In 2020 Ypsilanti

VISION FOR 2020
In 2020 Ypsilanti enjoys its rich cultural and architectural heritage, the end-result of centuries of historic migrations to this ancient river
crossing. Native American, European American and African American groups settled here, each with a distinct and venerable history.
Paleo-Indian ancestors of Native American tribes lived in Michigan as early as 1200 B.C.1, 2 In 1772, an English officer’s report
describes a small Native American Bodewadimi (“Potawatomi”) settlement on the banks of the Huron River, situated near the
intersection of the Potawatomi and Sauk Indian trails, location of present-day Ypsilanti.3 Explorer Hugh Heward’s journal describes a
trading post, operated by Jean Baptiste Sanscriante, in 1790 near the Potawatomi settlement (today the Riverside Arts Center Annex).3
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Gabriel Godfroy subsequently acquired the trading post from Sanscriante, and submitted a French Claim in 1808 to protect his rights to
the trading post and property.3 European Americans established a settlement here in 1823 and Ypsilanti’s first African American
settlers joined the community in 1837 and 1838.