History of Grand Rapids

The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan was first founded in 1831 by Detroit native Louis Campau. The city began as a small fur trading post with shops centered around the Grand River. Since that time, Grand Rapids has grown into the second largest city in the state of Michigan.

In the second half of the 19th century, Grand Rapids became a major producer of lumber, eventually earning the nickname “Furniture City.” The Grand River can be thanked for this development, as many trees that were cut down in other areas of the state were sent to be processed up the Grand River. Due to the cities convenient location on the river, it had easy access to ship the processed lumber out to lake Michigan. By the end of the 19th century Grand Rapids had established itself as the largest furniture manufacturer in the United States. The booming furniture industry provided many jobs in immigrants from Europe and the eastern part of the United States, helping to dramatically increase the population in the region. While Grand Rapids is no longer the leading furniture manufacturer in the United States, it is still home to five of the world’s leading office furniture companies, including Steelcase.

Grand Rapids was the first city in the United States to add fluoride to their drinking water, first doing so in 1945. Grand Rapids was also one of the early centers of the automotive industry from 1901-1921. Grand Rapids was the birth place of the 38th president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford. Ford is now buried, along with his wife, on the grounds of the presidential museum which is named in his honor. The museum is located along the banks of the mighty Grand River.

Grand Rapids was named after the rapids of the Grand River. However, in modern times the rapids have been removed from the river due to the installation of a low-head dam and a fish ladder. Grand Rapids has five sister cities: Omihachiman, Japan, Bielsko-Biała, Poland, Perugia, Italy, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, and Ga District, Ghana. Since it’s founding in 1831 Grand Rapids has grown into a modern metropolis. The city, which had a population of 2,686 during the 1850 census, has grown into a population of 188,040 as of the 2010 census.