50 Years of 50 States: Michigan

Nickname: The Great Lakes State
Date Ratified: January 26, 1837 (26th)
Capital: Lansing

Map of Michigan

• Michigan was the first state, and the first English-speaking government in the world, to abolish the death penalty (1846).
• Michigan has over 1 million licensed hunters, more than any other state. Michigan also ranks first when it comes to boat registration.
• The Packard Motor Car Company manufactured the first air-conditioned car in the world in 1939.
• The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cageless, open exhibits.
• Michigan is the only place in the world that has a floating post office. The J.W. Wescott II is the only boat that delivers mail to ships that are still underway, and has been doing so for 125 years.
• Indian River is home to the Cross in the Woods, the largest crucifix in the world.
• Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to tax-paid high school education.
• The first auto traffic tunnel between two nations was the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel which goes under the Detroit River.
• The Michigan state flag was adopted in 1911.

Flag of Michigan

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