2026 marks 200 years since the first permanent white settler arrived in modern day Grand Rapids. To commemorate, News 8 will produce a series of stories throughout the year profiling some of the city’s founders and those who helped shape Grand Rapids into what it is today.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The city of Grand Rapids officially celebrated its 175th anniversary last year. The city was formally incorporated on April 2, 1850, but it took years of hard work to reach that landmark. It started in earnest in 1826.
In November of 1826, Louis Campau reached what we now know as downtown Grand Rapids and set up shop, becoming the first permanent white settler in the area…