Detroit's First American Decade

Detroit’s first decade of American occupation is sometimes neglected by historians. Detroit was a frontier village, far from the seat of the national government and the populous cities of the eastern seaboard. This book is intended to bridge the historical gap between the British regime and the establishment of Michigan Territory. Its basic theme is the slow development of American institutions and influence in a community that was essentially French but contained also a strong British element. Organized chronologically, the book opens with the occupation of Fort Lernoult by American troops and the proclamation of Wayne County, Northwest Territory, in 1796; it closes with the arrival at Detroit of the Governor and the other officers of the newly established Michigan Territory in 1805—the same year the town was completely destroyed by fire, prompting a new beginning for Detroit on a far grander scale.