Old Indian Trail - Grand River Avenue - Howell, MI
N 42° 36.635 W 083° 56.503
17T E 258707 N 4721767
Marker along Grand River Avenue in Howell, MI. Dedicated by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1923.
Waymark Code: WM9Q1Q
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2010
Views: 14
The history of [Grand River Avenue] in Michigan actually begins well before the automobile age, dating back to before the European settlers even knew there was a system of Great Lakes and a peninsula jutting north into them. When the Native Americans were the only inhabitants of present-day Michigan, they established footpaths connecting various settlements, hunting areas and fishing locations to each other. What was later termed the "Grand River Trail" was just one of these "Indian trails" to cris-cross the Lower Peninsula.
As with other "Indian trails," the Grand River Trail was used by the European settlers arriving in Michigan in the 1830s and '40s, fanning out from Detroit across the southern Lower Peninsula. The original footpath was gradually widened, straightened and improved until, around 1850, two plank roads were constructed linking the state's largest city with its capital. The Detroit & Howell Plank Road coupled with the Howell & Lansing Plank Road allowed travellers to (more) easily make the trip between Detroit and Lansing via Howell.
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