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Michigan turns 186 years old today - here's how it became a state

By Jack Nissen
Published  January 26, 2023 8:55am EST
Michigan
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - It's Michigan's birthday today.

More than 186 years ago on Jan. 26, Michigan was admitted into the union as the country's 26th country. It's path to statehood involved a small skirmish with the state of Ohio as well as the acquisition of land to the north. 

It may come as a surprise that in exchange for the city of Toledo that Michigan would get thousands of acres of land in the Upper Peninsula - but then again nobody was "vacationing up north" back then. 

Hundreds of years ago, Forming a state required a constitution authored after a territory had grown to at least 60,000 residents. And then, that constitution had to be voted by citizens within that territory.

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But in Michigan, that process hit a snag. Ohio, which had already been incorporated, disagreed with the location of where the border between the two states would go. The boundary was meant to go in a straight line from Lake Michigan's southernmost point all the way to Lake Erie.

But that border placed the city of Toledo within Michigan's boundary. Ohio wasn't pleased and when Michigan wrote into its constitution that port city was under its control, tensions rose. 

They rose so high that Michigan raised a militia before marching toward the city. Ohio then raised its own militia. You can see the roots of college football's oldest rivalry forming between Michigan and Ohio State.

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To avoid any bloodshed, President Andrew Jackson pushed another solution. Ohio can keep Toledo and Michigan can have the Upper Peninsula. Michigan begrudgingly accepted the offer. Can you imagine such a trade today?

State Symbols and Facts

Michigan's grown a lot since it doubled the number of peninsulas that now make up the state. Here are the symbols that represent the Great Lakes state:

  • Nickname: Wolverine State
  • State Motto: "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you"
  • State Bird: The American Robin
  • State Fish: Brook Trout
  • State Flower: Apple Blossom
  • State Fossil: Mastodon
  • State Gem: Chlorastrolite (or green star stone)
  • State Reptile: Painted Turtle
  • State Stone: Petoskey Stone
  • State Tree: White Pine