On January 27, 1837 - 175 years ago from tomorrow - Congress brokered a deal with Michigan's twenty-three year old Territorial Governor, Stevens T. Mason. In addition to a grant of statehood, Michigan would receive 15,000 square miles of pure wilderness bounded by Lake Superior to the north, Lake Michigan to the south and spanding eastward from the Montreal, Brule and Menominee Rivers to the Straits of Mackinac.
Michigan's receipt of what is known today as the "Upper Peninsula" was meant to placate early settlers over an ongoing "war" with the State of Ohio over the 468 square mile Toledo Strip. With the exception of the likes of Douglass Houghton, Henry Schoolcraft, and a small handful of other scientific explorers who envisioned a great economic potential for the U.P., most agreed that Michigan received the sour end of the bargain.
Of course hindsight tells anyone who is familiar with Michigan history, or anyone who has ever set foot in the U.P, for that matter, that we made out on the deal pretty well and then some. But those were different times and circumstances. Besides profit-driven fur exploiters and government supported explorers like Houghton and Schoolcraft, very few white settlers ventured beyond the City of Detroit (Modern suburbs such as Royal Oak was a day's travel and mostly wilderness). Even those who had the resources, charge and/or willingness to do so would be forced to navigate the northern Great Lakes and their unforgiving waterways on small ships and canoes. With a lack of tangible appreciation for this new "wasteland" now a part of the State of Michigan, bitterness ensued against Ohio, which arguably won the "Toledo War" in the minds of many due to its power in Congress where Michigan was yet to be represented.
According to Steve Lehto in his recent biography of Douglass Houghton,
Michigan's Columbus,
The Detroit Free Press lambasted Congress for its attempt to placate the citizens of Michigan "by extending their jurisdiction over the region of perpetual snows - the 'Ultima Thule' of our national domain in the north...."
No doubt in addition to others who read this passage, I got a good chuckle for the reasonable lack of foresight into Michigan's future. Also, because the U.P. still seems to remain the "region of perpetual snows" -- especially for Tracy and I during our first winter in Skandia -- and for the namesake of our loving border collie mut/skijor dog-in-training.
Lehto goes on to explain that "
Ultima Thule is a reference to a place beyond boundaries, often with a connotation to the far north." In many ways, the U.P., Michigan, and the Great Lakes still remains a place beyond boundaries. This is the way many of us like it. In some ways we're still able to admire the U.P. in the same way Houghton and Schoolcraft did on their first birch bark canoe traverse along the southern shore of Lake Superior. We do so by fishing for native trout or admiring them through the gin clear waters of Lake Superior and its tributaries, hiking along the beach, atop Pictured Rocks, climbing "Totesh" (Sugarloaf Mountain) for a beautiful view, or scavenging the forests and shorelines of Lake Superior for unique rocks. Surely in most ways 21st Century life here is vastly different, due largely in part to Houghton's findings. The U.P., which in 1837 was considered a wasteland, became an economic boon to the state and contributed significantly to the industrial revolution in Michigan and throughout the United States. Additionally, the U.P.'s natural bounty of timber, minerals, precious metals, and water have provided for generations of "Yoopers" the opportunity to love, respect, and live in this wonderful place.
Of course we all know at the expense of these successes came damaging exploitation and the unforgivable treatment of native people, which leaves an embarrassing mark in Michigan history. But as Michigan celebrates its 175th anniversary of statehood, a strong sense of pride and undeniable resiliency still exists in the U.P. Combining this optimism with modern, responsible developments in natural resource production, limitless recreational opportunities, and a fresh look at the future (not to mention fantastic home-grown beer), things seem to be on the up and up. In addition timber, copper, gold, silver, iron ore, and other minerals that continue to fuel the U.P.'s prosperity, other natural assets that were once thought of as barriers now generate economic opportunity as well. Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and the vast wilderness of the U.P. have become one of the region's primary values as thousands visit to hunt, fish, snowmobile, ski, dogsled, skijor, climb, kayak, sail, hike, bike, and explore among their beauty.
Today, on Michigan's 175th anniversary of statehood, I tip my hat and say "thanks" to our early pioneers: Brule, Marquette, Schoolcraft, Houghton, Longyear, Marble, and many others. Most of my appreciation, however, is for Houghton's lobbying, Mason's bargaining, and the 24th United States Congress's ensuing decision on January 27, 1837 to give Michigan what it thought was a northern "wasteland," which has contributed significantly to 175 historical years for the State of Michigan. I feel privileged to have been a part of 29 of them. For Tracy, Thule, and I it's been even more special since our migration north. Here's to many more.
