing began to grow steadily over the next two decades with the completion of the railroads through the city, a plank road, and the completion of the current capitol building in 1878.
Most of what is known as Lansing today is the result of the city becoming an industrial powerhouse which began with the founding of Olds Motor Vehicle Company in August 1897. The company went through many changes, including a buyout, between its founding to 1905 when founder Ransom E. Olds started his new REO Motor Car Company, which would last in Lansing for another 70 years. Olds would be joined by the less successful Clarkmobile around 1903. Over the next decades, the city would be transformed into a major American industrial center for the manufacturing of automobiles and parts, among other industries. The city also continued to grow in area. By 1956, the city had grown to, and doubled in size over the next decade to its current size of roughly.
Today, the city's economy is diversified among government service, healthcare, manufacturing, insurance, banking, and education.