Lansing

Sister cities

• Saltillo
• Cosenza
• Guadalajara
• Sakaide

History

The first recorded person of European descent to travel through the area that is now Lansing was British fur trader Hugh Heward and his French-Canadian team on April 24, 1790, while canoeing the Grand River. The land that was to become Lansing was surveyed as "Township 4 North Range 2 West" in February 1827 in what was then dense forest. It was the last of the county's townships to be surveyed, and the land was not offered for sale until October 1830. There would be no roads to this area for decades to come. Historians have lamented the persistence of a myth about Lansing's founding. The incorrect story of Lansing's beginnings states that in the winter of 1835 and early 1836, two brothers from New York plotted the area now known as REO Town just south of downtown Lansing and named it "Biddle City". This land lay in a floodplain and was underwater during the majority of the year. Nevertheless, the brothers went back to Lansing, New York, to sell plots for the town that did not exist. They told the New Yorkers this new "city" had an area of 65 blocks, a church and a public and academic square. 16 men bought plots in the nonexistent city, and upon reaching the area later that year found they were the victims of the scam. Many in the group, disappointed and now without funds to move on again, opted to stay and ended up settling around what is now metropolitan Lansing. The story has persisted due to a 1904 newspaper article, which cited a memoir told by Daniel W. Buck, a respected Lansing mayor and son of one of the early pioneers. His story was cited in Michigan pioneer papers and retold in newspaper articles multiple times in the decades that followed. His characterization of the city as being born from a "land scam" was incorrect, though his story had some elements of…

Geography

Lansing is the centerpiece of a region of Michigan known as Mid-Michigan. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. This figure includes two 425 Agreements with Alaiedon Township and Meridian Township, and the four 425 Agreements with Delta Township since 2000. Since the 2010 census, the city has entered into two additional 425 Agreements. The first agreement consisted of the temporary transfer of 1,888.2 acres of Lansing Capital Region International Airport to the city from DeWitt Township in 2011. The second agreement consisted of the temporary transfer of in Alaiedon Township for the expansion of the headquarters of Jackson National Life Insurance Company in 2013 bringing the area either fully or conditionally under control of the city to . There are two lakes in the area, Park Lake and Lake Lansing, both northeast of the city. Lake Lansing is approximately in size and is a summer favorite for swimmers, boaters, and fishermen. Michigan State University Sailing Club and the Lansing Sailing Club are located on Lake Lansing, where sailing regattas are hosted throughout the summer. The City of Lansing operates a total of of parkland, of which is parkland, are golflands, and are cemetery lands. However, this figure includes the Waverly Hills Golf Course and adjacent Michigan Avenue Park, whose are located within neighboring Lansing Township, but operated by the City of Lansing, and does not include the of the combined Hawk Island County Park and adjacent Soldan Dog Park operated by Ingham County within the city of Lansing. All together then, of the city (or approximately 10%) is publicly administered open space. The city's downtown is dominated by state government buildings, especially the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,223
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  20,039
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,747
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  17,977
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,941
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  15,722
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,691
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,540

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2015-06-30
  5 km NNE of Burlington, Michigan
• M 4.2 — 2015-05-02
  5 km S of Galesburg, Michigan