The Epic Clash Of Michigan And Ohio Goes Beyond Football

The history between Michigan and Ohio runs deeper than just football, with a territorial dispute that’s as fierce as any rivalry on the field.

As a Michigander, it was tough to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes trample the Michigan Wolverines in football this year.  However, Michigan's record against Ohio State leans in the Wolverines' favor 62-52-6.  The Michigan vs. Ohio rivalry runs much deeper than football.  Did you know Michigan went to war with Ohio over the city of Toledo?

Exactly 189 years ago, the Michigan/Ohio War, also known as the Toledo War, came to an end.  And because of the changes that came on the day of December 14, 1836, Michigan gained the Upper Peninsula and became a state.

Mistakes were made back in 1787 when Congress drafted the Northwest Ordinance.  The map was several miles off, according to History.com,

As a result, the original border placed the mouth of the Maumee River and the future city of Toledo in northern Ohio rather than in southern Michigan.

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The tension between the Wolverine State and the Buckeye State raged for many years without resolution.  Both Ohio and Michigan claimed a 468 square mile area named the Toledo Strip after a land survey in 1810.  There was a lot of drama in this battle, but no deaths until 1835.  Michigan Sheriff Joseph Wood is known to be the only fatality in what is now called the Toledo War.  The Federal Government did everything it could to de-escalate the drama with little to no success.

It wasn't until 1836 that this issue was resolved.  Michigan gave up its right to the Toledo Strip and, in turn, received 9,000 square miles of land that is connected to Wisconsin.  We now call that land Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

All of this resulted in Michigan becoming a state, Ohio getting the Toledo Strip, now known as Toledo, and Wisconsin losing 9,000 square miles of land surrounded by 2 Great Lakes that Michigan now calls the U.P.