A sightseeing boat cruises past the Quincy copper mine site on Portage Lake Canal, a watery shortcut across the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP
It’s late April and Michigan is in dire straits. The governor
has appealed to Washington for federal assistance. Sound familiar?
No, not Governor Jennifer Granholm and her request for bailout money. I’m talking about the year 1835 and the Michigan territorial governor, 24-year old Stevens T. Mason, who was about to do battle with Ohio over a disputed survey line.
There were confrontations but little blood shed in what is referred to as The Toledo War. Never mind that there was no Toledo (the city was chartered in 1837) and it was more of a fracas than a war; Ohio was declared the winner when Stevens eventually gave up a 468-square mile area at the southern border of the Michigan Territory known as the “Toledo Strip,” including the valuable mouth of the Maumee River. In exchange Michigan attained statehood and most of what is now the Upper Peninsula. The “Boy Governor” Mason was duly elected to lead Michigan when it became a state in January of 1837.
Toledo at dusk
The Toledo Strip was hot property worth fighting for because it was going to serve as a shipping center and route for canals that would connect Lake Erie and rivers in Ohio with the Mississippi River; the wild Upper Peninsula didn’t look like much of a prize 174 years ago. Then the railroad derailed the canals, and the UP, rich with minerals and natural wonders, proved to be a great consolation prize.
Just for fun, let’s see how Toledo and the UP compare:
Toledo: Lake Erie
UP: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan
Toledo: Tony Packo’s Hot Dogs
UP: Toni’s Pasties, in Laurium
Mackinac Bridge connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsula
Toledo: Bridges over the Maumee River
UP: Mackinac Bridge over two Great Lakes and International Bridge to Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, plus the Cut River Bridge and the Houghton-Hancock Portage Lift Bridge
Toledo: Hometown of cool singer Anita Baker
UP: Home of crass singing group Da Yoopers
Toledo: Eat in a lion’s cage at the zoo
UP: Eat at Antlers in the Soo
Toledo: 60-acre Toledo Botanical Garden
UP: Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests (almost 2 million acres combined)
Toledo: Fort Meigs
UP: Fort Wilkins and Fort Mackinac
Fun for All Ages at Fort Meigs
Toledo: Visit the restored SS Willis B. Boyer Museum Ship
UP: Take a boat ride alongside freighters in the Soo Locks
Toledo: Actors Jamie Farr (M.A.S.H.), Katie Holmes (The Tom Cruise Story), feminist Gloria Steinem
UP: MSU Coach Tom Izzo of Iron Mountain, football’s George “The Gipper” Gipp of Laurium, feminine Crystal Hayes, former Miss Michigan of Rock
Toledo:Place where they build Jeeps
UP: Places to drive Jeeps
Jeep built in Toledo
At home in a Jeep: Keweenaw Peninsula
Toledo: “Holy Toledo”
UP: “Holy Wah!”
I think it’s safe to say Michigan is happy to have lost the war and won the UP.
For Upper Peninsula travel info: www.uptravel.com
For Toledo: www.dotoledo.org
