DET003 - Detroit’s Early Bounty: The Fertile Lands and Abundant Wildlife of Michigan’s Frontier

French Pear Trees, Detroit River

From its earliest days, Detroit and its surrounding lands were celebrated for their fertility, abundant game, and thriving orchards. Long before the city became an industrial powerhouse, its soil produced remarkable harvests with little need for fertilization, and its forests and meadows teemed with wildlife. The natural richness of the area was so profound that Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the city’s founder, wrote in 1701 of the vast prairies, fruit-laden orchards, and thick forests that enveloped the settlement. His descriptions of vines draping the trees, deer grazing in the meadows, and birds filling the skies painted a picture of Detroit as a paradise of plenty.

Detroit’s soil was rich and varied, supporting everything from towering hardwoods to delicate wildflowers. A well dug in 1829 near Fort Street revealed deep layers of alluvial earth, clay, sand, and limestone—each stratum a testament to the region’s geological complexity. Just a few miles from the river, a broad, low-lying belt of land provided especially fertile ground for farming, requiring only proper drainage to yield abundant crops. The early French settlers took full advantage of this natural wealth, planting extensive orchards of apples, pears, and cherries along the riverbanks. Cadillac marveled at how fruit trees bent under the weight of their harvest, untouched by the hands of gardeners yet flourishing in their natural state.

Wild game was equally plentiful, with vast herds of buffalo once roaming the prairies, their wool so thick that early settlers considered using it for garments. Wolves howled at the edges of the growing town well into the 1830s, prompting the county to offer bounties of three to four dollars per scalp. Deer were so common that as late as 1834, they could be found within a morning’s walk of the city, and black bears occasionally wandered into its streets. Wild turkeys, quail, and pigeons were present in astonishing numbers, with vast flocks of migrating birds darkening the skies. Pigeons were so abundant that settlers could kill hundreds with nothing more than a walking stick.

The region’s rivers and lakes were similarly abundant. The Detroit River and its tributaries teemed with fish of exceptional quality, including whitefish, sturgeon, perch, and black bass. The clarity of the water, described as “living crystal” by Cadillac, nourished these fish, making them both plentiful and delicious. Swans crowded the reeds so densely that they appeared like floating lilies, and ducks, geese, and other waterfowl were so numerous that, as one indigenous informant put it, they had to line up to allow boats to pass.

Beyond its game and fisheries, Detroit’s agricultural potential became evident in the vast quantities of grain grown by both indigenous peoples and European settlers. The Hurons and Ottawas cultivated large fields of corn, and in 1714, 2,400 bushels were sent from Detroit to other settlements. By 1706, Cadillac had introduced wheat from Quebec, and within a few years, both spring and fall wheat flourished in the region. However, agriculture faced occasional hardships; in 1747, supplies became so scarce that the French military had to send a relief convoy to prevent starvation. By 1757, Detroit’s farms were producing enough grain, oats, and corn to sustain the local population, but the economy remained vulnerable to harsh winters and blockaded supply lines.

Maple sugar production was another hallmark of early Detroit. Indigenous communities had long collected sap, but it was the French missionaries who introduced the process of refining it into sugar. By 1819, Michigan produced 150,000 pounds of maple sugar annually, and one merchant alone advertised 40,000 pounds for sale in 1825. Maple sugar remained a staple for decades, as refined cane sugar was expensive and reserved for special occasions.

The orchards of Detroit became legendary. Immense pear trees, reaching over 100 feet tall with trunks several feet thick, stood as icons of the city’s agricultural success. These ancient trees, likely grown from seeds or saplings brought from France, bore fruit in staggering quantities—some producing up to 50 bushels each season. The famous “Mission Pears” were said to have originated from a Jesuit priest’s personal tragedy, planted as an act of penance and later spreading throughout the region. Apples, too, flourished, with varieties like the deep red Pomme Caille gaining renown for their rich flavor. By the late 18th century, cider production was booming, and in 1818, Detroit’s exports of fish and cider alone were valued at $60,000.

Vegetables grew to astonishing sizes in the fertile Michigan soil. In 1821, a pumpkin weighing 174 pounds was harvested, and another farm produced over 1,300 pounds of pumpkins from just two seeds. By 1823, watermelons commonly weighed 40 pounds, and beets reached 18 pounds. In 1833, a single beet was recorded at two and a half feet long with a 17-pound weight. The productivity of the land astonished early residents, who realized that Detroit was not just a strategic outpost but an agricultural powerhouse.

Despite the region’s natural abundance, early Detroiters still faced hardships. Food shortages occasionally gripped the settlement, particularly in times of war or severe winters. Letters from 1770 described settlers so desperate for food that they scavenged ravens and eagles feeding on unburied bodies. In 1780, another famine struck, prompting the military to distribute rations from the King’s stores to prevent starvation. However, as the city expanded and farming practices improved, these crises became less frequent.

By the 1830s, Detroit’s agricultural success led to the creation of its first Agricultural and Horticultural Society, which held annual exhibitions showcasing the region’s finest produce. Farming was no longer a means of survival but a thriving industry, and Detroit became known not just for its fur trade and military significance, but for the extraordinary fertility of its land.

Detroit’s early settlers may not have envisioned the industrial colossus their city would become, but they knew they had settled in a land of remarkable bounty. The soil, game, rivers, and orchards provided everything necessary for a prosperous community, laying the foundation for a city that would grow, change, and ultimately redefine itself in ways they could scarcely have imagined.