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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1953
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1870-Typical of the Ann Arbor of the post-Civil War period is this street corner scene taken at the intersection of Main and Wash-
ington Streets. A few boys and men, random horses and wagons made up the small town picture.
1953-The same corner 83 years later is a bustling city intersection over which pass hundreds of pedestrians and automobiles every day.
The same store building is there, but it has been subjected to several "face liftings" to bring it up to date.
Founders Migrate
From East Coast
World Events Determined Groups
Which First Settled in Ann Arbor
By ALICE BOGDONOFF
World events in the early years of the 19th century played the
dominant role in determining which groups of people were to be
the founders of Ann Arbor.
At this time the acts passed by Congress which forbade com-
mercial intercourse with Europe worked havoc with New England's
shipping and struck a severe blow at her economic life.
THE PEOPLE of New York suffered similar ruin by the war of
1812. After the close of this war the people along the Atlantic sea-,
board redirected their attention
Close University-City Relations
Maintained in 166 Year History
By VIRGINIA VOSS
"A quiet spot in touch with the
world,' "The city"wherehcommerce
and education meet", "The home
of the University of Michigan"-
thus past Chambers of Commerce
have with variations sloganized
Ann Arbor.
What the slogans represent-a
geographically, commercially and
educationally close relationship!
between city and University-has
more than 100 years of mutual
history to bear it out.
* * *
WHILE COMPETITION and co-j
operation have alternately char-t
acterized the relationship, thej
latter feeling has profitably pre-
vailed.
The city grows when the Uni-j
versity expands, from the initial,
building campaigns of the Tap-
pan administration to the past
years' annexation of the North
Campus.
And with University growth,
local real estate prospers, building
and utility concerns add assets and
it to the State for a University
location.
The Legislature took an approv-
ing look at the geographically con-
venient site and accepted.
Educationally-minded Calvinists
who had settled the Huron Valley
region had already seen to it that
a public school system was es-
tablished and were from the first
enthused about the infant Uni-
versity.
The local Journal followed every
Regents' action with editorial
comment. As explanation of the
city's interest, statistics show that
most of the early University grad-
uates were Ann Arbor residents.
Gradually student trade began
to supplement agriculture, fruit
farms, grain mills and related in-
dustries as Ann Arbor assets.
The importance of local land-
lords in the second half of the
1800's is hinted in a statement
from a Real Estate Exchange
Journal of the time:
"There are no dormitories at
to unsettled parts of the United
States and away from European
affairs.
During the decade from 1814
to 1824 an exodus to the west
began,large numbers making
their new homes in Michigan
territory.
It was in this westward move-
ment that Ann Arbor had its birth.
The large proportion of Ann
Arbor founders were therefore
from New England and New York.
These early settlers, largely Cal-
vinists, were enthusiastic reform-
ers. The town, which has since
seen many political rallies, was
often the scene of join-the-church
movement, crusades for temper-
ance and the abolition of slavery
and military and patriotic parades.
* * *
IN THE 1830's the immigration
of the first German settlers began.
By 1855 more than 5,000 Germans
made their homes in and around
Ann Arbor. Again political events
caused this mass migration. Ger-
mans poured into the United
States largely to escape the acute
Industrial depression and auto-
arcy prevalent in Germany.
Bringing with them the Ger-
man culture, these new Ann Ar-
borites remained socially iso-
lated until the 1860's and then
r the German population became
only partially assimiliated with
the other settlers from the At-
lantic seaboard.
Lutheran churches which still
stand in Ann Arbor were built by
the German settlers. Many of the
prominant businessmen in Ann
Arbor bear the names of their
German ancestors who gradually
began to shed their isolation and
came to be some of the most im-
portant and enthusiatic civic
leaders of the town.
Although sharp lines were drawn
between ethnic groups in the very
early days of Ann Arbor, the
population of the city and its env-
irons has become closely integrat-
pd. i
KAWGOOSH:-*
Ann Arbor's
Name Traced
"Kaw - goosh - kaw - nich," the
name the Indians originally gave
the Huron Valley area, officially
became "Ann' Arbor" by a now
legendary circumstance in the the town can claim a broadening
1820's. cultural center as a drawing card
Tradition has it that the quaint for prospective businesses and rLe-
name was first applied to a grove sidents.
between the homes of the first two Today, the city comes in for an
residents to settle here, tho wives important share of University pub-
of whom were both named Ann. lic relations considerations, and
The spot was a convenient Regents rules protect Ann Arbor
Tensplaotwasawonee merchants, who draw heavily on
meetg place for theAtwo name- student trade, from excessive Uni-
versity competition.
