When Michigan became a state in 1837, the Detroit office of the U.S. Topographical Engineers was headquartered on this site. The topographical engineers helped transform Michigan from a wilderness into a prosperous state. They also played a vital role in Great Lakes navigation before the Civil War. First appointed in 1813, the engineers surveyed land, canals, railroads and harbors, and platted military positions relative to roads, villages, rivers and ravines. They also constructed lighthouses. During the 1820s and 1830s engineers from the Detroit office built roads to Toledo, Saginaw and Chicago, thus opening Michigan's interior to new settlement. As a result, Michigan's population increased from 8,000 in 1820 to 200,000 in 1840.
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