1853 Map of the City of Grand Rapids. Original is in the Michigan Room at the Grand Rapids Public Library.
As this map took up so much memory, it was necessary to consolidate three annotations: schools, street name changes and re-plats. It will take a very long time to access over a slow connection.
From Baxter's History 1891(Annotated to match with this 1853 map).
VILLAGE ROADS AND CITY STREETS.
The primitive roads of the little village of Grand Rapids were devious, winding ways, and hard roads to travel. At first they were only the Indian trails or foot-paths.
A trail from the southeast came in past Reeds Lake, to about where Lake avenue now joins Fulton street, and thence in a zigzag course down to the river near the foot of the rapids. (The rapids ended near today's Lyon St). The Thornapple road came in by the trail first mentioned to Fulton street and down a ravine (roughly Washington St) toward the junction of Jefferson avenue and State street. (This road became a combination of today's Lake Drive into and continuing as Robinson Road since Fulton did not go through but ended at a swamp).
A lighter trail came in at Coldbrook (the creek above which Coldbrook Street runs today), and along the west base of the bluffs or next the river bank to the lower part of town. (This perhaps would have been Canal or Lower Monroe).
Another came from the southeast, entering about where State street is ---. The Bostwick Road, as it was called, came in from the direction of Green Lake, its entrance being about where now is the State street line. (This map shows a jagged route lying southwest of State Street that says "old territorial Bd Road" (board road?)), --- and from there pursuing a serpentine course to and around the southern base of Prospect Hill, rounding its angle near the foot of Monroe street, thence circuitously to the fur-trading station at the foot of Huron street. (The tip of Monroe is referred to as State Road and combined with Monroe which ran along the south edge of Prospect Hill).
There was also a trail that came up near the river from Grandville, leading to the same point. (Perhaps this was Grandville Ave)
On the west side were the trails from Grand Haven and Muskegon, and such Indian hunting grounds as lay in that direction, (Perhaps Walker Avenue)
and another from the northward reaching the Indian village hereby way of the little valley of Mill Creek (near Ann St and Turner Ave).
The large Indian village here (Straight Ave east to the river, Bridge Street south to the river) made of the rapids a central point for the natives of this section, much as our town is to-day for the people who have supplanted them.
EARLY WAGON ROADS.
Naturally the first wagon roads to the village came in by or near those paths which the Indians had trod, and were correspondingly crooked; and for some years little or nothing was done to straighten and improve them except by private enterprise.
From the southward the early farmers drove in by way of the present site of the fair ground (Section 18 of Paris Twp), and along the edge of the dry land some distance east of Division street.
A road from the southern part of the county, or that portion of it west of the Division street line produced southward, joining another that came up the river, formed the one which is still known as the Grandville Road. (Grandville Avenue was continued north of Wealthy in the 1920's)
FIRST VILLAGE ROADS.
Within the present limits of the city, during the village days, and even as late as 1850, there were wagon roads winding in in various directions, unfenced, and unworked save by the wear of travel. The most feasible passage from the head of Monroe street to the Bridge street bridge, when that was built, was by a wagon track passing the National Hotel corner, skirting along the eastern slope of Prospect Hill a little west of Ionia street, crossing in a muddy gully the little creek which formerly ran around the north end of the hill, and picking the way carefully over dry spots and past bogs near Kent to Bridge street, thence through a miry slough to the bridge.
A similar wagon track ran in a zigzag course near the foot of the hill from Coldbrook to Bridge street. The road toward Plainfield sought the dry places, but did not escape all the muddy ones.
Nowhere within the village limits was there a good east and west wagon road. From Fulton street east of the public square was one that climbed the hill in a northeasterly direction through a ravine which reached the summit a little east of where the Central School building now stands (Ransom Avenue south of Lyon St), and thence wound its way among the oak grubs back to the Thornapple Road (Lake Dr).
On the west side were less of ups and downs, but there was plenty of variety in the alternating patches of stony and gravelly and miry grounds, and for nearly twenty years the teamster chose his route (inside of what is now the town) over unfenced lands, through bushes and past the bad places, by what appeared to be the most feasible way.
This condition of things has long since passed, and it is only by the eye of the mind that one can see and comprehend the great change that has taken place from the ragged, original roads to the handsomely graded streets.
