On this day in 1845, Douglass Houghton, Michigan's state geologist, drowned in Lake Superior. He mapped much of the state and is honored with the namesake of Michigan's tallest waterfall, as well as the city, county, and lake of Houghton. A former mayor of Detroit, he lobbied for federal funding to study the territory's mineral wealth. Tragically, his boat capsized during an exploration, leading to his untimely death near Eagle River.
TRANSCRIPT
Today we take a look back into early Michigan colonial history. It was on this day in 1845 that Douglass Houghton would drown in Lake Superior. He was the state geologist who mapped most of Michigan, and is namesake for Michigan’s tallest Waterfall, as well as for the city, county, and lake of Houghton. He was beloved in Detroit first as professor and lecturer on science and was even elected mayor in 1842, which he reluctantly accepted. Houghton lobbied Washington DC for more federal funding for geological studies of the burgeoning territory, which was granted enabled studies of the mineral wealth, much of it beneath the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. Sadly, it was during one of these explorations that his small boat capsized during a storm and Douglass Houghton met his fateful end today in 1845 on Lake Superior near Eagle River.