The City of Detroit turns 322 on Monday! It was founded on July 24, 1701 by Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac.
According to the Detroit Historical Society, Cadillac was a French military leader and trader and had traveled throughout what was then New France and the Western Great Lakes region.
He and his soldiers left Montreal on June 5, 1701 and traveled through Lake Nipissing, into the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and finally on the Detroit River, stopping on Grosse Ile on July 23. The next day, they traveled up the river and landed at Fort Pontchartrain.
The fort's full name was Fort Pontchartrain du détroit, which gave Detroit its name. Le détroit is "the strait" in French.
You can view a full timeline of Detroit's history on the Detroit Historical Society website.