Slight variations on the legend- * *
ary theme caused local historians ANN ARBOR-UNIVERSITY re-
to wage newspaper column war- lations got their initial impetus
fare at the turn of the century. in 1836 when a member of the
One researcher shattered the story Ann Arbor Land Company unfold-
with the claim that one of the ed his newspaper to an item re-
Ann's did not set foot within the porting that the State Legislature
city until five months after "Ann was appropriating funds for Uni-
Arbor" had been recorded in De- versity building construction on
troit documents. an undecided site.
But the old legend has persisted He was quick to prompt his
and is usually credited as the true fellow real estate dealers to buy
account today since no other rea- up all the land they could around
sonably good explanation ever the 13-year-old village and do-
turned up nate 40 acres from the heart of
.
C
r
t
.
t
Since 1837
Ever since 1837 when the
young University emigrated
from Detroit to the small village
of Ann Arbor, the two iristitu-
tions have been growing and
prospering side by side.
Yetthe student who spends
four years here at school seldom
knows too much about Ann Ar-
bor, its businesses, traditions
and citizens.
As the University and the city
enter another period of large-
scale expansion, The Daily pre-
sents a special supplement tell-
ing the history and potentiali-
ties of the Ann Arbor area.
The Daily wishes to thank
staff members of the Michigan
Historical Collection for their
aid in compiling information for
the supplement.
our University. The students
room and board at the homes of
the citizens and thus are kept
in some degree within the re-
straining force of home in-
fluences."
By 1913 when the student body
totalled 6,000, local Chamber of
Commerce officials listed the fol-
lowing statistics in their annual
Ann Aibor booklet:
10,000 people in Ann Arbor for
convention purposesj
20,000 for big games; 2,000 more
for commencement
40,000 visitors in Ann Arbor each
year
$5,000,000 spent annually by
University, its students and their
visitors
"This means stimulus to trade."
BUT HOWEVER smooth city-
University commercial relations
went, those townspeople with Puri-
tanical consciences soon found ob-
jections to the growing student
body on moral grounds.
Greek letter societies originat-
ing in the 1850's drew condem-
nations as "iniquitous institu-
tions" from the town and the
administration had a serious
problem on its hands.
Temperance movements didn't
help matters much. Some mer-
chants were as willing to accept
student trade in the form of black-
market liquor, buying as any other,
and again citizens criticized the
University.
Competition between City and
University came first in the enter-
tainment field.
See UNIVERSITY, Page 3
City Schools
To Be Aided
By Bond Issue
Recently having adopted a $7,-
650,000 bonded building program,
Ann Arbor School District resi-
dents look forward to alleviation
of the crowded school condition
that has plagued local educators
in the last few years.
At present the school system is
comprised of eight elementary
schools, two junior high schools
and one senior high school.
*' * *
THE SENIOR high building is
more than 50 years old and will be
abandoned when the $5,500,000
Stadium Blvd. building is con-
structed in the near future.
Built for 800 students, the
school now contains 1,258 pu-
pils. Ann Arbor youth attend
school there or at University
Brown Calls
Traffic Big
AA Problem
Mayor Outlines
City Difficulties
By ERIC VETTER
Of the many problems plaguing
cities today, Ann Arbor is faced
with four which are classified as
basic by Mayor William E. Brown,
Jr.
Heading the list is the handling
and control of traffic on and off
the streets. Automobile regis-
tration has swelled several fold
in the past year and the city
arteries have not been able to
handle the increase.
WIDENING of several streets
and resurfacing of others are steps
being taken by the city to solve
part of the problem. The police
department has stepped up its
study of needs for traffic safety
devices such as stop lights, stop
signs and speed zoning.
In a few years, however, city
officials expect the entire traffic
problem to change. The Jack-
son highway bypass now being
built to the south of the city is
expected to drain off the trouble-
some through truck and auto
traffic and officials expect this
to greatly relieve much of the
present congestion.
An "offstreet" parking system
instituted in 1946 has fairly well
solved the parking problem in
town although there is a shortage
of space in the campus area. The
plan provides for the reinvestment
of revenue from parking meters
and city owned lots into new park-
ing facilities.
