1701day.year
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founds the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later becomes the city of Detroit.
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac establishes Fort Pontchartrain, the seed of modern Detroit, in 1701.
On July 24, 1701, French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a trading post on the Detroit River, naming it Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit. The post served as a strategic hub for the fur trade and French colonial expansion in the Great Lakes region. Cadillac envisioned the settlement as a center of commerce and a bulwark against British encroachment. Over time, the fort attracted settlers, traders, and allied Native American tribes. The community that grew around it eventually evolved into the city of Detroit. This foundation marked a pivotal moment in the history of North American settlement and Franco-Indigenous relations.
1701
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
Fort Pontchartrain
Detroit