It is a monumental task to give you all the history that is involved in the creation and growth of Detroit.....So I am going to make this brief and then hand over the ‘founding of Detroit’ reins over to the Detroit Historical Society. Get our free mobile appSo I can’t really relate anything to you that you haven’t already heard or experienced yourself. The full name, Fort Pontchartrain du détroit, gave Detroit its French name. If you want to know more details and history in EXTREME length, there are plenty of sites you can check out, particularly the Detroit Historical Society, and an EXHAUSTIVE timeline that you can peruse at the History of Detroit page. Now scroll down to see a baker's dozen of vintage photographs showing how Detroit looked over 100 years ago!