ANN ARBOR

city, seat (1827) of Washtenaw county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Huron River. John Allen and Elisha W. Rumsey founded the community in 1824, which they named for their wives (both called Ann) and the local natural groves, or arbors. The settlement developed as an agricultural trading centre after the arrival in 1839 of the Michigan Central Railroad, which connected it with Detroit (38 miles east). The University of Michigan (moved there in 1837 from Detroit, where it was founded in 1817) has played a major role in Ann Arbor's growth. Events of student interest dominate the life of the city, while a complex of hospitals and the university's medical school have made Ann Arbor a leading medical centre. Private industrial research and development joined by the university's various institutes of science and technology have raised Ann Arbor to rank as a major Midwest centre for aeronautical, space, nuclear, chemical, and metallurgical research. Diversified manufactures include ball bearings, scientific instruments, and precision machinery. Washtenaw Community College (1965) and Concordia (Lutheran) College (1962) are in the city. Inc. village, 1833; city, 1851. Pop. (1990) city, 109,608; Ann Arbor PMSA, 490,058; (1994 est.) city, 108,817; (1995 est.) Ann Arbor PMSA, 522,916.