Imperial Valley press., 1923-03-03
DETR OFT FOLK
WILL DO HONOR
TO CADILLAC
March 5 is Birthday of
French Pioneer Who
Founded City

Bridging more than two and q
Z half centuries, citizens of Detroit
< will celebrate, March ), the birth
day of the founder of that city, An
! toine de la Mothe Cadillac, born In
: 1868, and for more than 80 years "a
\ leading and dynamic factor in the
7 colonization and development of
= territories now included inf both
United States and Canada.
Because the tireless energy and
constructive organizing ability of
the great French pioneer pervades
the early history of many parts of
the continent, his birthday has
country wide significance.
To Unveil Taoiet
Detroit will mark the date this
wear by the unveiling of bronze
tablet erected to his memory on
The site of the original Fort Pom
chartrain, which the pioneer built
at this strategic point in l70l as at
barrier against the passage of Brit
ish troops and their Indian allies.
Guests at the unveiling ceremonies
win include city officials, members
of the Detroit Historical Society
and the Detroit Board of Commerce,
a platoon of mounted police, troops
from Fort Wayne, officials of the
+. Michigan Mutual Life Insurance
Company, upon whose property the
tablet is being erected, and Off
:, eials of the Cadillac Motor Car Com
panv, which derives its name and
coat t-of-arms from the intrepid lead
z er and bold explorer.
b The soldier. who founded the City
of the Straits and built il into z
bustling colony in spite of rebellion
and treason from within, and
against the opposition of the gov
ernor of New France, and the col
ony S trading company, was born in
"A little town in Gaseony, France,
March 5, 1868. His father was a
man of affairs and of ancient fam
lily, and of sufficient influence to
place the fiery boy, Antoine, as a
cadet i'll leading French regiment.
Military Leader
His military career was detcrmin-
NN 4iohi ~ ilt
was a lieutenant. Six years later
he took service with one of the
boldest of French American priva-
feers, Francois Guyon, and became
suecessively a resident of Arcadia,
Sieur' of Mount Desert Island
and 10000 acre tract in Maine,
in charge of a French fleet, com
mander of Fort Mackinae. founder
and afterwards governor of Detroit,
governor of Louisiana, founder of
! posts in the Mississippi Valley, and
in his later years, governor of Cas-
telsarrasin, in France.
!. Cadillac s name and coat Of arms
We're adopted by the Cadillac Motor
Car Company both because of the
historic rank and enterprise associ-
ated with the name and because of
the significance of the French noble
man s own Interpretation of the
family emblem: ''To attain Prov
ess, virtue and plenty; to look to
the wings of leadership for merit
to be in readiness to undergo the
business of the public veal. -
His name and life have been fur
ther widely eommemorated in the
city he founded. In 1902 the French
government presented to the city of
Detroit a painting of Cadillac re-
,eeiying his commission at the court
of Louis XIV. The arrival of Ma
dame Cadillac in 1902, after what
was then {. perilous trip from Que
bee, is recorded by a large oil paint
ing in the public library. 'Cadil-
lac s chair, stone monument of
( mammoth proportions stands in Cad
lilac square, opposite the city hall,
in the walls of which is niche con
tanning life-size figure of the
city's heroic founder.