Evolution of Michigan's Legal Boundaries

The Toledo Strip

Part 1: The boundary with Ohio was hotly contested in the 1830s as a result of two surveys that left an area of dispute amounting to 468 square miles on the Michigan-Ohio boundary. At the time of statehood, Michigan accepted the western portion of the Upper Peninsula instead of the "Toledo Strip".

Part 2: By 1914 survey markers had disappeared and the referenced "North Cape" of the Maumee river had eroded. To settle the new dispute peacefully, the line was re-surveyed and marked with sturdy granite pillars. Both sides agreed to accept whatever lines were agreed by landowners on both sides of the state line, resulting in a "sawtooth" shaped boundary.

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