Awards

• Winner of Michigan Notable Books 2003

Overview

This is a study of the lower peninsula's occupation by agriculturists, whose presence forever transformed the land and helped to create the modern state of Michigan. This is not simply a history of Michigan, but rather a work that focuses on why the state developed as it did. Employing numerous primary sources, the book traces changes and patterns of settlement crucial to documenting the large-scale development of southern Michigan as a region. Diaries, letters, memoirs, gazetteers, and legal documents serve to transform the more abstract elements of economic and social change into more human terms. Through the experiences of the early Agriculturists process, we can gain insight into how their triumphs played out in communities within the region to produce small-scale elements that comprise the fabric of the larger cultural landscape.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kenneth E. Lewis
Publisher:   Michigan State University Press
Imprint:   Michigan State University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   1.161kg
ISBN:  

9780870135514

ISBN 10:   0870135511
Pages:   534
Publication Date:   28 February 2002
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations Acknowledgments 1. Frontier Studies: An Approach to Michigan's Past Landscapes, Settlement Patterning, and Frontiers Processes of Frontier Colonization Settlement Patterning on the Michigan Frontier Production and Spatial Organization Transportation and Spatial Patterning Settlement Patterning and Organization The Distinctness of Colonization in Southern Michigan 2. Michigan Before 1815: Prelude to American Settlement The European Presence The Aboriginal Response Political Change in the Old Northwest The Pacification of Aboriginal Peoples A Knowledge of the Regional Landscape The Entrepôt of Detroit Routes of Access to the Michigan Frontier The Rise of the Northeast and Western Expansion 3. The Environmental Context of Colonization The Orientation of Frontier Perspective The Physical Landscape Images of the Land: Pioneer Evaluations of Michigan's Environment Heavy Timbered Lands Oak Openings Prairies Marsh and Swamplands Pine Lands Perceptions of Michigan's Climate Health and Disease in Michigan The Importance of the Aboriginal Landscape 4. The Impact of Perception on Settlement The Eastern Shore The Saginaw River Drainage The St. Joseph River Drainage The Kalamazoo River Drainage The Grand River Drainage The Western Shore Perceptions and Settlement 5. The Transfer of Land Obtaining Government Possession: The Treaty Process Michigan Indians and the Cession of Lands The Eastern Peninsula Groups and the Saginaw-Chippewas The Potawatomis in the Southwest The Ottawas on Grand River The Legal Framework for Land Distribution The Survey and Distribution of Michigan Lands 6. The Settlers' Acquisition of Land The Cost of Land and Farm-Making Strategies for Land Acquisition Speculation and Frontier Development The Influence of Speculation in Southern Michigan Squatting and Preemption 7. Strategies for Settlement Motivations for Colonization Communities of Accretion: An Amalgam of Diversity Covenanted Communities: Cities upon a Hill Colonizing Strategies and Settlement Patterning 8. Michigan's Frontier Economy in 1845 Initial Adaptations on the Michigan Frontier Early Pioneer Strategies of Subsistence The Organization of the Frontier Economy 9. Population Expansion, Transportation, and Settlement Patterning on the Michigan Frontier, 1845-1860 Estimating the Expansion of Population Evidence for Settlement Distribution in Frontier Michigan The Development of Roads in a Frontier Economy The Organization of Settlement in the Colonial Economy The Late Frontier Landscape in Michigan 10. Long-Distance Transportation and External Trade Overland Transport in Expansion and Development The Erie Canal and the Lake Passage to Michigan Railroad Expansion and Western Commerce 11. The Restructuring of Michigan Agriculture A Focus on Marketable Crops Corn, for Food, Feed, and Drink Wheat, the Market Grain of Choice Field Crops, Fruit, and Specialty Crops Dairying and Wool Production Agricultural Innovations and Improvement Changes in Agricultural Technology The Infrastructure of Processing and Settlement Patterning 12. The Organization of Production and Marketing Banking, Credit, and the Expansion of Production External Exchange in a Frontier Economy The Railroad, the Elevator, and the Restructuring of Trade Economic Change and Settlement Patterning 13. The Consolidation of Settlement and Transportation In a Transitional Economy Railroads and Market Expansion The System of Feeder Roads Transportation and Settlement Structure in 1860 Exploring Settlement Function 14. The Landscape of Settlement in Southern Michigan in 1860 15. Epilogue Appendices 1. Populations of Michigan Settlements from Censuses, 1854–1864 2. Populations of Michigan Settlements from Gazetteer Listings, 1856-1864 3. Hierarchical Order of Central Places in Michigan in 1860 Based on Functional Index Values Endnotes Bibliography Index

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Author Information

Kenneth E. Lewis is Professor of Anthropology at Michigan State University. As a historical archaeologist, he has investigated material aspects of colonization in geographical contexts and has written extensively on British colonization on the southern Atlantic Seaboard.

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