Editing Lansing, Michigan (section)

==History==
===Exploration by Europeans===
The first recorded person of European descent to travel through the area that is now Lansing was British [[fur trader]] Hugh Heward and his [[French-Canadian]] team on April 24, 1790, while canoeing the [[Grand River (Michigan)|Grand River]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Woodruff |first1=Jim |date=September 1, 2015 |title=MGROW Takes On the Hugh Heward Challenge |url=http://mgrow.org/mgrow-hugh-heward-challenge/ |publisher=Middle Grand River Organization of Watersheds |access-date=February 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820105734/http://mgrow.org/mgrow-hugh-heward-challenge/ |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/archives/011226/health/index.html |title=John Hesse is our river guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728032003/http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/archives/011226/health/index.html |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |first=Brian |last=McKenna |location=Lansing |work=City Pulse |date=December 19, 2001}}</ref> The land that was to become Lansing was surveyed as "Township 4 North Range 2 West" in February 1827 in what was then dense forest. It was the last of the county's townships to be surveyed, and the land was not offered for sale until October 1830.<ref>{{cite book |first=Justin L. |last=Kestenbaum |year=1981 |title=Out of a Wilderness: An Illustrated History of Greater Lansing |location=Woodland Hills, California |publisher=Windsor Publications |pages=10–11}}</ref> There would be no roads to this area for decades to come.

[[File:Grand River overlooking Lansing River Trail Bridge.jpg|thumb|Grand River overlooking Lansing River Trail Bridge]]

===Founding myth===
Historians have lamented the persistence of a myth about Lansing's founding.<ref name="peckham">{{cite web |last1=Peckham |first1=Linda R. |last2=Votta |first2=David |title=Daniel Buck's Biddle City: a myth about the founding of Lansing has persisted for more than 100 years. Begun by a well-meaning mayor, it evolved over the decades with each retelling—even making an appearance online, in a Wikipedia entry about the capital city. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Daniel+Buck%27s+Biddle+City%3a+a+myth+about+the+founding+of+Lansing+has...-a0319975270 |via=The Free Library |work=Michigan History |access-date=April 4, 2023 |date=March 1, 2013 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404044444/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Daniel%20Buck%27s%20Biddle%20City%3A%20a%20myth%20about%20the%20founding%20of%20Lansing%20has...-a0319975270 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The incorrect story of Lansing's beginnings states that in the winter of 1835 and early 1836, two brothers from [[New York (state)|New York]] plotted the area now known as [[REO Town]] just south of [[downtown Lansing]] and named it "Biddle City". This land lay in a [[floodplain]] and was underwater during the majority of the year. Nevertheless, the brothers went back to [[Lansing, New York]], to sell plots for the town that did not exist. They told the New Yorkers this new "city" had an area of 65 blocks, a church and a public and academic square. 16 men bought plots in the nonexistent city, and upon reaching the area later that year found they were the victims of the scam. Many in the group, disappointed and now without funds to move on again, opted to stay and ended up settling around what is now metropolitan Lansing.

The story has persisted due to a 1904 newspaper article, which cited a memoir told by Daniel W. Buck, a respected Lansing mayor and son of one of the early pioneers. His story was cited in Michigan pioneer papers and retold in newspaper articles multiple times in the decades that followed. His characterization of the city as being born from a "land scam" was incorrect, though his story had some elements of truth as well.

===Origins as a town===
The brothers were William and Jerry Ford. Although they were originally from New York, they were well-respected businessmen who hailed from Jackson and were instrumental during its earliest years.

In 1836, they bought 290 acres in the northwest corner of Ingham County. They platted the land and hoped to build a community they named Biddle City, located south of the convergence of the Grand River and the Red Cedar River, in Lansing's present-day [[REO Town]] neighborhood. Biddle City's plat map included plans for a public square, church square and academy square. They sold 21 parcels of it — mostly to other Michiganders, not New Yorkers — and buyers understood that it was not yet a real city. Unfortunately, Biddle City never took off. The financial Panic of 1837 forced the brothers to heavily mortgage the property, and the city never materialized.<ref name="peckham"/>

Biddle City was not Lansing's original name, nor a precursor to it, as the plat was located outside of Lansing's original city limits.

