page_title: Campau family
hierarchical_section_title: Campau family
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Indian trails across what is now the State of Michigan before statehood
context_page_description: The Campau family of Detroit, Michigan was established when brothers Michel and Jacques Campau settled in Detroit, Michigan in 1707 and 1708, respectively. Jacques, Joseph Campau, and Barnabé Campau are among the Barons of Detroit, according to Richard R. Elliott, because they had "ancestral virtues most worthily perpetuated."
  Joseph; Louis, Sr.; Louis, Jr.; and Barnabas Campau were fur traders, first selling their furs in Canada and then New York. Joseph was a merchant in Detroit and several trading posts and the others operated a number of trading posts in "Indian country". They were also involved in treaties between the Native Americans and the federal government, which were very lucrative endeavors. Joseph made millions as real estate promoter and was a civil servant for Detroit. Other family members established trading posts in places that came to be known as Manlius, Eaton Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, Lowell, and Hastings. George established a trading post at Maple Rapids. Louis Campau, Jr. established trading posts at Saginaw and Grand Rapids.
context_section_description: The Campau family of Detroit, Michigan was established when brothers Michel and Jacques Campau settled in Detroit, Michigan in 1707 and 1708, respectively. Jacques, Joseph Campau, and Barnabé Campau are among the Barons of Detroit, according to Richard R. Elliott, because they had "ancestral virtues most worthily perpetuated."
  Joseph; Louis, Sr.; Louis, Jr.; and Barnabas Campau were fur traders, first selling their furs in Canada and then New York. Joseph was a merchant in Detroit and several trading posts and the others operated a number of trading posts in "Indian country". They were also involved in treaties between the Native Americans and the federal government, which were very lucrative endeavors. Joseph made millions as real estate promoter and was a civil servant for Detroit. Other family members established trading posts in places that came to be known as Manlius (1825), Eaton Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, Lowell, and Hastings. George established a trading post at Maple Rapids. Louis Campau, Jr. established trading posts at Saginaw (1816) and Grand Rapids (1826).
  The descendants of Jacques and Michel, the 18th-century settlers of Detroit, were located in three cities: Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Chicago by the 20th-century.
  The coat of arms for the Campau family shows that they descended from a Baron of the Middle Ages. The surname is sometimes spelled "Campeau".
caption: Map of the pre-statehood Indian trails. The Sauk Trail is also known as Chicago Road
exif: {}