Migrating to Michigan Read Online Free PDF Page B

days usually came through this very spot. It was a busy city even then. I read that in 1837 about 200,000 people entered and left Detroit.”
    â€œWhere did they go?” Rachel asked.
    â€œSome of them moved into the state and formed many of the cities and towns we know in our time. Others moved on to the west to join their families as the country began to grow.”
    â€œHow many people lived in Detroit in 1837?” Owen asked.
    â€œOnly about 10,000 lived in the city of Detroit itself,” the professor said. “Wayne County, the county that Detroit is in, had over 23,000.”
    â€œThere are a lot more today,” Owen noted.
    â€œProfessor, do you think that those were immigrants coming off that steamship?” I asked.
    â€œMany of them may be immigrants,” said the professor. “Some could be traders or people traveling to the territorial capital. In the early 1800s, Michigan was the most popular destination in the country for people who wanted to move west into the frontier.”
    Across the street from us, men were loading animal furs into crates and stacking them near the docks. Others were putting crates on wagons and loading them aboard a sailing ship. I made sure that I watched Mister Adams carefully as we continued to look around.
    Professor Tuesday pointed toward the men working nearby. “The fur trade was big business in early Michigan,” he said. “One of the most important businessmen in his day was John Jacob Astor. His fur business extended throughout the state and into nearby territories. Astor’s main office was here in Detroit, and he had a business on Mackinac Island as well. However, he probably never visited the island himself. He sold off his entire business in 1834 because he was getting old and sick.”
    â€œSo,” Owen said, “there was a big business in Michigan that provided beaver furs. Did they use the furs to make coats?”
    â€œMost of the furs were used to make hats,” answered the professor, “but beaver hats went out of fashion in about 1850. The industry died off soon after John Jacob Astor sold his business.”
    The professor tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. “Let’s go this way.”
    As we were about to cross the dirt road, what looked like a stagecoach came roaring toward us. Professor Tuesday held out his arms and pushed us all out of the way. Dust from the wheels churned up in clouds all around us. Rachel coughed. Owen sneezed. Mister Adams and I covered our eyes.
    â€œIs that what I think it is?” I asked.
    â€œIf you think it’s a stagecoach, you’re right,” answered the professor. “In 1834 a stagecoach line started between Detroit and St. Joseph, Michigan. Most of the passengers on this line would pick up a steamship in St. Joseph and travel westward. Then, in 1835, two stagecoaches a week traveled between Detroit and Fort Dearborn.”
    â€œI suppose that Fort Dearborn was in Dearborn, Michigan,” Rachel said. “Isn’t that where the Henry Ford Museum is?”
    â€œDearborn, Michigan, and Fort Dearborn are two very different places,” the professor said with a smile. “In the 1800s, Fort Dearborn was what we call Chicago in our time. And, yes, the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are located in Dearborn, Michigan, but Henry Ford didn’t start collecting items for his museum until the early 1900s.”
    When the road was clear, we crossed. The street was dirty and dusty. Owen sneezed over and over as we walked by large buildings that looked like warehouses. Boxes and barrels were being hauled in and out. People were everywhere as we walked down the street. Some pushed two-wheeled carts. Some were selling vegetables or blankets. Cows, pigs, horses, chickens, geese, and mules were being led along the road. It was very noisy. People along the streets talked in many different languages. It was also very smelly because of