Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, a city of the United States, capital of Kent county, Michigan, is picturesquely situated on both sides of the Grand River near the rapids, 30 miles E. of Lake Michigan. The river is navigable up to this point, and steamers connect the city with Grand Haven and the navigation of Lake Michigan. The city is also the point of intersection of six railways. It possesses two public parks, a county jail, a central school, a large public library, and a scientific institute. It is the seat of the United States circuit and district courts for the western district of Michigan. The manufactures include a great variety of woodware (especially furniture, carriages, and waggons), agricultural implements, machinery, chemical substances, leather, beer, fruit, bricks of a very fine quality, and gypsum, which is very abundant in the neighbourhood. There is also a very extensive trade in lumber. The fall of the river at the rapids is about 18 feet in 1*- miles, and this water power has been taken advantage of lor many of the manufactories. Grand Rapids was settled in 1833 and incorporated, in 1850. The population has been rapidly increasing ; while in 1850 it was only 2686, it was 16,507 in 1870, of whom 5725 were foreigners.