Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-03-29
THE STATE CAPITAL.
sToRv or ITS LOCATION AT
III III LANSING IN i847
LYONS Was the Choice for just One
Night Marshall Also Was Selected
by the senate Detroit Was Never =
Very strong Competitor.


The recent agitation of the removal
of the State capital from Lansing to De-
troitsrecalled the long strife in the state
Legislature when the location of the cap
ital was removed from Detroit to Ian
sing. Ii was i'm the winter of lS4I, and
for days the Legislature, then in session
in Detroit, struggled with the question,
vote after vote beiug taken. A number
of towns in the State were anxious TO Sc
cure the capital, and il is a matter OF
history that several of them were select
ed. Lyons was the capital Of the State
over night, and Marshall was once the
choice OF the Senate.
The constitution under which the State
was then doing business provided that
the Legislature should locate the capital
of the State, and it was only necessary
to pass law to effect the object. 1t
was not until the present constitution
was adopted that the seat Of government
was fixed permanently at Lansing and 1t
has since been impossible to change 1t
except by a vote OF the people.
In the contest of 1S47 over the loca-
ton Of the capital, Detroit was not a
strong competitor. Then, as now, the re-
mainder of the State would not consent
to the location of the capital at a point
remote from the geographical center of
the commonwealth. The house journals
of the legislative session of 1917 show
that Detroit received but eighteen affirm
alive votes in the House as against forty
three against the proposition to have the
capital remain in that city. Ann Arbor
was equally unpopular, the vote stand
ing eighteen for to forty-four against.
Dexter wanted the capital at that time,
but could muster but seventeen votes as
against forty-four against the PROPOSE
ton. Corunna was also unfortunate,
the vote standing the same as that receiv-
ed by Dexter. Marshall received twenty
Aine votes as the location of the capital
to thirty-two against. Jackson, Battle
Greek, Albion, Eaton Rapids, Byron and
Grand Blanc also came within a few
votes of winning the prize.
The bill fixing the capital in Lansing
finally passed the Senate March 3, 1S47
the action of the House being concur
red in after a long struggle. The town
ship of Caledonia was selected by the
Senate as the most favorable location
receiving sixteen affirmative votes as
against FIVE against it. There were TWEEN
ty-one votes in the Senate at that time
and the action was reconsidered after,
ward by a decisive vote, the causes for
such reconsideration not appearing on the
record. 1t required eleven votes to pass
the bill. Detroit mustered seven votes
Ann Arbor seven, Corunna nine, Flint
eight, Dexter ten. Eaton Rapids ten and
Charlotte ten. Several towns were Sc
lected by the Senate during the voting
on the proposition, Marshall having that
honor at one time for n few minutes
Detroit also once had fifteen votes, but
the Senate refused to concur in the ac'
ton of the committee of the whole and
the contest was renewed. Jackson and
Lyons both had a majority at one time
but the Senate finally concurred in the
action of the House by bare majority
vote.
The records of the Legislature show
that there were almost as many roll calls
on the matter of locating the capital as
upon all other bills that came before the
Legislature at that session.