 The county is home to the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, and Concordia University Ann Arbor.The earliest histories mention French trappers and traders conducting trade in the area at the Potawatomi Trail and Pontiac Trail crossings of the Huron River, and later English then American settlers.The first successful settlement was established at the present site of Ypsilanti about 1809 by French traders.