History of Grand Rapids:
Before European settlement, Native Americans referred to as the Hopewell peoples inhabited the Grand River Valley. Around 1700 AD, the Ottawa Indians settled into the area, and traded goods with European fur traders.
At the start of the 19th century, Joseph La Framboise, a French-Canadian, and his wife Magdalene, established the first trading post in the area.
In 1826, a French trader by the name of Louis Campau established a trading post in the area, and built a blacksmith shop as well as a cabin on the banks of the Grand River. The area would be incorporated as a village in 1838.
Gypsum mining would become the area’s first important industry. Commercial gypsum operation would begin in 1841. Tons of gypsum would be brought up the mine shaft daily to be processed into plaster and shipped globally.
These gypsum mines, while no longer active, are used today as dry storage sites. The city’s Millennium Park is built atop old gypsum mines.
The prosperity brought about by the gypsum mining industry would attract more and more settlers to the area, and by 1850, Grand Rapids would officially become a city with a population of 2,686.
During the second half of the 19th century, Grand Rapids would become a center for processing lumber. The abundance of timber in the area led to the city’s second important industry–furniture.
By the end of the 19th century, Grand Rapids would become one of the world’s leading producers of fine furniture, and would earn the nickname “Furniture City.”
While Grand Rapids today has largely shifted its focus from fine furniture to office furniture, one can still see the mansions of the city’s great lumber barons nestled in Heritage Hill.
In 1881, the city became the site of the country’s first hydro-electric plant.
Obviously, it’s nothing compared to Detroit, but the city also dabbled in the automobile industry at the beginning of the 20th century, as the Austin Automobile Company operated in the city from 1901 to 1921.
The city became the first city in the United States to add fluoride to its drinking water in 1945.
On August 9, 1974, Grand Rapidian Gerald Ford would begin his tenure as the country’s 38th president.
While the city had a respectable brewery scene up until Prohibition, the last remaining brewery closed in 1951.
By 1997, however, Canal Street Brewing was founded.
This would kickstart the city’s thriving beer culture that we experience today, and would eventually lead to Grand Rapids being dubbed “Beer City, USA.”
Today, the city of Grand Rapids enjoys a diverse economy, largely shifting its focus from fine furniture manufacturing to healthcare, information technology, and consumer goods manufacturing, among others.
There you go! the Best things to do in Grand Rapids.
If you are looking for inspiration before your trip read these Travel Quotes!
