Celebrate Statehood:

The Toledo War

In 1835, Ohio was already a state. Michigan and Ohio both wanted Toledo, a port on Lake Erie. Both sides sent armed men to the area. No one actually fought.

Michigan's boundary line had to be decided before it could become a state. The United States Congress settled the dispute. It gave the Toledo Strip to Ohio. It gave Michigan the western part of the Upper Peninsula.

This wooden ammunition box is in the Michigan Historical Museum's Statehood Gallery. The words on the lid of the box—C G (for Company G) No 4 Toledo Mich—show that it dates to the years when some people thought Toledo was part of Michigan.