Did You Know Michigan Was the Largest State in the Union For 8 Years?
You weren't always the big man on campus, Texas. Back before you were allowed in the Union, Michigan was the largest state in the United States!
That's right, back in January 26, 1837 (when Michigan entered the union), we became the LARGEST state! Michigan comes in at 96,713.51 square miles in total area (this includes water), which is currently 11th in the nation in size. But for 8 years, 11 months and 4 days, Michigan was the largest.
Michigan held this record until Texas entered the union on December 29, 1845. Texas held the record for 113 years and 6 days, until our current largest state, Alaska, was admitted to the union on January 3, 1959.
So, what category is Michigan number 1 in? As stated earlier, we are on 11th in total area. If you remove the Great Lakes and only include the land mass of Michigan, we drop to 22nd on the list. Well, then we have to have the most water of any state, right? Nope! We come in 2nd on that list too, with Alaska having almost double the amount of water within their borders.
But Michigan does hit number 1 in one very specific category. Michigan has the largest percentage of water within it's border of any state! We even beat out Hawaii! Michigan's total area is a whopping 41.5% water!