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From 1800 to 1860, the United States went through many changes that affected living standards and daily life. New transportation methods such as national roads, railroads, and canals made travel and the shipping of goods and supplies much easier. Along with transportation came westward expansion. From farmers to gold miners, people moved in steady waves to the Midwest and the West Coast to find their place in the new nation.
It is within this larger story of change and expansion that Ann Arbor was founded. In the early 1800s, Michigan was still an unsettled territory on the edge of what was then the western frontier of the United States. Detroit had been founded in 1701 by the French, but there were no roads, railroads, or canals to help ship goods or bring settlers to the area. Most of the state was still occupied by Native American tribes. By the 1840s, however, Ann Arbor was an established city--the "most desirable residence in the Great West"--with churches, businesses, and the state university. When and how did these changes take place?
In 1824, John Allen and Elisha Rumsey traveled to Michigan. Both were escaping economic problems at home and sought to take their chances in land speculation in the West. Land speculation was a risky undertaking. It involved buying land from the government in areas where few people lived, establishing towns, and hoping to recruit settlers who would buy land at rates higher than the town founders had originally paid. To encourage western expansion, the federal government sold land for as little as $1.25 an acre. Some towns were successful and speculators made a profit, but many more failed to attract the number of settlers needed to make a town prosperous and disappeared from the map.
After traveling through much of the Michigan territory, Allen and Rumsey decided to purchase a site near the Huron River. In addition to providing water, the river was a potential source of transportation for boats carrying supplies and passengers as well as power for water mills. The site also had forests, which could provide lumber for building, as well as open areas for farming Rumsey and Allen thought that the combination of trees and grasslands resembled a garden arbour and named their village "Annarbour" (later respelled Ann Arbor). The name honored their wives Ann Allen and Mary Ann Rumsey.
In February 1824, Allen and Rumsey submitted a claim to purchase the federal land; Allen bought 480 acres and Rumsey bought 160 acres Three months later, they registered a rough plan of the Village of Ann Arbor. Huron Street divided Rumsey's and Allen's land--Rumsey claiming the southern end of the town and choosing the street names William, Liberty, and Washington and Allen owning the northern end of town and selecting Ann, Catherine, and Lawrence for his streets.