The Streets of Detroit

This section of the site is not complete. If you have a question about a street that is not listed, please email .

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Van Buren AvenueProbably named for President Martin Van Buren.
Van Court Avenue
Van Dyke AvenueNamed for Mayor James A. Van Dyke (1847)
Van Dyke Place
Van Eyck AvenuePossibly named after the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.

Special thanks to David Baeckelandt (former President and Chairman of the Board of the Gazette van Detroit - the last bilingual Dutch-English Belgian newspaper in North America) for this information.

Vancouver Avenue
Vanderbilt Street
Varjo Avenue
Varney Avenue
Vassar Drive
Vaughan Avenue
Veach Avenue
Venice Avenue
Verdun Avenue
Vermont AvenueNamed for the state of Vermont.
Verne Avenue
Vernor AvenuePossibly named for Detroit pharmacist and ginger ale pioneer James Vernor.

West of Livernois

Vernor AvenuePossibly named for Detroit pharmacist and ginger ale pioneer James Vernor.

West of Martin

Vernor Highway E-WPossibly named for Detroit pharmacist and ginger ale pioneer James Vernor.
Verona Avenue
Vicksburg Avenue
Victor Avenue
Victor Avenue (HP)
Victoria AvenuePossibly named for the British monarch.
Viertal Court
Vigo Street
Vincennes Place
Vincent Avenue
Vine StreetSreets are often named for nearby landmarks or geographical features. It could be that the street was near a wood with a lot of vines. Seriously.
Vinewood AvenueTree on Vinewood
Vinewood Street is named after Bela Hubbard's mansion, Vinewood, which in turn was named after the tree covered vines growing throughout the area. The mansion was built in 1856 and was accessed via Vinewood Street from Fort Street.

Special thanks to Robert Andersen for providing this information (including the photo). Bob is a contributor to the Bela Hubbard page on Wikipedia. Visit the page to learn more about Bela Hubbard.

Vinewood Street SSee Vinewood Avenue
Vinton Avenue
Violetlawn AvenueMaybe the grass here was purple. :-)
Virgil AvenuePossibly named for writer.
Virginia AvenueProbably named for the state of Virginia. The street is really in Warren, I believe.
Virginia Park StreetProbably named for the state of Virginia. This street used to appear on maps without the ''Park.''
Visger AvenuePossibly named for Joseph Visger who played a part inprotecting Detroit at the end of the War of 1812.
Visger StreetPossibly named for Joseph Visger who played a part inprotecting Detroit at the end of the War of 1812.
Vista CourtStreets including the word ''vista'' are usually mamed for a view.
Voight Avenue
Volte Avenue
Voss Street
Vulcan Avenue
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Glossary:
Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.
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Glossary:
arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.
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Glossary:
clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.
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Glossary:
Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.
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Glossary:
conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.
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Glossary:
coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.
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Glossary:
District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.
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Glossary:
Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."
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Glossary:
Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.
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Glossary:
Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"
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Glossary:
Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.
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Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.
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Glossary:
New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).
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Glossary:
Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).
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Glossary:
Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).
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Glossary:
Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.
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Glossary:
Renyard

See Fox
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Glossary:
ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.
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Glossary:
Sac

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sakis

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.
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Glossary:
Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Ryswick

September 20, 1697 treaty ending war between France and England.
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Glossary:
voyageurs

Early French explorers who traveled mainly by water.