LANSING

capital of Michigan, U.S., in Ingham county, on the Grand River at its junction with the Red Cedar River. The site was a wilderness when the state capital was moved there from Detroit (85 mi southeast) in 1847. Called Michigan, in 1848 it assumed the name of Lansing for the township (named for Lansing, N.Y.), in which it was located. The State Capitol (erected 187378) stands in a 10-ac (4-ha) park in the centre of the city. Connected by road to Detroit in 1852, and to out-of-state areas by railroad in the 1870s, the city grew industrially after 1887 with the establishment of the Olds Motor Works and the Reo Motor Car Company by Ransom Eli Olds; it is now a major automobile production centre with a wide range of manufactures. Lansing Community College (1957) is located there. Adjacent East Lansing is the home of Michigan State University (1855). Inc. city, 1859. Pop. (1990) city, 127,321; LansingEast Lansing MSA, 432,674.