Antoine Cadillac--Detroit's First Godfather

Bust of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac

An expedition financed by the French monarch--King Louis XIV--and promoted by his Minister of Marine--Comte de Pontchartrain--appointed military man and soldier of fortune Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac as their agent to establish a fur trading post and fort in New France. In return, Cadillac was granted generous riverfront real estate. He envisioned a permanent French colony controlling the fur trade routes through the upper Great Lakes, with him at the helm.

Commander Antoine Cadillac led a fleet of 25 large canoes--with 50 soldiers, 50 empire builders, 2 Roman Catholic priests, and his 11-year-old son--on a 52 day trip westward from French-controlled Montreal to the western bank of a swift running river that connected Lac Erie with Lac St. Clair.

This site was chosen because it was the narrowest point of the strait--de troit--which is how Detroit earned its name. There was an eroded 40' clay bluff leading up from the river bank to a flat clearing. Once a fort was built on the plain, anything moving up or down the river could be seen and was in easy range of their cannons. This was a defensible position to discourage the British from taking control of the fur trade.

The empire builders arrived on July 24, 1701 and began work on a log fort Cadillac named after his benefactor--French Minister of Marine--Comte de Pontchartrain. Two days later, a mass was said in honor of Ste. Anne--the patron saint of France and mother of the Virgin Mary. After the service, the foundations for the church were laid. Catholicism had come to the wilderness.

Fort Pontchartrain contained a warehouse which doubled as a store. There were also two guard houses, Ste. Anne's Church, and about 15 houses within the fort. Lots could be no larger than 25 square feet and some were smaller.

In an official report about Detroit to his superior officers, Cadillac noted, "Especially attractive was the region that lies south of the pear-like lake to which they gave the name of St. Clair, and the country bordering upon that deep, clear river, a quarter of a league broad, known as Le Detroit.

"On both sides of this strait lie fine, open plains where the deer roam in graceful herds, where bear, by no means fierce and exceedingly good to eat, are to be found, as are the savory poules d'Indies (wild duck) and other varieties of game. The islands are covered with trees; chestnuts, walnuts, apples, and plums abound; and in season, the wild vines are heavy with grapes.

"Le Detroit is the real center of the lake country--the gateway to the West. It is from there that we can best hold the English in check."

French trade with the local Native American tribes went well for the most part. Cadillac encouraged the Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Miami, and Wyandotte tribes to cluster together in villages near the fort for protection from their mutual enemies--the Iroquois and the British. In total, Cadillac estimated that there were about 2,000 Indians in and around Fort Pontchartrain allied with the French.

In 1702, the first European baby born in Detroit was the daughter of Alphonse de Tonty, Cadillac's second-in-command. Not to be outdone, in 1704, the Cadillac's gave birth to Marie Therese, who became the first recorded baptism christened in Ste. Anne's Church registry.

Cadillac wanted the settlement to grow rapidly, but few if any unattached women were available to single men, so he proposed that christened Indian women be allowed to marry French settlers. The Jesuit priest strongly objected on moral and religious grounds, and the plan was soon rejected. This is likely the first official instance of discrimination in Detroit's long history.

In 1707, Cadillac began issuing farm grants, known as ribbon farms, to attract new settlers. These farms ranged from 200' to 1,000' wide and extended from the shoreline for 2 or 3 miles. Each farm had waterfront access. Many of Detroit's current street names derive from the original ribbon farm grant holders, for instance, Beaubien, Campau, Livernois, Riopell, Dequindre, and others. Cadillac plotted out 68 parcels. 

Cadillac acted like a feudal landlord requiring farmers to pay him an annual rent and a percentage of their grain to use the windmill he had built on the waterfront north of the fort. He was the mill's sole proprietor and could charge whatever he wanted. Renters were also required to work on Cadillac's farm for a specified number of days each year, making him a gentleman farmer.

To engage in any kind of trade, settlers had to pay a licensing fee and annual taxes. Cadillac grew rich by padding the fees and taxes and skimming off the top. When he withheld an allotment of imported brandy behind padlocked warehouse doors, it was discovered and reported that he was trading it to the Indians for beaver pelts. Cadillac defied a Royal decree not to provide liquor to the native population.

