Orrin White lived in Palmyra, New York, where he worked as a merchant and married Ann Thayer. In 1823, White journeyed to Michigan and claimed land along the Huron River. He wrapped up his affairs in New York, then returned in 1824 with his wife Ann and father-in-law Nathan Thayer to permanently settle his land. White built a small shanty where Huron High School now stands, becoming the first settler of Ann Arbor Township outside the village of Ann Arbor. In the 1920s, several hundred Native Americans camped in that area annually, while en route to Windsor to receive treaty gifts from the British (their allies in the War of 1812).