Fort Detroit in 1763, from Bellin's Atlas of 1764

Fort Pontchartrain was built on the Detroit River, under the direction of Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac, in 1701. Soldiers, carpenters and a dozen or so Indians labored in the summer sun that year to get the tiny church of St. Anne under a roof, and a little over an acre of land enclosed in a garrison. It would be one of a string of forts built along the Great Lakes dotting either side of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The purpose: to provide French fur-trading depots. A place where Indians and coureurs de bois could bring their pelts, to be traded for a musket, a knife, a sack of flour, or far too often, a jug of brandy. Eventually, these furs were shipped to France to be made into hats or other clothing for people the well-to-do.

Fort Detroit was originally built by the French in 1701. It was built along the Detroit River at the gateway from Lake Erie to the western Great Lakes. The French called it Fort Pontchartrain. It was a small town surrounded by a stockade wall. It became the modern city of Detroit, Michigan.

The French surrendered the fort to the British in 1760 and the British changed the name to Fort Detroit. The British made the fort even stronger. Fort Detroit was attacked by Indians during Pontiac’s War in 1763, but the Indians never overcame the strong defenses. The British used Fort Detroit as a base to plan and launch Indian raids into the Ohio Valley. Fort Detroit became an American fort in 1796.

Source: Mapquest

Detroit was relatively easy to build on, except that it was quite wet and swampy, which did pose sompe problems. But, it had fairly few moraines, and because of this, the land in Detroit was very flat. Also, it had very easy access to the Great Lakes, because it was right on one. You can tell this in almost any picture of Detroit, because there are never hills in the pictures of Detroit. Below is a sample of some early photos form Detroit when it became more industrial.