East Lansing is located in the south-central part of the state of Michigan and is considered as a residential and university city in Ingham County. The area sits on the Red Cedar River that is adjoined by Lansing. The area where the present-day East Lansing stands used to be a remote area when the Michigan State University was granted with the land and was then founded in 1855 as Michigan Agricultural School. The school was first named as Collegeville, and the city was subsequently redesignated as East Lansing by the local state legislature in 1907 at the time of its incorporation. The city’s primary economic activity is centered around the university, which is East Lansing’s major employer.