Originally, all that existed was Lansing Township, named in 1842 by an early settler, Joseph E. North Sr., after Lansing in Tompkins County, NY, where he was from.

The settlement of fewer than 20 people that would become the City of Lansing remained quiet until the winter of 1847. The state constitution required the capital be moved from [[Detroit]] to a more central and safer location in the state's interior in 1847; many were concerned about Detroit's proximity to [[British Empire|British]]-controlled [[Canada]], which had captured Detroit in the [[War of 1812]]. The United States had recaptured the city in 1813, but these events led to the dire need to have the center of government relocated further away from hostile [[British America|British territory]]. There was also concern with Detroit's strong influence over Michigan politics, being the state's largest city as well as the capital city.<ref name="Yesterdays">{{cite book |title=Lansing and Its Yesterdays |publisher=State Journal Company |year=1930}}</ref>

During the multi-day session to determine a new location for the state capital, many cities, including [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]], [[Marshall, Michigan|Marshall]], and [[Jackson, Michigan|Jackson]], lobbied hard to win this designation.<ref name="durant1880">{{cite book |first=Samuel W. |last=Durant |year=1880 |title=History of Ingham and Eaton Counties, Michigan |location=Philadelphia |publisher=D.W. Ensign |chapter=History of Lansing Township |pages=72–73 |url=http://www.migenweb.org/ingham/Lansing.html |access-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411162432/http://www.migenweb.org/ingham/Lansing.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Unable to publicly reach a consensus because of constant political wrangling, the [[Michigan State House of Representatives|Michigan House of Representatives]] privately chose the Township of Lansing out of frustration. When announced, many present openly laughed that such an insignificant settlement was now Michigan's capital. Two months later, Governor [[William L. Greenly]] signed into law the act of the legislature making [[Lansing Charter Township, Michigan|Lansing Township]] the state capital.<ref name="Yesterdays"/>

[[Image:Map of the town of Michigan 1847.jpg|thumb|An 1847 [[plat]] map of "the town of Michigan", prior to the selection of "Lansing" as the capital's name the following year. (The map is oriented with north to the right.)]]

With the announcement that Lansing Township had been made the capital, the small settlement quickly transformed into the seat of state government. Within months after it became the capital city, further individual settlements began to develop around it, along three key points along the [[Grand River (Michigan)|Grand River]] in the township:<ref name="Yesterdays"/>

* "Lower Village/Town", where present-day Old Town stands, was the oldest of the three villages. It was home to the first house built in Lansing in 1843 by pioneer James Seymour and his family. Lower Town began to develop in 1847 with the completion of the Franklin Avenue (now [[Grand River Avenue]]) covered bridge over the Grand River.<ref name="city2008">{{cite web |url=http://www.cityoflansingmi.com/pnd/historypres/historydetails.jsp |title=Lansing History |access-date=October 29, 2008 |publisher=City of Lansing, Michigan |year=2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121220220558/http://www.lansingmi.gov/pnd/historypres/historydetails.jsp |archive-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref>
* "Upper Village/Town", where present-day REO Town stands at the confluence of the Grand River and the [[Red Cedar River (Michigan)|Red Cedar River]]. It began to take off in 1847 when the Main Street Bridge was constructed over the Grand River. This village's focal point was the Benton House, a 4-story hotel, which opened in 1848. It was the first brick building in Lansing and was later razed in 1900.<ref name="city2008"/>
* [[File:LesCapitolSomethingMI.jpg|thumb|[[Michigan State Capitol]]]]"Middle Village/Town", where downtown Lansing now stands, was the last of the three villages to develop in 1848 with the completion of the Michigan Avenue bridge across the Grand River and the completion of the temporary capitol building which sat where Cooley Law School stands today on Capitol Avenue between Allegan and Washtenaw Streets, and finally the relocation of the post office to the village in 1851. This area would grow to become larger than the other two villages up and down river.<ref name="city2008"/>

