1824 - 1899

John Allen and Elisha Rumsey registered the name of Ann Arbor on May 25 at the Detroit Register of Deeds.

First house, Lower Town, built by James Jones; Erie Canal was completed, a key route for early pioneers.

First businesses started, including a drug store, tailor, grocery store, and blacksmith; first church (Presbyterian).

Several  taverns, sawmills, and grist mills opened. Population: 400-500 people; Elisha Rumsey died of fever.    

James Kingsley was appointed Judge of Probate.    

Population 900;  a foundry was opened. First newspaper, Western Emigrant began publication; first Germans arrived.    

James Kingsley became Register of Deeds; first public school.  Anson Brown house built at 1029 Pontiac Trail.    

Fairview Cemetery opens.    

Anson Brown building constructed, oldest commerical building; Lower Town becomes part of Ann Arbor.    

First Protestant minister, Reverand Frederick Schmid arrived in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor incorporated as a village.    

First court house completed. Calvin Bliss opened a jewelry store.

 Wilson-Wahr House first built on 126 N. Division; expanded in 1844 and again in 1863. Two   newspapers, The Whig and the Michigan Argus (Argus 1), began publication. It is the forerunner of the Ann Arbor News.    

Frostbitten Convention held in Ann Arbor, Michigan State Anti-Slavery Society founded in Ann Arbor. Argus Camera began manufacturing cameras.

Michigan admitted to the Union. University of Michigan started in Ann Arbor. First fair grounds at the site of Bach School. Michigan Central Railroad began service to Ann Arbor this year. 

Volunteer fire department organized.    

First train reached Ann Arbor; Misses Clark School for Young Ladies, later relocated to N. Division at E. Kingsley. Argus became the first daily newspaper. Traver District School built at 1202 Traver. Guy and Phyla Beckley house built at 1425 Pontiac Trail.    

Native Americans banished from Michigan and relocated to Kansas. U of M's President's house built.    

Mason Hall, the first U of M building, was completed to be used as a dormitory. Signal of Liberty, an anti-slavery newspaper, published by Beckley/Foster until 1848.  

Circus made first appearance. It was called the Bowery Ampitheater of New York by June, Titus & Company.   

Census reports that 231 Blacks were living in Washtenaw; Cosmopolitan Art Association formed.      

Cobblestone Farm built by Benajah Ticknor.   

Train depot was built on Broadway; St. Thomas Church built at 326 E. Kingsley, first brick church. William Maynard purchased a large tract of land, most of which was in the Old West Side Historic District. Cobblestone Farm completed.     

State legislature passed first city charter for Ann Arbor. North District Public School built at 324 E. Kingsley.    

Two district school systems developed, Lower Town and Upper Village. First telegraph office. The newspaper, Washtenaw Whip, replaced the State Journal.    

A revolution in Europe prompted a wave of immigrants, including those that settled in Ann Arbor; Medical School began.    

Bethelem Church completed.  

First African American churches were established. First medical school built.    

John Allen (53) died near San Francisco on March 11, 1851. Ann Arbor incorporated as a City.  4 Ward system created by state legislature. First Ward School created.

Henry Tappan becomes the first President of University of Michigan.

Kempf House constructed by Henry Dewitt Bennett.

Detroit Observatory, 1398 E. Ann. Union African American Church built at 504 High St.  

James Kingsley was elected Mayor.    

Union High School opened.

J. Fred Schlanderer started bottling works at 122 E. Washington. Washtenaw County Historical Society formed.   

Detroit Observatory built. Gas plant opens. The first Ann Arbor YMCA was established.

Forest Hill Cemetery opened.  

First baseball games played.

Dean & Company opened a fancy grocery store. His daughter, Elizabeth Dean, started a bequest for trees. 

In response to a call from President Lincoln, a regiment was assembled to fight in the Civil War.  

Law School built. Dr. Chase's best seller, Dr. A. W. Chase's Recipes: Coloring Department, published.      

Dr. Chase's Steam Printing Plant opened on North Main and Miller.

Clark Girls School built at 505 N. Division.

Methodist Church built, State and Washington. Ladies Library Association of Presbyterian Church formed.

35 teachers in the system with an average pay of $419.43. Male teachers were paid 3 times female teachers. Cornerstone of St. Andrews Episcopal Church at 306 N. Division is laid.

Dr. Chase's Steam Printing House completed, 301-305 N. Main. 

Wagner's Blacksmith Shop built. First University Hospital. John G. Miller Planing Mill (later Treasure Mart) built.

W.S. Perry was the Superintendent of Schools from 1870-1897; Schumachers Hardware opened (closed in 1940).

Allmendinger Organ Company began manufacturing organs. Police department organized. Hill's Opera House, A2's first theater, opened on Main Street. 

Many commercial buildings erected on Main Street. George Krause opened the Northern Brewery at 1327 Jones Drive. The Benjamin Brown house was built. 

Luick Brothers Lumber Company formed and closed in 1931; opening of University Hall. Depression of 1873 led to a population decline.      

An eight foot monument was installed to commerate those who died in the War of 1812.

Eberbach Hardware the first store to put in plate glass windows.

Zion Lutheran completed at Fifth and Washington Streets.

Second courthouse built.

Deke Shant built at 611 E. William; James Ashley built rail line linking Toledo with Northern Michigan. Courthouse built.    

In its first intercollegiate football game, the University Michigan defeated a team from Racine College. The University Musical Society was founded.

Cable cars were introduced. Eberbach's (later Fischer's) opened. First Baptist Church built.

First telephone exchange was set up.

First Unitarian Church built at 100 N. State. Brick fire station built.

University Library built with clock tower, now Harlan Hatcher Library.      

Van Depoele Light and Power Company on Washington began producing electricity;  roller skating rink built.

Germania Hotel was built at 119-123 W. Washington. D.A.R. Library was completed. 

Schlenker's Hardware opened (closed in 1995). Northern Brewery built at 1327 Jones Dr.

Reuben Kempf house built at 321 N. Ingalls. John Dewey, world reknown philosopher, wrote "Psychology" in this year while he worked at U of M.   

Kelsey Museum built.

4th City Charter went into effect setting up a City Council, Board of Public Works, City Assessor, and a Fire Board.  

A birdseye map of Ann Arbor was produced. Electric street cars first appeared and disappeared in 1925. Michigan Daily begins publication.

Bethel AME church built at 632 N. Fourth.

Weinman Block (219-223 E. Washington) built.

A northbound Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan freight train derailed near Frankfort, killing the engineer, fireman and brakeman.      

May Festivals begin. Henry Cornwell house built at 538 N. Division.   

Second Ward School renamed Bach School. Gas plant explosion.  

U of M joined The Big Ten in its first season. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) started a chapter.

Ann Arbor Railroad extended into the UP to Munising. The U of M football team first played OSU and won 34-0.    

Michigan National Guard posed at the Courthouse steps before leaving to fight in the Spanish-American War.    

St. Thomas the Apostle Church built at 515 N. State.