653:. On August 26, 1817, the Governor and Judges of the Michigan Territory signed the university act into law. The Catholepistmiad originally had the authority to "establish colleges, academies, schools, libraries, museums, atheneums, botanical gardens, laboratories, and other useful literary and scientific institutions consonant to the laws of the United States and of Michigan, and provide for and appoint Directors, Visitors, Curators, Librarians, Instructors and Instructrixes among and throughout the various counties, cities, towns, townships, or other geographical divisions of Michigan." He urged its development along similar themes to the
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He was born Elias
Brevoort Woodward in 1774 in New York, the son of John and Ann Silvester Woodward. His mother was of Flemish ancestry, and his father was of English descent. John Woodward was a merchant and importer, as well as a member of the Continental Army. The family lived in Manhattan on the
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While living in
Washington, D.C., Woodward was described as "a man of middle age, a hardened bachelor who wore nut-brown clothing . . . he slept in his office which was never swept ... and was eccentric and erratic. His friends were few and his practice was so small that he hardly made a
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in
Detroit, originally called Court House Avenue and other names, was popularly named after the justice's work in city planning and rebuilding. Woodward, somewhat in jest, claimed the road's name was simply related to the fact that it traveled toward the wooded area to the north of the city.
473:, possessed all the legislative power in the Territory. Woodward and Griffin, along with the current Governor and a third judge, held this power from 1805 until the institution of a legislature in 1824. Woodward and Hull bickered almost constantly. One of Woodward's legacies is the
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at its center. Wide avenues, alternatively 200 feet and 120 feet, were designed to radiate from large circular plazas like spokes from the hub of a wheel. Most prominent of these are the construction of the six main "spokes" of
Woodward,
425:. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall, and was thin, sallow, and stooped. His long, narrow face was dominated by a big nose. He had thick, black hair. His contemporaries commented on his slovenliness.
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of 160-acre rectangular farms girded by rectangular roads. This new platting became the basis for the modern layout of
Detroit. Despite this remnants of the original plan can still be found within the city's
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Though ambitious, Woodward's Plan for
Detroit would ultimately be discarded in 1817 while he was away in Washington. Instead of following the pattern laid out by Woodward, then Territorial Governor
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492:, by which fugitive slaves escaped from the South. After Canada had abolished slavery, many went across the river to escape slave catchers who operated even in the northern border areas.
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Woodward protected the free status of
Michigan Territory in regard to slavery. In 1807 as Territorial Justice, he refused to allow the return of two slaves owned by a man in
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following a devastating fire in 1805. He promoted an urban design based on radial avenues, as in
Washington, DC and Paris. He is also known as one of the founders of the
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which followed a route from
Detroit to Saginaw via Flint. It is likely that a series of Indian trails once radiated from the approximate location of the
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Considered a hero upon his return to
Washington, DC, Woodward soon concentrated on science (a lifelong interest). He also promoted the founding of the
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professor of city planning John William Reps writes that this original 1807 design for Detroit was "one of the most unusual city plans ever devised.”
488:(present-day Ontario). Woodward declared that any man "coming into this Territory is by law of the land a freeman." Detroit became a station on the
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living." But while working in Washington, he got to know President Thomas Jefferson, and they shared scientific and education interests.
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on June 30, 1805, he found the city in ruins from the devastating fire earlier that month on June 11. Few buildings were left standing.
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Woodward was described as being among the first to recognize the coming of the scientific age. In 1816, he published his seminal work,
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511:. While Hull and Justices Bates and Griffin left, Woodward stayed and maintained his judicial status in Detroit during the British
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Woodford, Frank D. Mr Jefferson's Disciple - A Life of Justice Woodward. Michigan State College Press, 1953, pages 17-18
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Ronnick, Michele V. and Beaudoen, Marlise. Detroit and Rome: Building on the Past. University of Michigan, 2005, page 2
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Eventually, he became a problem for the British. He was asked to leave the territory and was granted safe passage to
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Hinsdale, Burke A. (1906). Demmon, Isaac, ed. History of the University of Michigan. University of Michigan.
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platted 10,000-acres of the surrounding countryside into a more typical (for Midwestern America)
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Woodward never married. His biographer, Arthur M. Woodford, describes Woodward as a prototype of
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and Woodward knew each other personally. Jefferson appointed Woodward on March 3, 1805, as the
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a series of statutes serving as the basis of the Territorial Supreme Court legal procedures.
