Photo courtesy Tina's Detroit History website

DETROIT UNDER CADILLAC

In the late 17th Century both the French and English governments were wrestling with their approach to holdings in North America. The French with the collapse of the fur trade, due to an overstock of ten years worth of Beaver pelts, were closing many of their forts and trading settlements in New France.

The British were trying to expand the original thirteen colonies beyond the Allegheny Mountains. In 1698, Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac went to Paris to propose to the French government of Louis XIV, a plan to build a settlement at du detroit. His reasons were two-fold, to prevent the British expansion and to attract the native Indians especially the fierce Iroquois to the trading post and to profit from this trade and the fur trade. He was unsuccessful in convincing Jerome Phelypeany, Comte de Ponchatrain, Louis XIV’s trade minister of his plan, for du detroit.

Not discouraged by his earlier failure, he returned in 1700 and on May 5, 1700, King Louis XIV granted to him 1,500 Livres ($300.00 in today’s money) to establish a fort and trading company on the Detroit River.

On June 4,1701 he sailed from Montreal for le detroit. The party consisted of 25 canoes, 50 soldiers, 50 Canadian voyageurs (farmers, traders. and artisans) and three priests. On June 23, 1701, they arrived on the banks of the Detroit River and established Fort Pontchartrain du detroit at its present location on present day Shelby Street. The grant was for one arpent of land, a French acre 192 feet on each side, 37,152 square feet. Residential lots were 25 x 25, roughly 625 square feet each. In 1702 Madam Cadillac and Madam Tonti, the wife of Alphonse Tonti, Baron of Paludy, Captain of the guard, were the first non-native women of the settlement.

From 1707-1710 Fort Pontchartrain grew considerably and expanded out side the original fort. During this period Cadillac offered conveyance for 68 lots. Those receiving these lots were DETROIT’S ORIGINAL COLONISTS.

Examples of cost for a conveyance:

Lot 6 - 49 sols rent and 10 livres for other rights

Lot 4 - 2 livres rent and 10 livres for other rights

Lot 17 - 8 livres and 8 sols rent and 10 livres for other rights.

Written by Jack Ricketts July 2016