Michigan

Header image from National Park Service.gov, Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

Michigan was admitted to the United States on January 26, 1837 as the 26th state.

Bird: Robin – The robin is considered a symbol of spring, often the first migratory bird to return north. There is a Quebec superstition that whoever sees the first robin of spring will have good luck. American robins have exceptionally keen eyesight that allows them to see the tiny disturbances in the soil that indicate where worms are moving. This is how robins find worms, though they also use their senses of hearing and touch as part of their hunting as well. State bird of Connecticut, Michigan, Wisconsin

Flower: Apple blossom – Michigan designated the apple blossom as official state flower in 1897. Michigan has been one of the leading producers of apples and apple products since those early days. Apple blossoms are edible in small amounts but are poisonous to cats.

Tree: White pine – There was a time in colonial history, when the White Pine was reserved for the British Royal Navy and were actually marked by blazing a broad arrow on the trunk declaring them to be the ‘Kingstrees’! White Pine were extensively transported to Britain aboard barge-like vessels. The masts that adorn the US Constitution (Old Ironsides) were actually designed from single trees and laminated to withstand cannon ball impacts. This practice was another source of friction between the English and the colonials. All through the American Revolution, the favorite indulgence of the patriots was to see how many of the ‘Kingstrees’ a single man could ax and haul.

State Quarter

From theus50.com

On January 26, 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to be admitted into the Union. The Michigan quarter depicts the outline of the State and the Great Lakes system. The quarter is inscribed “Great Lakes State”.

As indicated by the State’s nickname, much of Michigan’s history is tied to the Great Lakes – Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. These are five of the world’s largest lakes that, together, encompass more than 38,000 square miles and form the largest body of fresh water in the world. Michigan is the only State that borders four of the five Great Lakes, more than any other state. Standing anywhere in the State, a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes. (To remember the names of the Great Lakes, think of HOMES) To assist in navigating, Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights.

Capital: Lansing, Michigan

Nickname: Great Lake State, Wolverine State, Water Wonderland

Motto: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.

Michigan Facts and Trivia

The state takes its name from Lake Michigan. Michigan is a French derivative of the Ojibwa word misshikama (mish-ih-GAH-muh), which translates to “big lake,” “large lake”, or “large water.”

Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie. Forty of the state’s 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes.
Standing anywhere in the state a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.

No point within the state of Michigan is more than 6 miles from a lake.

Not surprisingly, Michigan ranks first in state boat registrations.

Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.

While Florida may bear the title of “Peninsula State,” Michigan is the only state consisting of two peninsulas, upper and lower.

Although Michigan is often called the “Wolverine State” there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan.

Michigan’s state stone, the Petoskey is the official state stone. A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral. It is found along the shores of Lake Michigan.

The painted turtle is Michigan’s state reptile.

Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the third oldest remaining settlement in the United States and the oldest town between the Alleghenies and the Rockies.

In 1763, the Native American tribes were unhappy with the Europeans taking over their lands. A group of tribes united under the leadership of Ottawa Chief Pontiac. They fought back against the British and attacked a number of British forts and settlements. Eventually, British soldiers were sent in to put down the rebellion and Pontiac was defeated. Known as Pontiac’s War.

Although the Treaty of Paris granted the Northwest Territories to the United States in 1783, most of the settlers and Native American Indians living in Detroit favored the British, who continued to maintain control. It wasn’t until a coalition of Indian tribes, known as the Western Confederacy, lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1795 that the British finally evacuated in 1796 and the new United States took control.

Michigan became its own territory in 1805.

Michigan once again was taken over by the British at the start of the War of 1812. The Americans tried to take back Detroit at the Battle of Frenchtown in January of 1813, but were soundly defeated. However, later that year the Americans defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Erie and took back Detroit.

The U.S. did not fully gain control of all of the Upper Peninsula until 1818.

Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846 for all crimes other than treason, becoming not only the first state but the first English-speaking government in the world to do so.

Vernor’s ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.

The state Capitol with its majestic dome was built in Lansing in l879.
The 19 chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing are one of a kind and designed especially for the building by Tiffany’s of New York. Weighing between 800-900 pounds apiece they are composed of copper, iron and pewter.

The Ambassador Bridge (built in 1927) was named by Joseph Bower, the person credited with making the bridge a reality, who thought the name “Detroit-Windsor International Bridge” as too long and lacked emotional appeal. Bower wanted to “symbolize the visible expression of friendship of two peoples with like ideas and ideals.”

The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.

The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, it spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.

The bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald, the wrecked ship made famous in a Gordon Lightfoot song, is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at the Whitefish Point Light Station.

Cities

Alpena is the home of the world’s largest cement plant.

The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.

Colon is home to the world’s largest manufacture of magic supplies.

Detroit is known as the car capital of the world and is the birthplace of Motown Records.
The Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit manufactured the first air-conditioned car in 1939.

Elsie is the home of the world’s largest registered Holstein dairy herd.

The city of Novi was named from its designation as Stagecoach Stop # 6 or No.VI.

Rogers City boasts the world’s largest limestone quarry.

Traverse City is the tart (i.e., pie) cherry capital of the world, and hosts the week-long National Cherry Festival each July.

Strange Laws:

It’s against the law to willfully destroy an old radio in Detroit.
It’s illegal to scowl at a woman in Detroit.
Alligators are not allowed to be tied to a fire hydrant in Detroit
It’s against the law to paint sparrows and sell them as parakeets in Harper Woods.
It is illegal to cuss in front of women or children.
(A Roseville man who dropped a couple of F-bombs after falling out of his canoe was convicted in 1999 under a law that had been on the books since 1897 prohibiting “indecent, immoral, obscene, vulgar or insulting language in the presence or hearing of any woman or child.” In 2002 the conviction was overturned by the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the law was struck down at the same time.)
It is against the law for a lady to lift her skirt more than 6 inches while walking through a mud puddle.
A state law stipulates that a woman’s hair legally belongs to her husband.
Automatic (switchblade, etc.) knives are illegal to own in Michigan, except for one-armed people

People:

• Ellen Burstyn, actress
• Roger Chaffee, astronaut
• Francis Ford Coppola, film director
• Thomas E. Dewey, politician
• Edna Ferber, author
• Gerald R. Ford, 38th president of the United States; born in Nebraska in 1913, he was raised in Michigan.
• Henry Ford, industrialist
• Julie Harris, actress
• Earvin Magic Johnson, basketball player
• Julie Krone, first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race
• Ring Lardner, writer
• Charles A. Lindbergh, aviator
• Madonna, singer
• Dick Martin, comedian
• John N. Mitchell, attorney general for Richard Nixon
• Ted Nugent, singer
• Gilda Radner, comedienne
• Della Reese, singer
• Diana Ross, singer
• Steven Seagal, actor
• Bob Seger, singer
• Tom Selleck, actor
• John C. Sheehan, inventor
• Lily Tomlin, actress
• Danny Thomas, entertainer
• Margaret Whiting, singer
• Serena Williams, tennis star
• Stevie Wonder, singer

Music

My Michigan (official state song)
Michigan My Michigan (often believed to be the state song )

Saginaw, Michigan by Johnny Cash
I Want to go Back to Michigan by Judy Garland
One Piece at a Time by Johnny Cash
Back to Ypsilanti by Lee Osler
Detroit Latitude 42º 30º Longitude 83º by Yusef Lateef
I Care About Detroit by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Hello Detroit by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Credits

See Kissassfacts.com
See Movoto.com
See 50 states.com
See Ducksters.com
See Mental Floss.com
See History.com

See Tidbits of history.com/states for facts and trivia about each of the states.