Along with Louis Campau, Lucius Lyon is remembered as one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the state's second-largest city.

[3] He studied engineering and surveying with John Johnson of Burlington, and moved to Detroit, Michigan Territory, in 1821.

In the winters, he often visited family in Vermont and studied scientific subjects including geology at Middlebury College.

These studies enabled him to develop superior knowledge of Michigan Territory, including land and lakes, flora and fauna, and natural resources.

[6] In 1829, he was commissioned to rebuild the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse at the entrance to the St. Clair River from Lake Huron.

His field notebooks recorded considerable detail about the land he surveyed, providing a rich source of information for later researchers.

On March 28, 1836, Lyon was a witness to the Treaty of Washington of 1836, in which the Ottawa and Chippewa nations of Indians ceded much of the land in the northern portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

He was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan from 1837 to 1839, and was appointed Indian commissioner at La Pointe, Wisconsin, in 1839.

After leaving Congress, Lyon was appointed by President James K. Polk as U.S. Surveyor General for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

[8] Lyon was also a major financial backer of Hiram Moore, an inventor and a founder of the village of Climax, Michigan.

In 2008, city leaders erected a bronze statue of Lyon's likeness downtown, as part of a "Community Legends" initiative intended to pay tribute to pivotal figures in Grand Rapids history.