Read Migrating to Michigan for Free Online Page A

actually owned the potholes in front of their houses, and they got paid for helping push wagons out of them?”
    â€œThat’s right,” said the professor. “It’s kind of like owning a tow truck business in our time.”
    â€œI’ve got an uncle who lives in Utica,” Rachel said. “He claims they’ve got potholes there that can eat an entire car.”
    We laughed as we continued our walk through the frontier town of Detroit. Rachel took careful notes of everything she saw and heard. Owen mostly drew pictures in his journal. Now and then I looked over to make sure Mister Adams was following us. He was being very good. Maybe babysitting him wouldn’t be too bad after all.
    Professor Tuesday stopped in front of another building and looked inside. Smoke poured out of a chimney on the roof. The professor waved us over to take a look. Heat from inside the building washed over us as we got near the door. Men with long aprons were working by a furnace. Others were pounding metal into shape and working on large pieces of steel. The metal was red hot and they were using big hammers to make it into a circular shape. Glowing sparks flew with each strike of their hammers.
    â€œWe’d better be going now. There are other places I want to visit today. Before we leave, let’s take a look at that building,” the professor said as he crossed the street.

The State Building
Detroit—July 1837
    A s we walked along, Owen stepped on one of his loose shoelaces and tripped over Mister Adams.
    Professor Tuesday ran to Owen’s side. “Are you alright?” he asked.
    Owen picked himself up. “I’m fine. It seems like I fall a lot.” Owen bent down and tied his loose shoelaces.
    â€œIt’s because you are a clumsy oaf,” Rachel said. “And your shoes are always untied.”
    Owen gave Rachel an angry stare.
    â€œNow, now,” said the professor. “Let’s try to get along here.”
    We walked toward a large building outside of town. Professor Tuesday shrugged his shoulders twice as he continued. “There are many reasons I wanted you to see Detroit in 1837. Besides seeing immigrants coming to Michigan, 1837 was the year that Michigan became a state.”
    The professor pointed to a building. “That building is the capitol building of Michigan. It was built in 1828. Back then people complained that the capitol building was too far from town. However, the city grew rapidly as immigrants poured into the state searching for opportunity.”
    â€œI thought the state capital was in Lansing?” Rachel asked.
    â€œIt is in our time,” replied the professor. “It was moved from Detroit to Lansing in 1848.”The professor scratched his chin and looked over at Owen as he thought. “I’ll bet you didn’t know that Michigan had a boy governor in 1837.”
    â€œReally?” Owen asked.
    â€œYes, his name was Stevens T. Mason,” answered the professor. “He was named the Territorial Secretary by President Andrew Jackson when he was only nineteen years old. He became Michigan’s first elected governor in 1835 when he was only twenty-four.”
    The professor stopped walking for a moment. “When Mason was the Territorial Secretary, he did a lot to encourage immigrants to come to Michigan. The U.S. government required that a territory have at least 60,000 settlers before it would consider the territory to become a state. Partially because of population growth and partially because of the boy governor’s efforts, Michigan became a state in 1837.”
    â€œMaybe I could be the governor some day,” Owen said proudly.
    â€œYou’d have to stop being such a nerd first,” Rachel shot back.
    â€œRachel! Would you just cool it?” I said.
    Suddenly, we heard some shouting. It was coming from down the street. A crowd of people quickly gathered. Mister Adams headed off to investigate,