Detroit Turns 325 Years Old on Friday, July 24, 2026

This year, Detroit celebrates another milestone: their 325th anniversary, 1701-2026!

It is a monumental task to give you all the history that is involved in the creation and growth of Detroit.....So I am going to make this brief and then hand over the ‘founding of Detroit’ reins over to the Detroit Historical Society.

The whole world knows about Detroit: its inventions, creations, food, auto industries, contributions to the world of music (rock, R&B, blues), sports, world-renowned celebrities.....and yes, even the problems of the inner city, riots, etc.

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So I can’t really relate anything to you that you haven’t already heard or experienced yourself. But what I will do, is relate the founding and genesis of Detroit, as reported by the Detroit Historical Society, in an albeit edited and brief synopsis.....so here goes...

"The site that was to become the city of Detroit was established on July 24, 1701 by Antoine de la mothe Cadillac, a French military leader and trader. In 1698, Cadillac returned to France to petition King Louis XIV for authorization to establish a French outpost along “le détroit” (the strait), the waterway connecting Lakes Erie and Huron. The full name, Fort Pontchartrain du détroit, gave Detroit its French name.

Cadillac’s entourage of soldiers, missionaries and colonists set out from Montreal on June 5, 1701, and finally the Detroit River, stopping for the night on Grosse Ile on July 23rd.

Beginning in 1707, Cadillac awarded farms to settlers that extended two or three miles inland. These uniquely designed plots are identified today by streets named for the early French settlers.

During the next 50 years, Detroit remained a small frontier settlement made up of soldiers, artisans, trappers, hunters, farmers and traders with an economy centered on fur trade and farming. The entire village, including the stockade, streets and buildings, occupied an area of only one city block, bordered by the present-day streets of Griswold, Fort, Shelby and Larned and was known as Fort Detroit, beginning in 1751.”

That nutshell only faintly covers the first 50+ years of Detroit. If you want to know more details and history in EXTREME length, there are plenty of sites you can check out, particularly the Detroit Historical Society, and an EXHAUSTIVE timeline that you can peruse at the History of Detroit page.

All this is to commemorate Detroit’s 325th anniversary: 1701-2026...so Happy Birthday/Anniversary, Detroit! Now scroll down to see a baker's dozen of vintage photographs showing how Detroit looked over 100 years ago!