When complaints about Cadillac reached Montreal and Paris, King's Deputy Francois Clarembault went to survey the Detroit area holdings in 1708 and found they did not match Cadillac's reports. After nineteen days in Detroit, Clarembault returned to Canada and sent his findings off to France. In 1709, Count Pontchartrain wrote to Cadillac complaining that he showed "too much greed and little moderation in his dealings with the settlers."

In 1710, Cadillac was called to Quebec to answer charges against him brought by his detractors. The empire builder was acquitted of extortion and abuse of power charges, but he was removed from his post never to return to Detroit. The following year, Cadillac was promoted to the governorship of the Louisiana Territory.

Saint Anne's Church

Detroit's Famous Eastern Market

What was to become known as the Eastern Market began as a hay, lumber, and cordwood market in Detroit at Cadillac Square in 1841. Soon after, farmers from the countryside brought their produce there, and the area became known as the Central Market. 

As the city grew, so did the market. City aldermen decided to relocate the market in the mid-1880s on two sites to better serve city residents and give farmers and livestock owners other venues to sell their products. Detroit's Common Council named them the Eastern and the Western Markets.

The first Eastern Market structure was built in 1886, but on December 23, 1890, a fifty-one mile an hour wind gust collapsed the roof of the structure. Farmer Agustus Barrow and his wife were at the market selling their produce from their wagon. To protect themselves from the wind, Barrow drove under the shelter when the roof fell in on them.

Both of Barrow's horses were killed and Barrow's head was split open. Mrs. Barrow had both arms broken and her shoulder dislocated. Mrs. Lizzie Valentine lost eleven chickens and her chicken coops in the collapse. In all, several wagons were crushed and two horses were killed. Claims against the city totalled $10,522.50.

Old school home delivery.

The subsequent investigation found that the stone foundation the cast iron columns of the structure rested upon were not securely anchored. Nor was the huge, umbrella-shaped timber roof attached to the pillars at the top. Weight and balance held the structure together. The judge who heard the case sided with the plaintiffs and found the city negligent.

The demolition and reconstruction of a secure pavilion became a city priority. Within three months, the Northwestern Stone and Marble Company was awarded the contract to regrade and pave the vacant lot for $2,300. A month later, Detroit's Common Council approved $20,000 to construct a new and improved covered pavillion. The Western Market was also funded $20,000 for improvements to that facility on Fort Street.

Proposals for Shed 1, an open-air sheltered pavilion in a cross shape supported by sturdy cast iron columns anchored at each end, were opened on September19, 1891. Nine construction companies bids ranged from $15,330 to $17,708. The lowest bidder, M. Blay & Son, was awarded the contract. 

Completed on April 26th, 1892, the pavilion contained over 150 covered stalls with many more uncovered stalls surrounding it. The market clerk collected ten cents for every wagon standing on market property, and an ordinance was passed making it illegal to sell produce or livestock within 500 feet of the Eastern Market boundaries. Additional sheds were built through the 1920s with Shed 5 being built in 1939. 

During World War II, the Eastern Market became a hub for the wholesale food distribution industry and an important part of America's war effort. With the construction of the I-375 in 1964, the interstate cut through the footprint of Shed 1, so the original building was torn down.

In the 1970s, murals began to decorate the stalls rented by farmers and the surrounding buildings making the area colorful and festive. In 1974, the Eastern Market was designated a Michigan Historic Site, and in 1978, it was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the Eastern Market is the largest public market in the United States covering forty-three acres at 2934 Russel Street between Mack and Gratiot Avenues. The market also boasts the largest open-air flowerbed market in the country. On a typical Saturday, 45,000 people shop in many of the specialty shops in the market district.

Since 2015, the Eastern Market has hosted the annual Detroit Festival of Books on the third Sunday of July. It is the largest book festival in the state of Michigan. Housed in Shed 5, this event is free to the public and attracts over 10,000 people from Metropolitan Detroit. My wife and I hope to see you there next Sunday on July 16th, from 10 am until 4 pm.

Detroit's Kosher Nostra--The Purple Gang