1885 Remington Lee Navy

[butlersrangers]

The French named Belle Isle, the 'Isle of Pigs'; it was infested with Rattlesnakes. The early French settlers let Hogs run wild on the Island, which exterminated the vipers. The island was Detroit's 'Common', pasture land available to all, until the British era. There were early lawsuits when the ownership became private. The bridge to the island is actually named 'The Douglas MacArthur Bridge'.

[butlersrangers]

Campus Martius is today a neat spot in the inner city that is Detroit ( food, drink, entertainment). Detroit has just declared bankruptcy. Greater Detroit includes many independent cities ( suburbs) some of which are doing well, others not so well. The Naval armory in Detroit ( Broadhead ?) sits on the Detroit side of the bridge to Belle Isle. It has been closed for maybe 20 years. This bridge was the site of the race riots during WW2, also the site where Houdini went under the ice. Lots of interesting history!

Early Detroit took the name Campus Martius from a Fort in Ohio, that later became Marietta, Ohio, I believe. The name goes back to Ancient Rome. Outside of Rome, there was a plain where Legions camped, "The Camp of Mars". This was an appropriate name for a Square in Detroit that bordered on Ft. Shelby and served as a parade ground. During the Civil War, Union Regiments from Detroit were formed up at Campus Martius prior to their send-off to the War. The Old City Hall fronted on the Square and it was here that the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was sited. An early plan for Detroit's development had the city streets radiating out from a series of circles (like Paris and Washington D.C.). Woodward Ave. was surveyed off a prominent boulder located at Campus Martius. The only circle that was actually carried out was at Grand Circus Park. Detroit had been around since 1701 and the master plan was unrealistic for a town that was already in progress and based on ribbon farms with access to the River. Even before the Automobile, Detroit grew as an industrial power-house. By the time of the Spanish American War, Detroit troops could take public transport to the mustering encampment at Island Lake, near Brighton.