Detroit City Map Poster

About Detroit

The name "Detroit" derives from the Miami-Illinois word, meaning "straits of Lake Erie". The Detroit River (French: le détroit du lac Érié) connects to Lake Erie and ultimately drains into the St. Lawrence Seaway. The sieur de Cadillac in 1698 proposed a permanent settlement on the island of Detroit (which he named Isle de la Motte) to be built for French colonists; however, nothing came of it. In 1710, Michel Chartier visited the area and reported a Native American village called Grande Traverse Baye at what is now Waterford Charter Township in Oakland County along with an Indian trail leading from there to Michilimackinac; this was later replaced by Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit which became one of France's most important fur trading posts until 1760 when Montreal fell under British rule after its capture during that year's siege and battle for Quebec City during King George's War.