Grand Haven Senior High School - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Grand Haven, MI)

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-1834 To the sturdy pioneers of this city, Whose bravery, diligence and steadfast purpose carved a city out of the wilderness, we dedi- cate this volume, remembering that in this rude cabin, the Rev. William M. Ferry first preached the gospel of Christianity and Mary Ai White, a high minded, God fearing wom- an, laid the framework for the present school system of Grand Haven, as the first teacher in this city.

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1834 HISTORIC GRAND HAVEN RAND HAVEN has had an and activity which may easily In the ultimate pioneering at iards, Portuguese, English, Dutch, historical background of adventure, romance, war rival that of any city in America. the mouth of Grand River, the Norsemen, Spain- and especially the French, played important parts. The Jesuit fathers who labored with love and patience among the Indians and who established missions here and there often under great hazardsg the French explor- ers and fur traders with their coureurs de bois gthe voyageurs who acted as pathfinders , YV. N, I RIEV. VVM. MONTAGITE FERRY Co1zrl1'5y Gralzrz' Ilafvfn Library in the vast wilds of the Northwest, the American Fur Company: all must be given a large share in the glory of achievement. Cadillac and his Detroit settlement played a very important part, while the Revolutionary VVar and the VVar of 1812, the invention of the steamboat, and the opening of the Erie Canal, gave the final im- petus to westward expansion and colonization. Although the colors of four great nations: France, England, Spain, and the United States had each in turn waved over the ramparts of Fort St. Joseph in Ilflichigan, there was not, in 1830, a permanent white settlement in the Grand River Valley. H ow un- real it seems, and how fascin- a t i n g , in this modern day to let onels o W n t h o u g hts v wander back only one hundred years, such a short time in history, to the founding of Grand Haven when the red man claimed as his heritage the soil o'er which he roamed, when there were vast tracts of forest land, when the wild creatures were abundant and fish teemed in the lakes and rivers! The Ottawwah 'Indians of the lower penin- X sula north of Grand River first drove out the Sacs and Foxes and then united with the Pot- tawatomies and drove out the IVIuscotays, first occupants of Ottawa county as far as can be gathered from history or tradition. They called AMANDA VVHITE FERRY Courtrsy Grand llafvrn library 080