It may be synonymous with Ann Arbor now, but the University of Michigan was actually founded in Detroit in 1817. It was called the Catholepistemiad (academy of universal knowledge) of Detroit. This was back when Michigan was only a territory so enrollment in the school was modest. Once an official state, the legislature moved to establish a state university. A competition was held to find a permanent home for a bigger, better university. On this day in 1837, the legislature granted the school permission to relocate to Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Land Company donated the original 40-acre campus (bounded by State Street, South University, North University, and East University avenues) to the university.