Tour of Lansing

As you browse this tour of our Capital City, Lansing, Michigan, we hope that you will gain some sense of our region's history and culture, as well as finding other useful information. The heritage and progress of the City of Lansing reflects the larger experience of our nation. For detailed information about the many sights, activities, facilities and opportunities available in Lansing, contact:

City of Lansing

Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
300 E. Michigan Ave.
Lansing, MI 48933
Telephone (517) 487-6340
Fax (517) 484-6910.

From the early days of settlement and growth, through the conflicts and changes that make up the story of the United States of America, first as part of the Northwest Territory, then as Michigan Territory, through admission to the Union as the 26th State in 1837, our city and state have played a proud and valuable part in history.

The name of Michigan is derived from a Native American word, "Michi-gama," meaning large lake. We are called the "Wolverine State," after a fierce, badger-like mammal indigenous to our forests and lakes.

The flag of Michigan bears the Latin word, "Tuebor," meaning "I will defend," a commitment made when all the land beyond the Northwest Territory was wilderness, and Michigan was the border, the frontier.

The United States of America

Historical Background

The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic, a form of representative democracy with political divisions into Federal, State and Local units of government, and at the national level, three branches of government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial. The interplay of the various political bodies are bounded by the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights appended to that document, with the overriding intention of "checks and balances," to assure both unity and liberty. Successes, failures and conflicts throughout the nation's political history have always derived in great extent from this interplay.

Lansing

Historical Background

The Ottawa, Potawatomi and the Ojibway (Chippewa) tribes--known jointly as The People of the Three Fires--inhabited Michigan and the other areas around the Midwest Great Lakes region for many years before European incursion into the New World. These tribes are of the great Algonquian language family and the Eastern Woodlands culture area. Their territory, in general, reached into southern Canada around Lake Huron, and to the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota. According to oral tradition, the Ojibwa emigrated from the region near the Saint Lawrence River, and the three tribes then separated to three directions, north, west and south.

In the political and military conflicts during Michigan's early history, the three tribes generally supported the French faction, rather than the British, as the French displayed less intrusive interest in land acquisition than in continued trade, while the British relentlessly acquired by treaty, purchase and conquest, large and ever-larger tracts of tribal land.

The Greater Lansing area is fortunate in the presence and educational offerings of Nokomis Learning Center, which includes an art gallery and an authentic 19th Century historical village in Meridian Township. The center exists to preserve the art forms, history, and heritage of the Native American peoples of our region. Nokomis Learning Center is located at: 5153 Marsh Road, Okemos, Michigan 48864-1198, telephone (517) 349-5777.

French fur traders and missionaries traveled the upper Great Lakes as early as the mid-1600s. A Jesuit mission at Sault Ste. Marie was the first permanent European enclave in the Michigan area. A military fort, Michilimackinac, was built and served as a French outpost on the Great lakes. Detroit, founded as a fort in 1701, became the most important European settlement in the region. Detroit became Michigan Territory's capital in 1805. By provision of the State Constitution of 1835, Detroit was designated as the seat of government until 1847, at which time a full debate and final site location for the capital city would be determined in legislature.

In 1847, a site was chosen in Lansing Township in Ingham County for the new state capital, in part because of the site's location near the center of the state. It was at first to be designated "Michigan, Michigan" but the name Lansing was selected, after the wishes of the site's early settlers, who had emigrated from Lansing, New York. The settlers wished to honor the American jurist and political leader, John Lansing.

The area remained a wilderness, with only a sawmill and a log house on-site. The first settlers had purchased the land in the 1840s, expecting to find a flourishing little city. When they found nothing on the land and realized they'd been swindled, they stayed on in spite of their disappointment and doggedly pursued the task of building a future on the frontier.

The City of Lansing began to grow and prosper after 1859, when the town site was platted, and became a center for agricultural and manufacturing enterprises. The railroad reached Lansing in 1863. At the turn of the century, Lansing was selected as the manufacturing operations of the Oldsmobile auto assembly factory, founded by Ransom E. Olds and Frank G. Clark. The first Oldsmobile was produced in Lansing, and industrial development increased.

Cars, campus, and capitol provide the economic base upon which Lansing has been built. New industries including research and development in pharmaceuticals and computer software have strengthened the city's development as well. An excellent book about Lansing's history is Out of a Wilderness: An Illustrated History of Greater Lansing, by Justin Kestenbaum, Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor Publications, 1981. 192 pages; illustrated.

Historical Landmarks

The Historical Society of Greater Lansing, P.O. Box 12095, Lansing, MI 48901, provides the following list of Historical Sites:

Beaumont Tower, West Circle Drive, Campus of MSU, the nation's first building for education in the agricultural sciences

Historic Old Town, just blocks north of the Capitol Loop off Washington Avenue

Ingham County Courthouse, Downtown Mason, (517) 676-7213

Lansing City Market, 333 N. Cedar St., north of Lansing Center (517) 483-4300. This old-fashioned farmer's market, established 1938, offers fresh produce, baked goods, and meats.

Malcolm X Homesite, 827 Vincent Court at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Lansing

Michigan Princess, Grand River Park in Lansing, a real river steamboat with paddle- wheel operates from February to December, fees from $15 - $45. contact: J&K Steamboat Line, (517) 627-2154

MSU Museum, West Circle Drive, Campus of MSU, (517) 355-2370

Trinity A.M.E. Church, 3500 W. Holmes Rd., Lansing, (517) 882-5722 This church is the oldest African-American church in Lansing, tours are available by appointment.

Michigan Capitol Building - The cornerstone for the Michigan State Capitol building was laid in 1873, and the building was constructed under the architectural design of Elijah E. Myers. The Capitol Building was built using Illinois limestone, Ohio sandstone, and Vermont marble. It was dedicated on January 1, 1879. Over the years, the building fell into disrepair and a major restoration and refurbishment project was undertaken by the Legislature beginning in 1987. The Capitol was rededicated on November 19, 1992, and is a marvelous, authentic living reminder of Michigan's history and heritage.

Tours of the Capitol building are available to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays - Fridays; 10 a.m. to 4 pm Saturdays, and Holidays by guided tour only; and Noon to 4 pm Sundays, by guided tour only. Contact the Capitol Tour Guide and Information Service, Capitol Building, Lansing, MI 48909, telephone (517) 373-2353 for more information.

Location

Lansing, Michigan is in Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties, in south central Michigan, on the Grand River near East Lansing. It was incorporated in 1859, and is the seat of state government.

Population

In July 2004, the estimated population of Lansing, Michigan was almost 117,000, with the Greater Lansing Area and environs nearing 450,000 (2001).