The story of Detroit / by George B. Catlin.

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THE STORY OF DETROIT

Hon. Elon Farnsworth, Dr. Zina Pitcher, Hon. Austin E. Wing
and Minot T. Lane. Eben N. Wilcox was secretary.
The advertisements in the directory are particularly attractive. Hiram R. Andrews extolled his Railroad Hotel on the
Campus, near the Michigan Central and Pontiac depots.
"Travelers wishing to take cars or boats will be furnished meals
at 25 cents. A carriage and baggage wagon are in readiness at
all times to convey them to the cars or boats, GRATIS. Board by
the day, 75 cents." In those days life in Detroit was surely
worth all it cost.
An accommodating veterinary, Dr.W. P. Lomas, advertised
"cathartic, diuretic, tonic and cordial medicines ready prepared for use, with or without administration." The Michigan
Central Railroad ad is quite fetching. "A passenger train will
leave Detroit for the west daily at 8 A.M. and arrive at Kalamazoo at 6 P.M. the same day and another train will leave Kalamazoo at 6:30 A.M. arriving in Detroit at 5 P.M. Sundays excepted. By this route the traveler passes through the second
tier of counties containing the following beautiful villages:
Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Dexter, Jackson, Albion, Marshall, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo; 146 miles in IO hours; thence by B.
Humphrey & Co.'s line of post coaches to St. Joseph, 56 miles in
I2 hours; and thence by Captain Ward's boat Champion, built
expressly for this route, to Chicago, 70 miles in five hours,
weather permitting, making 270 miles in about 30 hours to
and from Detroit and Chicago. Stages will be in readiness to
take passengers from Battle Creek to Grand Rapids and from
Kalamazoo to the Indiana towns."
The year 1847 was one.of varied events in Detroit. It was
the year of the last session of the legislature in the old Capitbl
Building, the next session being the first to be held in Lansing,
then a remote and rather inaccessible town in the woods.
It was the geographical location which led to the selection
of Lansing. Several of the towns of the state were working in
intense rivalry to acquire the Capitol. Detroit seemed not very
eager to retain it. Among the petitioners for the Capitol were
Lyons, Byron, Saginaw, Eaton Rapids, Jackson, Marshall,