Michigan's Thumb, a Paradise for Saxonia Settlers

Unbearable working and living conditions along with continuous wars in Saxony spurred a group of adventuresome men and women to emigrate. The Michigan Emigration commissioner M.H. Allardt, spent six years in Germany, helping form Colonie Saxonia, enabling also low-income families to leave. Obstacles arose. First, a warning of the Prussian government against leaving for the ?Siberian-like? Michigan. Then, settling in the Upper Peninsula turned out to be a disaster. A second group of 30 families had already boarded their ship and was warned in New York.

They decided to settle in Delaware Township, Sanilac County, Michigan. They bought 10,000 acres? half a township?and formed a co-op. By winter they were already in primitive log houses and had begun clearing land, and on July 4, 1876, they held their first public meeting. After English language classes, a theater group formed, performing in two languages. When the Englishmen took German, the ?melting pot? effect was on its way.