Nicknames: Wolverine State / Great Lakes State

Capitol: Lansing

Motto: Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice; If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.

Song: Michigan, My Michigan; words by: Douglas M. Malloch

Flower: AppleBlossom Malus coronaria

Tree: Eastern whitepine Pinus strobus

Bird: Robin

Gained Statehood: January 26, 1837

Name Origin: Based on Chippewa Indian word

Michigan comprises two peninsulas. They are divided by Lake Michigan, and linked by one of the world's longest suspension bridges across the Straits of Mackinac. Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie also form Michigan's shorelines. Michigan is a deceptively long and large state which encompasses two time zones. Michigan's character is a blend of big city sophistication and excitement to the quiet relaxation found in the northern Lower Peninsula and across the entire Upper Peninsula.

Indian tribes were living in the Michigan area when the first European, Étienne Brulé of France, arrived in 1618. Other French explorers, including Jacques Marquette, Louis Joliet, and Sieur de la Salle, followed, and the first permanent settlement was established in 1668 at Sault Ste. Marie.Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette, fur trader Louis Jolliet explored a great river known by the Indians as the "Messissipi." Marquette's party traveled along the northern shore of Lake Michigan in search of passageway across North America to China. In 1679, Robert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle oversaw the construction of the Griffin. It was the first sailing vessel on the upper Great Lakes. La Salle also built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph. In 1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established a French settlement at le detroit. Cadillac convinced Count Pontchartrain, that a permanent colony at present-day Detroit will strengthen French control over the upper Great Lakes. It was here that over 100 soldiers built Fort Pontchartrain. At the same time, the French strengthened Fort Michilimackinac at the Straits of Mackinac for better control of their fur trade. The British defeated the French in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Three hundred Ottawa Indians, led by Pontiac, enter Fort Detroit for a surprise attack upon the British commanded by Major Henry Gladwin. Unsuccessful in the surprise attack Pontiac instead places Detroit under siege. Despite being outnumbered, the British at Detroit hold on and Pontiac ends his siege in late October. In 1796 under the command of Lt. Colonel John F. Hamtramck Detroit's British Union Jack is replaced with the Stars and Stripes. On January 26, 1837 President Andrew Jackson signs the bill making Michigan the nation's twenty-sixth state.
Today Michigan ranks first among the states in production of motor vehicles and parts, it is also a leader in many other manufacturing and processing lines, including prepared cereals, machine tools, airplane parts, refrigerators, hardware, and furniture. Michigan produces iron, copper, iodine, gypsum, bromine, salt, lime, gravel, and cement. Michigan's farms grow apples, cherries, beans, pears, grapes, potatoes, and sugar beets. With 10,083 inland lakes and 3,288 mi of Great Lakes shoreline, Michigan is a prime area for both commercial and sport fishing.

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