The collection of original settlements ("Upper Town", "Lower Town" and "Middle Town") had for some years been collectively referred to as the "Village of Michigan".<ref>{{cite book |first=Birt |last=Darling |year=1950 |title=City in the Forest: The Story of Lansing |location=New York |publisher=Stratford House |chapter=Chapter 2. Ghost Towns – And a Live One |page=33}}</ref> On February 16, 1842, Alaiedon township was split into the townships of Lansing, Delhi and Meridian (originally suggested as "Genoa") based on a petition submitted in December 1841 by Henry North, Roswell Everett and Zalmon Holmes. Henry North proposed the name "Lansing" for the township at the request of his father, who wanted it named after their old town of [[Lansing, New York]].<ref name="durant1880"/>

On February 15, 1859, the settlement, having grown to nearly 3,000 and encompassing about {{convert|7|sqmi|km2|spell=in}} in area, was incorporated as a city, carving off a section of seven square miles from Lansing Township.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dozier |first1=Vickki |date=January 10, 2015 |title=From the Archives: Lansing mayors |url=https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/01/10/archives-lansing-mayors/21557119/ |website=Lansing State Journal |access-date=July 25, 2022}}</ref> The boundaries of the original city were Douglas Avenue to the north, Wood and Regent streets to the east, Mount Hope Avenue to the south, and Jenison Avenue to the west. These boundaries would remain until 1916. Lansing began to grow steadily over the next two decades with the completion of the railroads through the city, a [[plank road]], and the completion of the current capitol building in 1878.

Most of what is known as Lansing today is the result of the city becoming an industrial powerhouse which began with the founding of [[Olds Motor Vehicle Company]] in August 1897. The company went through many changes, including a buyout, between its founding to 1905 when founder [[Ransom E. Olds]] started his new [[REO Motor Car Company]], which would last in Lansing for another 70 years. Olds would be joined by the less successful [[Clarkmobile]] around 1903.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clymer |first=Floyd |title=Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 |location=New York |publisher=Bonanza Books |year=1950 |page=25}}</ref> Over the next decades, the city would be transformed into a major American industrial center for the manufacturing of automobiles and [[list of auto parts|parts]], among other industries. The city also continued to grow in area. By 1956, the city had grown to {{convert|15|sqmi|km2|0}}, and doubled in size over the next decade to its current size of roughly {{convert|33|sqmi|km2|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityoflansingmi.com/parks/forestry/history.jsp |title=Forestry Division – History |access-date=October 29, 2008 |publisher=City of Lansing, Michigan |year=2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006203248/http://www.cityoflansingmi.com/parks/forestry/history.jsp |archive-date=October 6, 2008}}</ref>

Today, the city's economy is diversified among government service, healthcare, manufacturing, insurance, banking, and education.

===Notable events===

====Anti-slavery movement====
In the late 1840s to early 1850s, the citizens of Lansing were unified against slavery, and the city became a secondary stop on the [[Underground Railroad]], as one of the last steps of an escape route that led through Battle Creek, Schoolcraft and Cassopolis. From Lansing, the route led to Durand, and then to either Port Huron or Detroit.<ref>{{cite book |first=Birt |last=Darling |year=1950 |title=City in the Forest: The Story of Lansing |location=New York |publisher=Stratford House |chapter=Chapter 3. Revolution: The New Party |pages=34–37}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Wilbur Henry |last1=Siebert |first2=Albert Bushnell |last2=Hart |year=1898 |title=The underground railroad from slavery to freedom |location=New York |publisher=The Macmillan Company |chapter=Routes through Indiana and Michigan in 1848 as traced by Lewis Falley |page=138 |oclc=562699342}}</ref>

====Major fires====
The [[Kerns Hotel fire]] on December 11, 1934, was the deadliest in the city's history. Perhaps thirty-four people died in the fire, although the hotel register was also destroyed making an exact count impossible.

