Check Out What Grand Rapids Looked Like Over 150 Years Ago

I've always been a history buff and I love learning new things.

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When I moved to Grand Rapids to start working in radio back in 2007, I tried to learn as much as I could about my new hometown. In 2014, I left Michigan for another radio job. Last year, I had the chance to move back and fell back in love with G.R.

I recently stumbled upon some amazing pictures of what the city of Grand Rapids looked like going all the way back to the 1800s

I have almost 50 amazing pictures I want to share with you but before you check them out here is a little back story about the wonderful city of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Native Americans Were Here First

Before explorers made their way through what is now Grand Rapids it was home to The Hopewell peoples. They lived in the area more than 2,000 years ago and built great earthen mounds.

Around 1700 AD, people of the Three Fires the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi Indians established villages around the Grand River.

Settlers Arrive In Grand Rapids

Joseph La Framboise and his wife Magdalene, who was of a mix of Ottawa and French descent, established the first fur-trading post in Grand Rapids back in 1806. Almost twenty years later, Louis Campau of Detroit built a trading post, blacksmith shop, and cabin on the banks of the Grand River. He is credited as the official founder of Grand Rapids. Then, in 1838, Grand Rapids became a village and then a city in 1850.

So much has changed since 1806, See for yourself below.