Belle Isle Greenhouses

Known as Wah-na-be-zee (Swan Island or White Swan) to its original owners, the Chippewa and Ottawa tribes, Belle Isle first interested European settlers when Antoine De la Mothe Cadillac granted the island as a commons to the inhabitants of the village of Detroit. These first inhabitants used the island as grazing land for livestock, principally hogs, and it was for this reason renamed Ile au Cochons (Hog Island). France surrendered Detroit to Great Britain in 1760, and in 1762, a part of the island was claimed by Lt. George McDougall, an officer attached to the Detroit garrison. McDougall built a house on the island, cleared a parcel of land, and shared the island with a family named Fisher. The entire Fisher family was murdered by Indians in the reign of terror following the unsuccessful attack upon the Fort of Detroit by Chief Pontiac in 1763. McDougall escaped the massacre and later the same year he married Marie Navarre, the daughter of a prominent French inhabitant and royal notary. Encouraged by his new family connections, he applied to the King of England for a grant of the entire island. He met the council of Chippewa and Ottawa chiefs and in return for 5 barrels of rum, 3 rolls of tobacco, 3 pounds of vermilion paint, and 1 belt of wampum received a conveyance from them. The deed was signed in 1769 by the chiefs in the presence of Captain George Turnbull, commander of the fort, and a body of officers. On obtaining final possession of the island, McDougall paid the chiefs an additional 3 barrels of rum and 3 pounds of vermilion paint. The McDougall family retained possession of the island until 1793 when it was purchased by William Macomb. The island was next acquired by Barnabus Campau who bought it from one of Macomb's sons in 1817.

"GREENHOUSES- Adjacent to the aquarium and horticultural building are twenty greenhouses. Nine of these were built by the City of Detroit between 1899 and 1911 at a cost of about $32,000. They are generally 20 feet wide by 100 feet long by 12 feet high. The original structures were of wood and glass construction with masonry foundation walls. The value of the greenhouses is two-fold. Historically, they have been an unchanging building form prominent by their long, linear, glass structure. They have undergone technical but not character changes. Greenhouses have been on the island since 1899, their numbers constantly increasing thus, they represent a unifying element between the present and the past. They lend a peaceful character to the island which is very much a part of the Belle Isle tradition. Also, they have performed a service to the City of Detroit by regularly supplying plant materials to the city's social and government facilities."