MICHIGAN
REGISTERED HISTORIC SITE

MICHIGAN BECOMES A STATE

On this site, in 1836, delegates from all parts of Michigan met in Washtenaw County’s first courthouse to consider a proposal by Congress for settling the boundary dispute between Michigan and Ohio. Both claimed a narrow strip of land, including the present city of Toledo. Congress proposed giving the greater part of the Upper Peninsula to Michigan while awarding the "Toledo Strip" to Ohio. In September, the first "Convention of Assent" rejected this proposal. Support for the plan increased, and a second meeting was called. On a bitterly cold December 14, the famous "Frostbitten Convention" gave its assent to the Congressional plan. This action cleared the way for the admission of Michigan as a state into the Union on January 26, 1837.

MICHIGAN HISTORICAL COMMISSION
REGISTERED SITE NO. 261

An obstacle to Michigan’s admission as a state into the United States (the Union) was its land dispute with Ohio. In 1836, an agreement was reached here on Congress’s plan (a proposal previously rejected) to give the “Toledo Strip” to Ohio in exchange for another territory. This paved the way for Michigan’s admission to the Union, which took place on January 26, 1837, as the 26th state of the United States.
The sign is located in front of the Washtenaw County Courthouse. The site was photographed on the same day by the same photographer Click for a larger image

Near the sign, a recruitment poster for the American Civil War is displayed on a stone Click for sign's details