Early history Prior to European settlement, what is now Traverse City was part of the territory of the
Council of Three Fires, an alliance of three
Anishinaabe tribes, the
Odawa,
Ojibwe, and
Potawatomi. The Odawa, who were particularly prevalent in the area, called the area
Kitchiwikwedongsing, a name which was often shortened to
Wequetong, meaning "place at the head of the great bay". The area was the northern end of what is today known as the
Old Indian Trail, a trail which serviced travel for the
Hopewell, and later the Anishinaabe, coming to and from the
Cadillac area. Grand Traverse Bay was named by 18th-century French
voyageurs who made '''', or "the long crossing", across the mouth of the bay, from present-day
Norwood to
Northport. The area was French territory at first, and then part of the
Kingdom of Great Britain as the
Province of Quebec. The area was ceded to the United States in 1783 following the
Treaty of Paris, becoming part of the
Northwest Territory. In 1847, Captain Horace Boardman of
Naperville, Illinois, purchased the land at the mouth of the
Boardman River (then known as the Ottawa River) at the head of the west arm of the bay, which at the time was still inhabited by Native Americans. The captain, his son, and their employees first sailed into the river on June 13, 1847, and later built a dwelling and
sawmill near the mouth of the river. In 1851, the Boardmans sold the sawmill to Hannah, Lay & Co (made up of
Perry Hannah, Albert Tracy Lay and James Morgan), who improved the mill greatly. The increased investment in the mill attracted additional settlers to the new community. Perry Hannah today is known as the
founding father of Traverse City. Traverse City was originally part of Omeena County, which was originally set off in 1840 from
Michilimackinac County. The county remained unorganized, lacking a central government until 1851, when it was reorganized as Grand Traverse County. The newly designated county government was assigned a
county seat at '''Boardman's Mills''', a location in present-day downtown Traverse City.
Late 19th century As of 1853, the only operating post office in the Grand Traverse Bay region was the one located at
Old Mission, which was then known as "Grand Traverse". While in Washington, D.C. in 1852, Mr. Lay had succeeded in getting the U.S. Post Office to authorize a new
post office at his newer settlement. As the newer settlement had become known as "
Grand Traverse City", after the Grand Traverse Bay, Lay proposed this name for its post office, but the
Post Office Department clerk suggested dropping the "Grand" from the name, to limit confusion between this new office and the one at nearby Old Mission. Mr. Lay agreed to the shortened name of Traverse City for the post office, and the village took on this name. Around this time, the first cherry trees were being planted on the Old Mission Peninsula, for which the peninsula is widely known today. In December 1872, rail service arrived in Traverse City via a
Traverse City Railroad Company spur from the
Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad line at
Walton Junction. The railroad tracked along the Boardman River and along Boardman Lake into Traverse City, and ended at a station along the Grand Traverse Bay, at the corner of present-day Grandview Parkway and Park Street. This new line of transportation from Southern Michigan opened up the area to settlement and industrial development. Many more people started flocking to the small community, and in 1881, Traverse City was incorporated as a
village. This began the major commercial growth of the town. In 1890, another rail line was extended to Traverse City, this one from
Baldwin via
Copemish and
Interlochen. This line primarily served lumber companies, such as the Buckley & Douglas Lumber Company, and was used to transport logs from the vast forest of Northwest Michigan to sawmills in
Manistee and Traverse City. Two years later, new railroads were extended out of Traverse City. One line was extended along the bay into Leelanau County, and curved south to a preexisting spur at
Lake Ann. Another line was extended east into present-day
Williamsburg, and to
Charlevoix and
Petoskey. This railroad was largely to serve tourists. In 1881, the Northern Michigan Asylum, later the
Traverse City State Hospital, was established as the demand for a third
psychiatric hospital in Michigan, in addition to those established in
Kalamazoo and
Pontiac, began to grow. Perry Hannah, by then a prominent Michigan
Republican, used his political influence to secure its location in Traverse City. Under the supervision of prominent architect
Gordon W. Lloyd, the first building, known as Building 50, was constructed in
Victorian–
Italianate style according to the
Kirkbride Plan. The hospital opened in 1885 with 43 residents. Under Dr. James Decker Munson, the first superintendent from 1885 to 1924, the institution expanded. Twelve housing cottages and two infirmaries were built between 1887 and 1903 to meet the specific needs of male and female patients. The institution became the city's largest employer and contributed to its growth. While the hospital was established for the care of the mentally ill, its use expanded during outbreaks of
tuberculosis,
typhoid,
diphtheria,
influenza, and
polio. It also cared for the elderly, served as a rehab for drug addicts, and was used to train
nurses. On May 18, 1895, Traverse City was incorporated as a city. Perry Hannah served as the first
mayor of Traverse City, after also serving as first and third village president.
20th century for the 100th anniversary of Traverse City's founding in 1949 The first National Cherry Festival was held in Traverse City in 1925. It was first called "Blessing of the Blossoms" and held in the spring to attract people during the blooming season. With the exception of the years surrounding World War II, as well as during the 2020
COVID-19 lockdowns, the city has held this festival annually. The legislature moved the date of the festival to the summer, and it attracts tourists from around the state and across the country. During the week the festival takes place, the population of Traverse City rises from about 15,000 to about 500,000. In 2004 the legislature added "Blossom Days", again as a spring festival. Also in 1925,
Munson Medical Center opened, and has since grown to serve much of Northern Michigan and serves as one of Traverse City's largest employers. In 1929, Traverse City's first airport, Ransom Field, opened, offering flights to
Grand Rapids. It closed in 1936, when the new Traverse City Airport (now called
Cherry Capital Airport) was opened. In 1953 the grounds of Ransom Field were redeveloped as Memorial Gardens Cemetery. In 1934, the original Traverse City High School building burnt down, with no casualties. For three years, while the high school was being rebuilt, classes were moved to the
Perry Hannah House, the former residence of the city's founder. Classes were moved back to the new school building in September 1937.). In 1997, the high school split into
Traverse City Central and
Traverse City West High Schools due to extreme overcrowding at the 1960s building.
21st century On November 3, 2015, Traverse City elected Jim Carruthers, its
first openly gay mayor. After serving as mayor of Traverse City for six years, in June 2021 Jim Carruthers announced he would not run for his fourth mayoral term. May 18, 2020, served as the city's 125th anniversary of Traverse City's incorporation as a city in 1895, and was known as the "quarantine quasquicentennial". In April 2021, a group composed mostly of
White students from two Traverse City high schools held an online mock
slave auction via
social media app in a
private group chat titled "Slave Trade", wherein they traded their
Black student peers for monetary amounts while using derogatory language. After the local community was made aware of this event, a coalition of community members and Traverse City Area Public School (TCAPS) Board of Education officials drafted in response a resolution which denounced the behavior. The draft of the resolution itself led to community backlash initiated largely by White
conservative parents and community members who regarded the planned resolution to be "...interlaced with
critical race theory". In the aftermath of the backlash, the resolution was edited by TCAPS school board officials. No date for consideration of the revised resolution has been set. On July 26, 2025, a
mass stabbing attack was committed at a
Walmart store just south of Traverse City in Garfield Township, leaving eleven injured. in 2007 ==Geography==