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and this may have inspired the choice of a radial geometry for Woodward's city plan.
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767:. Winder's Memories. Detroit: Richard P. Joy and Clarence M. Burton. p. 241.
370:(born Elias Brevoort Woodward; November 1774 – June 12, 1827) was the first
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The making of urban America: a history of city planning in the United States
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The alignment of Woodward Avenue seems to coincide with the axis of the
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817:"The Detroit that never was: How the Woodward Plan died 197 years ago"
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Woodward is commemorated in a Michigan Legal Milestone erected by the
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August 26, 1824, saw Woodward's return to the judiciary, as President
643:, Woodward drafted a charter for an institution under the name of the
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Woodward proposed a system of hexagonal street blocks, with the
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The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar
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The Early Bench and Bar of Detroit from 1805 to the End of 1850
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522:. The United States regained control of Detroit in 1813.
410:, he later read the law and practiced as an attorney in
686:. Woodward served in that capacity until his death in
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853:"Woodward Avenue, Detroit's Grand old 'Main Street'"
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90:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
706:Woodward Avenue in Detroit is named after him.
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1015:Chief justices of the Michigan Supreme Court
545:Following the destruction of Detroit in the
534:Woodward's plan following the 1805 fire for
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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386:, established by the legislature in 1817.
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316:March 3, 1805 – February 1, 1824
230:Learn how and when to remove this message
212:Learn how and when to remove this message
150:Learn how and when to remove this message
981:, Michigan Supreme Court History Society
793:. Leelanau Communications. 3 August 2006
682:appointed him to a judgeship in the new
282:August 26, 1824 – June 12, 1827
175:This article includes a list of general
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635:(in 1817) as a state institution. With
1035:Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court
829:from the original on November 13, 2021
538:'s baroque styled radial avenues and
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787:"Slavery in the Northwest Territory"
690:on June 12, 1827, at the age of 52.
88:adding citations to reliable sources
851:Baulch, Vivian M. (June 13, 1999).
1010:Columbia College (New York) alumni
968:A Portrait of Augustus B. Woodward
902:. Princeton University Press, 1996
507:without a shot being fired in the
503:) Hull surrendered Detroit to the
395:corner of Pine and Pearl Streets.
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815:Jackman, Michael (June 1, 2015).
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1030:19th-century American judges
451:. When Woodward arrived in
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761:Ross, Robert Budd (1907).
368:Augustus Brevoort Woodward
1020:Legal history of Michigan
926:Michigan Legal Milestones
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974:Judge Augustus Woodward
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196:more precise citations.
922:"7. Augustus Woodward"
884:Reps, John W. (1965).
655:University of Virginia
633:University of Michigan
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99:"Augustus B. Woodward"
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304:Territory of Michigan
684:Territory of Florida
671:Woodward was also a
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270:Territory of Florida
246:Augustus B. Woodward
84:improve this article
724:Michigan portal
526:Planning of Detroit
402:. After working in
300:United States Judge
266:United States Judge
865:on January 4, 2009
637:Rev. John Monteith
580:Cornell University
547:Great Fire of 1805
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445:Michigan Territory
433:Michigan Territory
406:as a clerk in the
376:Michigan Territory
979:Augustus Woodward
791:Absolute Michigan
751:Woodford, page 19
694:Legacy and honors
540:Grand Circus Park
509:Battle of Detroit
501:Brigadier General
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938:. Retrieved
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322:Appointed by
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1000:1827 deaths
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940:October 21,
869:January 31,
822:Metro Times
688:Tallahassee
639:and Father
627:Later years
568:Grand River
497:War of 1812
495:During the
194:introducing
989:Categories
730:References
608:Lewis Cass
513:occupation
390:Early life
177:references
110:newspapers
39:improve it
673:Freemason
612:Grid Plan
576:Jefferson
447:'s first
438:President
312:In office
278:In office
45:talk page
827:Archived
773:14096631
711:See also
617:downtown
564:Michigan
520:New York
460:Governor
302:for the
268:for the
649:or the
572:Gratiot
536:Detroit
505:British
482:Windsor
453:Detroit
380:Detroit
374:of the
190:improve
124:scholar
833:Nov 7,
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574:, and
179:, but
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131:JSTOR
117:books
942:2012
871:2010
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799:2012
769:OCLC
469:and
350:Died
342:Born
103:news
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