Exploring American History. Next, a look at recent visit to Traverse City, michigan. You are watching American History tv all weekend, every weekend on cspan3. Until 1863, 90 5 of the settlement, was about the fur , missionaries to the indians, logging industry, et cetera. After 1863, the United States government decided to give away all of their land. After that, any citizen or future citizen of the u. S. Could have 160 acres of land as long as they would live on it and improve it for five years. That created a monumental change to this area and all of michigan and the country. A fair percentage of them, 30 or 40 did come over land. Others, my ancestors from pennsylvania, came west of buffalo from the pittsburgh area. From buffalo, they went to northport, and then they unloaded all of the above, the wagons, the livestock, the horses, everything, and traveled overland 70 miles south to northport. The land at the mouth of the river was settled by an individual named boardman in 1847. In