Plat Maps: North to South, West to East
West Side of the Grand River
Tryon's 'Addition, registered 3 April 1854, reregistered 1915 - just south of Leonard Street, just west of the Grand River
Richmond's Addition, registered 1850, just north of 11th Street, adjacent to the Grand River
Smith and Van Allen re-registered 1927, N: 11th Street, W: West Division (Seward) S: 1/4 line along VanBuren Street (7th Street), E: Grand River
Schriber and Turner, platted 1843 & 1847, registered 1872, N: 1/4 line along VanBuren (7th) Street, W: West Division (Seward), S: Bridge St, E: Grand River
Cuming's and Ferry N: Stone (5th), W: Stocking, S: Bridge, E: Seward
Scribner's Addition (Subscriber's sic) N: Bridge Street, W: Alpine/Straight, S: North line of lot 3 (Fulton), E: West Division (Seward)
Coggeshalls Addition: N: Bridge Street, W: West Division (Seward), S:North
line of lot 3 (Fulton) E: Grand River
Apparently this plat was never registered or the map burned in the 1860
fire. Baxter's History talks about
some land dispute possibly with Mr. Coggeshall that was won by the Baptist
Mission on behalf of the Indians who subsequently sold the land to Mr. Converse. This area was surveyed
and the roads were graded in 1856 and
registered as the
Converse Plat in 1857
East Side of the Grand River
Jewett's Fraction is not mentioned so it may not have existed before 1853 but was probably usurped by Tanner Taylor in 1857.
This area would have been north of Coldbrook Stream.
Kent Plat (Rent sic) recorded 1836 N: Coldbrook Stream, W: Grand River, S: Pearl St, E: Coit,
Campau Plat, Recorded 1837 N: Lyon/Pearl, W: Grand River, S: Fulton, E: Division
Kent Forty N: Pearl, W: Division/Grand River, S: Fulton/Cherry, E: Ransom
Dexter's Fraction of the Village of Kent recorded 1836, N: 1/4 line comparable to Bradford Street W: Division Street S: Campau Addition (Fountain Street) E: Coit
Campau's Addition #1 recorded 1835, area around and including Veteran's Memorial Park
Bostwick's Addition re-registered 1910 N: Veteran's Memorial Park, W: Division, S: Wealthy E: Jefferson
Smith's Sub recorded 1848 N: Washington W: Jefferson, S:: Cherry; E: 1/4 line (Madison)
Kendall's N: Bridge, W: 1/4 line (Barclay/Ransom) S: Fulton E: Prospect
This addition probably usurped the Hatch Addition
Campau's 2ns N: Fulton W: Lafayette S: Washington E: Union
Morrison recorded 1848 N; Cherry W: Jefferson S: Wealthy E: Lafayette (St. Mary's Hospital)
Williams NE of Smith's Sub, south of Campau's 2nd, W: College S: Cherry
The owner of the land who hired the surveyor to lay out the plat had the privilege of naming the streets within the plat.. Lucius Lyons, responsible for the Village of Kent laid out the Kent Plat (not Rent as shown on the map). Louis Campau responsible for the Village of Grand Rapids laid out the Campau Plat. Their streets deliberately did NOT connect so an illicit pathway came about and is labeled "A" for Arcade. This walkway still exists today as a sidewalk between Flanary's Bar and a parking garage. After Campau's death his streets were renamed and are indicated by only a capital letter as I know of no way to write slanted. "M" for Market, "O" for Ottawa, "I" for Ionia, "C" for Commerce now vacated. (It was called Official). The east course of the river was filled in and a new plat was created in 1868 Island Addition extended in 1874 Extention, usurped by an extension of Monroe Avenue c. 1980. The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel (formerly Pantlind) and National City Bank (formerly Woolworth's) are located in what was previously the Grand River.
Street name changes: It gives the modern name but there might have been intermediate names. City streeet name changes
Schools
When the City came into existences in 1850 it annexed three schools; one from Walker Township, one from Grand Rapids Township School District #6 and one from Grand Rapids Township School District #1. The City kept these three separate districts and named them City District #2, City District #6 and City District #1..
The West Side was District #2. The map shows the original school at the time of annexation marked with a "W". Then in 1854 this district purchased a new site which is indicated by a "U". Two primary schools were added, "T" for Turner and "JS" for Jefferson Street later renamed Lexington.
District 6 was called Coldbrook. The original school at the time of annexation is marked "CP" for Coldbrook Primary. This district built a new school at a new location in 1860 indicated by "CG" for Coldbrook Grammar. Another site was purchased indicated by "NI" for North Ionia.
District #1 began with its centrally located union (graded) school, now Central High School. Four primary schools were added in 1860; #1 North Division, #2 South Division #3 Fountain #4 Wealthy renamed VandenBerg
From Article: Maps
From Heading Geography and the City of Grand Rapids
From web site: MyCityofGrandRapids.info