LIFE AT THE TIME

– 1749: The bur oak reached a height of 6 feet. Native people lived in the area where it grew. The land that became Michigan was part of New France.
– 1805: President Thomas Jefferson Declared Michigan a separate territory, with Detroit as its capital, and named William Hull territorial governor
– 1837: Michigan became the 26th state admitted to the United States.
– 1860: As the Civil War approached, the majority of Michiganders voted for Abraham Lincoln for President, but many did not support the abolition of slavery.
– 1875: Due to overhunting, elk were no longer seen in the wild in Michigan.
– 1913: Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line into automobile manufacturing, reducing chassis assembly from 12.5 hours to 93 minutes, within a year.
– 1918: Elk were re-introduced into Michigan.
– 1933: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CGG) started planting 485 million trees in Michigan.
– 1944: Smokey Bear began spreading the word about wildfire prevention.
– 1958: The elk herd in Michigan grew to an estimated 900-1000 elk.
– 1960: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources began using aircraft, instead of fire towers, to spot forest fires.
– 1998: Detroit River was designated an American Heritage River.
– 2011: Michigan’s population was 9,876,187. The tree was cut down by Washtenaw County Road Commission