On February 8, 1951, the [[Elliott-Larsen Building]] was intentionally set on fire by a state office employee. The following morning, the seventh floor collapsed down to the next level, which destroyed a large number of state historical records.<ref>{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Castanier |title=Memories of Lansing's most devastating structural fire |location=Lansing, Michigan |work=City Pulse |url=https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/memories-of-lansings-most-devastating-structural-fire,15571 |date=February 10, 2021 |access-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430042821/https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/memories-of-lansings-most-devastating-structural-fire,15571 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Elephant incident====
On September 26, 1963, a 12-year-old, 3,000-pound female dancing elephant named [[Rajje (elephant)|Rajje]] (alternately reported as Raji and Little Rajjee, among other variations) rebelled against her trainer during a performance in a shopping-center circus near what was then Logan Street and Holmes Road in Lansing, and escaped into the streets, aggravated by the frenzied pursuit of nearly 4,000 local residents. The incident ended with the shooting of the elephant by Lansing police.<ref name="life">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WFIEAAAAMBAJ&q=elephant&pg=PA34-IA2 |title=Death for a Dancing Elephant |magazine=[[Life Magazine]] |date=October 11, 1963 |page=34B |access-date=June 25, 2013 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3838 |title=Little Rajee at King Amusements |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109020218/http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3838 |archive-date=November 9, 2014 |work=Elephant Database |date=October 27, 2011 |access-date=June 25, 2013}}</ref> Provoked by the growing crowd, Rajje's rampage took her through the men's wear, sporting goods and gift departments of a local [[Arlan's]] discount store before leading police on a two-mile chase in which she knocked down and injured a 67-year-old man, tried to move a car, and caused thousands of dollars in damage before being killed.

''[[Life Magazine]]'' quoted Rajje's trainer, William Pratt, as shouting at the scene, "Damn these people [...] They wouldn't leave her alone."<ref name="life"/>

The incident was widely reported, including a photospread in ''Life''.<ref name="life"/> While the ''[[Lansing State Journal]]'' coverage stressed the danger of the incident,<ref name="LSJ">{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=John |url=http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20111027/COLUMNISTS09/110270318/Regret-lingers-after-death-elephant-63?nclick_check=1 |title=Regret lingers after death of elephant in '63 |work=[[Lansing State Journal]] |date=October 28, 2011 |access-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628031020/http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20111027/COLUMNISTS09/110270318/Regret-lingers-after-death-elephant-63?nclick_check=1 |archive-date=June 28, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' noted that witnesses cried out "Murderers! Murderers!" as police fired eight shots.<ref>{{cite news |last=Meyer |first=Zlati |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20120923/NEWS06/309230143/This-week-Michigan-history-Runaway-elephant-shot-killed-Lansing |title=This week in Michigan history: Runaway elephant is shot and killed in Lansing |work=[[Detroit Free Press]] |date=September 22, 2012 |access-date=June 25, 2013 |archive-date=February 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201033521/http://www.freep.com/article/20120923/NEWS06/309230143/This-week-Michigan-history-Runaway-elephant-shot-killed-Lansing |url-status=live}}</ref>

Author [[Nelson Algren]] cites the injustice and sad end of the pursuit of "Raji, the Pixie-Eared Elephant" in continuity with the ambush of [[Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow]] in his introduction to a 1968 biography of the outlaws.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fortune |first=Jan I. |display-authors=etal |year=1968 |title=The true story of Bonnie & Clyde |page=xiii |publisher=Signet Books |location=New York |isbn=0451058844}}</ref> Then teenage Lansing residents who had goaded the elephant later on recalled the incident with sober regret in a local newspaper retrospective in 2011.<ref name="LSJ"/>