Editing Traverse City, Michigan (section)

===Early history===
Prior to European settlement, what is now Traverse City was part of the territory of the [[Council of Three Fires]], an alliance of three [[Anishinaabe]] tribes, the [[Odawa]], [[Ojibwe]], and [[Potawatomi]]. The Odawa, who were particularly prevalent in the area, called the area '''''Kitchiwikwedongsing''''',{{efn|{{IPA|otw|kːʰɪtːʰt͡ʃːɪwɪkːʰweːdʊnksɪnk}}}} a name which was often shortened to '''''Wequetong''''',{{efn|{{IPA|otw|weːkːʰeːtːʰʊnk}}}} meaning "place at the head of the great bay".<ref name="travis2020-05-16">{{Cite news |title = Traverse City Marks 125 Years Since Incorporation as City with Virtual, Dispersed Activities |url = https://www.record-eagle.com/collections/traverse-city-marks-125-years-since-incorporation-as-city-with-virtual-dispersed-activities/article_d5d37bd8-9620-11ea-9ab8-f3502eb9961b.html |last1 = Travis |first1 = Jordan |first2 = Sierra |last2 = Clark |date = May 16, 2020 |website = Traverse City Record-Eagle |language = en |access-date = May 18, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vogel |first=Virgil J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T5d5wS7so14C&pg=PA179 |title=Indian Names in Michigan |date=1986 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0472063650 |location=Ann Arbor |language=en}}</ref> The area was the northern end of what is today known as the [[Old Indian Trail (Michigan)|Old Indian Trail]], a trail which serviced travel for the [[Hopewell tradition|Hopewell]], and later the Anishinaabe, coming to and from the [[Cadillac, Michigan|Cadillac]] area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Indian Trail |url=https://cadillacmichigan.com/project/old-indian-trail/ |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=Cadillac, Michigan Area Visitors Bureau |language=en-US}}</ref>

Grand Traverse Bay was named by 18th-century French [[voyageurs]] who made ''{{lang|fr|la grande traverse}}'',{{refn|group=lower-alpha|In modern standard French, ''{{lang|fr|traverse}}'' no longer has the sense of 'crossing'—which is now ''{{lang|fr|traversée}}''.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://cnrtl.fr/definition/traverse |title = traverse |publisher = Centre national de ressources textuelles |language = fr }}</ref>}} or "the long crossing", across the mouth of the bay, from present-day [[Norwood, Michigan|Norwood]] to [[Northport, Michigan|Northport]]. The area was French territory at first, and then part of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] as the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]]. The area was ceded to the United States in 1783 following the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], becoming part of the [[Northwest Territory]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Grand Traverse Bay |url=https://www.michmarkers.com/pages/S0042.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020320104038/http://www.michmarkers.com/Pages/S0042.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 20, 2002 |access-date=October 28, 2010 |publisher=Michigan Historical Markers}}</ref>

In 1847, Captain Horace Boardman of [[Naperville, Illinois]], purchased the land at the mouth of the Boardman River (then known as the Ottawa River) at the head of the west arm of the bay, which at the time was still inhabited by Native Americans. In 1847, the captain, his son, and their employees built a dwelling and [[sawmill]] near the mouth of the river. In 1851, the Boardmans sold the sawmill to Hannah, Lay & Co (made up of [[Perry Hannah]], Albert Tracy Lay and James Morgan), who improved the mill greatly. The increased investment in the mill attracted additional settlers to the new community. Perry Hannah today is known as the [[Founding Father|founding father]] of Traverse City.

Traverse City was originally part of Omeena County, which was originally set off in 1840 from [[Michilimackinac County]].<ref name="gt2">{{cite book |title=The Traverse Region, Historical and Descriptive with Illustrations of Scenery and Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers |publisher=H. R. Page & Co. |year=1884 |location=Chicago |chapter=Chapter VIII: County of Omeena Laid Off - Grand Traverse County Organized - Organization Completed - County Officers - Acts of Supervisors - County Buildings - Going to Mackinac to Vote - First Term of Court - Bench and Bar - Organization of Towns - Agriculture Society - Railroad - School Matters |access-date=October 21, 2022 |chapter-url=https://www.genealogytrails.com/mich/grandtraverse/history_county8.html |via=Genealogy Trails Transcription Team}}</ref> The county remained unorganized, lacking a central government until 1851, when it was reorganized as Grand Traverse County. The newly designated county government was assigned a [[county seat]] at '''Boardman's Mills''', a location in present-day downtown Traverse City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History in Grand Traverse County, Michigan |url=https://www.genealogytrails.com/mich/grandtraverse/history_county8.html |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref>