State of Michigan - National Parks Gallery

Name: Michigan
Level: 210-ft.
Dates: 1850-52/1885/1916
Original materials: copper, silver letters and shield
Dimensions: 1' 9" x 3'
Sculptor/Carver: not known
Original inscription: Michigan An Emblem of Her Trust in the Union [abbr.]
Documented material history:
• 1850: “The Copper block for the Washington Monument, says the Lake Superior Journal, came down from the Cliff Mine by the propeller Independence on her last trip. It is a splendid mass of native copper, presenting a surface of 3 1⁄2 by 2 1⁄2 feet,
about 10 inches in thickness, and weighing 2,180 lbs. It will go down on the London, where it will be prepared for its place in the noblest of Earth’s Monuments.” [BDE, August 13, 1850.]
• 1852: “Detroit, April 24.—The block of native copper which was ordered by the Legislature of Michigan as the contribution of this State to the National Monument, was shipped this morning to Buffalo.” [Georgetown Advocate, March 29, 1852.]