Happy 180th Birthday, Michigan! We Almost Got Stuck With Toledo

Michigan turns a spry 180 years old today, having become a state on this date in 1837. But we almost went to war, real war, not this prissy football stuff, with Ohio, before we became a state.The Michigan Territory and Ohio disagreed who had control over the mouth of the Maumee River in Toledo. Militia troops were ready to fight in 1836, but nothing really happened. Congress cut a deal, telling Michigan to give up Toledo and you get to be a state. I don't think we've ever really regretted that choice.

Mental Floss has a nice piece today with some stuff you may not have known about our state, including where the name came from. Michigama is in the Native-American word for large lake. Yes, it is. And when I first moved here, one of the first things I learned was, no matter where you are in the state, you are never more than 6 miles from a body of water.