![]() ![]() In the fall of 1806, Joseph was fatally stabbed by a member of the Potawatomi tribe named Nequat. They likely both spoke Odawa, Magdelaine's maternal ancestral language. They were French-speaking and Roman Catholic. In 1806, white trader Joseph La Framboise and his Métis wife, Magdelaine La Framboise, traveled by canoe from Mackinac and established the first trading post in West Michigan in present-day Grand Rapids on the banks of the Grand River, near what is now Ada Township, the junction of the Grand and Thornapple Rivers. They generally lived in peace, trading European metal and textile goods for fur pelts. At the start of the 19th century, European fur traders (mostly French Canadian and Métis) and missionaries established posts in the area among the Odawa. Nineteenth century: European-American settlement Trading post Īfter the French established territories in Michigan, Jesuit missionaries and traders traveled down Lake Michigan and its tributaries. By the end of the 1700s, there were an estimated 1,000 Odawa in the Kent County area. Between 17, Chief Pontiac visited the area annually, gathering over 3,000 natives and asking them to volunteer to lay siege to the British fort in Detroit, which would culminate into Pontiac's War. In 1740, an Odawa man who would later be known as Chief Noonday or Nowaquakezick and become the future chief of the Odawa, was born. The Odawa established on the river, which they called O-wash-ta-nong, or far-away-water due to the river's length, where they "raised corn, melons, pumpkins and beans, to which they added game of the woods and the fish from the streams". īy the late 1600s, the Odawa, who occupied territory around the Great Lakes and spoke one of the numerous Algonquian languages, moved into the Grand Rapids area and founded several villages along the Grand River. The tribe later split, with the Chippewas settling in the northern lower peninsula, the Pottawatomies staying south of the Kalamazoo River and the Odawa staying in central Michigan. ![]() Later, a tribe from the Ottawa River traveled to the Grand River valley, fighting three battles with the Prairie Indians who were established in the area. Over 2000 years ago, people associated with the Hopewell culture occupied the Grand River Valley. Main article: History of Grand Rapids, Michigan Native American settlement A 1772 engraving showing Odawa attire of the period.įor thousands of years, succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples occupied the area. President Gerald Ford, who is buried with his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. ![]() Grand Rapids was the childhood home of U.S. However, the most common nickname, the nickname applied by locals and Michiganders far and wide, is "GR," simply calling it by its initials easily being as prevalent-if not more prevalent-in the local vernacular of West Michigan as calling it by its given name "Grand Rapids." The city and surrounding communities are economically diverse, based in the health care, information technology, automotive, aviation, and consumer goods manufacturing industries, among others. Other nicknames include "River City" and, more recently, "Beer City" (the latter given by USA Today and adopted by the city as a brand). A historic furniture manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed "Furniture City". Situated along the Grand River approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of Lake Michigan, it is the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan, as well as one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest. Grand Rapids is the central city of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,087,592 and a combined statistical area population of 1,383,918. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,893 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. ![]()
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