Campau family

The Campau family is a historic French-descended family identified with the early European settlement and development of southeastern and western Michigan. Its origins in the Detroit area trace to Michel and Jacques Campau, brothers from Montreal who settled at Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit in 1707 and 1708. The family name is occasionally rendered as Campeau. Although the Campaus are not a contemporary commercial brand, the family became prominent through fur trading, landholding, public service, treaty-related activity, and the establishment of trading posts that later developed into Michigan communities. Several generations of Campaus participated in the regional fur economy. Joseph Campau, Louis Campau Sr., Louis Campau Jr., Barnabas Campau, Antoine Campau, and George Campau operated or supported trading posts across what is now Michigan. Their commercial activity connected Detroit with Indigenous communities, Canada, New York, and interior settlements. Some family members also participated in negotiations and agreements involving Native American nations and the federal government, activities that were financially significant to the period but occurred within the broader and often coercive process of U.S. territorial expansion. Joseph Campau became one of Detroit's leading citizens and landowners in the early nineteenth century. He was associated with real-estate development and held several municipal offices, including trustee, treasurer, assessor, appraiser, and overseer of the poor. He was described in historical accounts as Michigan's first millionaire. His family connections also linked the Campaus with other influential Michigan families, including the Palms family through his daughter Catherine's marriage to Francis Palms. The family was particularly important to the growth of inland Michigan settlements. Louis Campau Jr. established a trading post at Saginaw in the 1810s and another at the site of present-day Grand Rapids in 1826. In 1831 he acquired land that became part of Grand Rapids' downtown business district, and he is remembered, with Lucius Lyon, as one of the city's founders. Other Campau trading posts were associated with Manlius, Maple Rapids, Lowell, Eaton Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, and Hastings. The family's landholding extended beyond urban Detroit. Barnabas Campau purchased Belle Isle in 1817; the island was later sold to the city of Detroit in 1879. Campau-associated streets, districts, neighborhoods, buildings, a lake, and public spaces remain part of the historical geography of Detroit and western Michigan. By the twentieth century, descendants were concentrated principally in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Chicago. The family is therefore best understood as a historical lineage and civic legacy rather than an operating brand, corporation, or product business.

The Campau family's documented Michigan history begins with Michel and Jacques Campau, brothers whose parents were Étienne Campau and Catherine Paulo of Montreal. Michel settled at Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on August 3, 1707, while Jacques arrived the following year. The brothers obtained land associated with the early French settlement founded by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Michel worked as a farmer and had a family with Jeanne Masse. Jacques worked as a blacksmith and married Cecile Catlin. Their descendants formed the principal Campau lineage associated with Detroit. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Campau family members combined trade, agriculture, landholding, and public service. Joseph Campau, a later descendant of Jacques, became one of Detroit's most prominent residents. He developed substantial real-estate holdings and served in a range of civic positions as Detroit was incorporated and its institutions took shape. His offices included city trustee, treasurer, inspector of water barrels, assessor, appraiser, and overseer of the poor. His wealth and influence placed him among the early elite of Michigan, sometimes characterized in historical writing as part of Detroit's first generation of local barons. The family also developed a broad fur-trading network. Joseph, Louis Campau Sr., Louis Campau Jr., Barnabas, Antoine, and George Campau traded in Detroit and at interior posts, with commercial links extending through Canada and New York. These posts served both as places of exchange and as nuclei for later settlements. George Campau was associated with Maple Rapids. Louis Campau founded or operated posts connected with Saginaw and Grand Rapids, while other family members were associated with Manlius, Lowell, Eaton Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, and Hastings. Louis Campau, born in 1791, entered the fur trade as a child under the influence of his father and uncle Joseph. He served with the United States Army during the War of 1812. He established a trading post near present-day Saginaw during the 1810s and was involved in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw, negotiated by General Lewis Cass with Indigenous nations of the Great Lakes region. The treaty transferred more than six million acres in central Michigan's Lower Peninsula to the United States, forming part of the territorial transformation that enabled later settler expansion. In 1826 Louis moved west to the Grand Rapids area, where he established a trading post. In 1831 he purchased land from the federal government for what became part of the city's downtown. His role in Grand Rapids' early development led to his later recognition as one of the city's founders. Antoine Campau, Louis's brother, was also active in the fur trade and was present at the Saginaw post in the mid-1810s. Historical discussions have connected him with Odawa chief Cobmoosa, but the chronology presented in the reference material makes that claimed paternity doubtful because the Antoine born in 1797 was too young to have been Cobmoosa's father. Cobmoosa himself was an important Indigenous leader in the Ionia region and later participated in negotiations concerning relocation and land. Barnabas Campau expanded the family's real-estate legacy through his 1817 purchase of Belle Isle, a major island in the Detroit River. The property remained associated with the family until its sale to the city of Detroit in 1879. Other Campaus contributed to the region's settlement in different ways. Pierre Michel Campau became the first settler in the area now known as Southgate, Michigan, moving there in 1795. Marie-Cecile Campau was connected through marriage to the Williams family; her descendants included John R. Williams, Detroit's first mayor. Many Campau descendants were later buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. The family's historical footprint survives in place names and structures, including Joseph Campau Street, the Joseph Campau Historic District, the Campau Block in Detroit, North Campau and Campau/Banglatown neighborhoods, Campau Lake in Kent County, and Campau-named streets and public spaces in Grand Rapids. By the twentieth century, descendants were chiefly associated with Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Chicago. The Campau family is consequently significant as a lineage in Michigan's colonial, territorial, commercial, and urban history, not as a current business enterprise.

• 1879

  Belle Isle is sold to Detroit

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  The city of Detroit acquired Belle Isle after its ownership by Barnabas Campau's estate and family interests.

• 1831

  Louis Campau acquires land in Grand Rapids

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Louis Campau bought land that became part of the downtown business district of Grand Rapids.

• 1826

  Louis Campau establishes a Grand Rapids trading post

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Louis Campau moved west and established a trading post at the site that became Grand Rapids.

• 1819

  Louis Campau participates in the Treaty of Saginaw context

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Louis Campau was involved in the negotiations surrounding the Treaty of Saginaw, through which the United States acquired extensive land in central Michigan from Indigenous nations.

• 1817

  Barnabas Campau purchases Belle Isle

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Barnabas Campau acquired Belle Isle in the Detroit River, a property later transferred to the city of Detroit.

• 1815

  Campau trading activity expands around Saginaw

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Louis Campau established a trading post near present-day Saginaw during the period around 1815, while Antoine Campau was also active there.

• 1795

  Pierre Michel Campau settles in present-day Southgate

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pierre Michel Campau moved into the area that later developed as Southgate, Michigan.

• 1708

  Jacques Campau arrives in Detroit

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Jacques Campau settled at Detroit and worked as a blacksmith, becoming an ancestor of later prominent Campau figures.

• 1707

  Michel Campau settles at Detroit

  [1]Campau familyen.wikipedia.org

  Michel Campau settled at Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, establishing the family's documented presence in the Detroit settlement.

Historical family name associated with Detroit settlement, Michigan fur trading, land development, civic office, and the founding or early growth of several Michigan communities.

1. 1Campau familyen.wikipedia.org