Michigan Territory

Michigan Territory was a territory of the United States in the early 19th century, between June 30, 1805 and January 26, 1837, when it became Michigan, the 26th state of the Union. Detroit was the territory's capital.

History

The Treaty of Detroit was signed on November 17, 1807 between William Hurt and American Indians from the Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Wyandot people. Those Indian tribes agreed to give the United States the area of Southeast Michigan and a part of Ohio near the Maumee River. The Indians were allowed to own small amounts of land in the area. This helped expand the territory.^[1]

Population

These numbers do not count most Native Americans. In 1800, the whole of the Northwest Territory had 43,365 people living in it. Under the Northwest Ordinance, a territory could apply to become a state once it had 60,000 people living in it.

Year	Population
1810	4,762
1820	8,896
1830	31,639
1834	87,273
1840	212,267

Governors

Governor	Dates Served	Notes
William Hull	March 1, 1805 to October 29, 1813
Lewis Cass	October 29, 1813 to August 6, 1831
George Bryan Porter	August 6, 1831 to July 6, 1834	Died in office.
Stevens T. Mason	July 6, 1834 to September 15, 1835	ex officio, Acting Governor due to position as Secretary
John S. Horner	September 15, 1835 to July 3, 1836	ex officio, Acting Governor due to position as Secretary

Michigan Territory Media

From 1805 to 1818, the western border was a line through Lake Michigan.
By 1818, both Illinois and Indiana had been admitted as states; the unincorporated land from their territories was made part of the Michigan Territory; and a strip of land in southern Michigan was given to Indiana.
Between 1833 and 1836, all the remnants of the old Northwest Territory were part of the Michigan Territory along with portions of the Louisiana Purchase.
The disputed portion of Michigan Territory, referred to as the Toledo Strip
Michigan became a state when it agreed to the boundaries dictated by Congress, giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip, and accepted the western portion of the Upper Peninsula.
Michigan shrank in 1836 with the creation of the Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836 with the present boundary in the Upper Peninsula.
Stevens T. Mason ran for governor in the first state elections in 1835.