Michigan was simply the state I lived in. I lived there for 23 years and thought little about it's interesting history, and the facts that went along with living there. Michigan is found in the north "midwest". Even those not familiar with the geography of Michigan have probably seen it. If you look at a world map or even a glob you will see Michigan because it looks like a mitten in the north midwest section of the US. However, there are some very unique and interesting facts to go along with this mitten shaped state. *The Great Lakes. Oceans and seas abound on the globe, however large lakes aren't really that common. Michigan is unique in that it is surrounded by four of the five great lakes. Only Lake Ontario stands apart from the lakes surrounding Michigan.
*Traveling From the Ocean. Big ships traveled up the St. Lawrence, through a series of locks that were made at Niagara falls, and into the Great Lakes. They traveled all through the lakes, and there was an additional series of locks made at Sault St. Marie.
*Peninsulas. Michigan is made of two peninsulas. The first of which is easiest to see. This is the mitten shape seen on the map. However, there is a second peninsula that is attached to Wisconsin, the neighboring state. However, this peninsula (known as the Upper Peninsula or the "U.P.") isn't actually connected to the rest of the state.
*Gaining the U.P. The Toledo war is something that people don't know much about. Here there was a war as Michigan was getting ready to be a state. They wanted the land all the way down to Toledo. However, Ohio also wanted Toledo. The conflict was later known as the Toledo war, although shots weren't fired. In exchange for Toledo, Michigan was given the Upper Peninsula. This land was thought of as worthless, and of no good use.
*Building the Bridge. For years Michigan stood as to seperate peninsulas with five miles of water between the two halves. However, a suspension bridge, known as the Mackinac bridge was built to connect the two. For a long time this was the longest suspension bridge in the world, at just over 5 miles long.
*Copper Finds. Much like the gold and silver rushes of the west, Michigan had a great excitement when finding that the U.P. was full of copper. Mines dug the land up and extracted a huge amount of copper. Small groups still mine the copper, but it isn't done as much because mining expenses are often great.
With a unique shape that is easy to see on many different maps, this state has a rich and old history, but it also has a few unique facts thrown in there. After all, it is the only state made up of two different peninsulas connected by a five mile suspension bridge. The Great Lakes brings a lot of different and interesting features. This is one of the most unique states in the union and most people don't even know it!
