Michigan - Lower Peninsula

Miami, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes lived in the Lower Peninsula when French explorer Étienne Brulé arrived in 1620. He named the region New France. By 1700, missionaries had explored much of the region, built missions and trading posts throughout both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. In 1805, the Lower Peninsula and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula became the Territory of Michigan. The Lower Peninsula offers outdoor recreational opportunities such as skiing, snowmobiling, boating and fishing.