The wording on the marker is as follows: Located at the juncture of the old Indian trails and the Huron River, this area was camping and burying ground for several Indial tribes. In 1809 Gabriel Godfroy established an Indian trading post on the west bank of the Huron which he maintained for about ten years. Benjamin Woodruff and companians came up the river by boat in 1823 and settled one mile east of here at Woodruff's Grove. In 1825 a town was platted by Judge Augustus B. Woodward of Detroit and two local men, William Harwood and John Stewart. Situated on both sides of the Huron where the famous Chicage Road (now U.S. 12) crossed the river, the town was named Ypsilanti in honor of the Greek war hero, Demetrius Ypsilanti. The home of Eastern Michigan University, the oldest state university west of Albany, Ypsilanti is also the site of one of the state's very first publicly-supported secondary schools. In World War II the Willow Run plant was erected to build B-24 bombers which were vitally important in the war effort. True to its heritage, Ypsilanti has grown in the main stream of commerce, industry, and education.

The back of the sign has a map of the Ypsilanti area with the following locations marked:

• 1 - You are here
• 2 - Cleary College
• 3 - Eastern Michigan University
• 4 - Ypsilanti Monument
• 5 - Site of the Godfrey Trading Post
• 6 - Beyer Memorial Hospital
• 7 - Willow Run Airport
• 8 - Site of Woodruff's Grove
• 9 - Michigan Avenue Interchange
• 10 - Grove Road Interchange
• [ ] - Original Plat of Ypsilanti