Garbage disposal is the second
major problem facing the city
fathers. Past methods have cen-
tered about the selling of the
waste to contractors who in turn
work through farmers in disposal.
A proposed state law would for-
bid this practice, so officials are
presently seeking land to build
sanitary fills for disposal. Another
suggested remedy is building a
city incinerator.
* * *
A PROBLEM basic to nearly
every city today is that of revenue.
Ann Arbor faces the task of pro-
viding added services and solving
certain difficulties without raising
taxes on real estate.
The final problem, peculiar to
Ann Arbor, is that of maintain-
ing good relations with the Uni-
versity. A detailed account of
this phase of city life is taken
up by the story in the adjoining
column.
In most of the other areas
STILL BLUSHING:
1864 Election Rankles County GOP
UNDERSTANDING that prob-
lems inherent in a rapidly grow-
ing community can get out of
hand if ignored too long, the plan-
ning commission took up the study
with the realization that the in-
dustrial growth of the last de-
cade will continue as an import-
ant factor in the Ann Arbor-Ypsi-
lanti area.
The commission is also con-
cerned over the manner in
which this growth will take
place, and hopes the area can
avoid another extended wartime
expansion so that controlled
growth can promote a strength-
ening of the economic base of
the county and its governmental
units.
In its six-year study of the
county, the group learned that
more than 1,000 families per year
will be added to county population
with Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti be-
coming parts of one large urban
area.
The urban community by 1970
is expected to number 172,000 peo-
ple as compared with-the 1950 to-
tal of 101,000, and the 1930 figure
of 47,000.
* * *
RESULTS OF this growth, the
commission found, will- be mani-
Integrated Area
Plan Conceived
Expected Large Population Growth
Results in Metropolitan Study
By HARRY LUNN
Like many other small cities located near large metropolitan
areas, Ann Arbor has gone through tremendous changes in the last
50 years, but today the thriving community is prepared to undergo
a new transition in preparation for an even larger spurt of growth.
Transformed from a sleepy town of the post-Civil War era into
a dynamically growing area through the advent of modern indus-
trialism and commercialism, Ann Arbor and the smaller towns sur-
rounding it look forward to a 70 per cent population increase by 1970.
* * ~* *
WITH THIS HUGE potential growth in mind the county plan-
ning commission recently completed and adopted a study which out-
lines the area's future expectations and requirements in terms of land
usage, public services and transportation.
Significantly the report is called "The Ann Arbor-tpsilanti
Metropolitan Plan," for the area is rapidly assuming metropolitan
proportions.
Yet in recognizing the new demands which increasing population
and business will place on the county, local citizens wish to maintain
the pleasant residential areas and strong 'cultural traditions which
have enabled Ann Arbor to retain
the finer aspects of small-town
life. War Housing
And few would deny that the
University with its many publicBr
spirited instructors and adminis-
trators has been a strong force in
preserving the dignity and culture Area Trouble
of the city.
World War II brought tremend-
ous industrial and population';
growth to the metropolitan area,
yet the expansion turned out in
some ways to be of harm rather
than benefit.
With the advent of a mammoth
bomber plant near Ypsilanti at
the war's outset, a mass invasion
of production workers began which
went unabetted until employment
needs dwindled.
STEPPING in to alleviate the
tight housing situation, the federal
government constructed "tem-
porary" housing in a 16-mile tract
to take care of the thousands of
homeless workers.
Thus Willow Village came into
being.
Surprisingly, the development
failed to manifest the crime, de-
linquency and juvenile maladjust-
ments which have often gone
along with projects of this type
during wartime.
When the bomber plant closed
down to be replaced by Kaiser-
Frazer, the "temporary" housing
became home for more than a
thousand University student fam-
ilies, so the crowded quarters were
once again full.
In the last few years the con-
Well-entrenched W a s h t e n a w
County Republicans can look back
over a 60 year chain of unbroken
county presidential victories, but
the legend of Washtenaw as a
simon-pure GOP county falls
down at several historical junc-
tures.
For one thing, local Republicans
failed to capture the county for
their presidential candidate in
41.4:
a - +4-
In 1868, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888
and 1892 Democratic candidates
managed to win a majority of
county votes. But the McKin-
ley-Bryan contest of 1896 saw
Washtenaw voters swinging
firmly back into Republican
columns along with the rest of
the nation.
Thereafter the county voted
straight Republican in presidential
elections, even holding to the