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Destination: Michigan
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island, once known as Michilimackinac, the "great turtle," is known for its history, horses, excellent fudge, and of course The Grand Hotel. Tourists have been coming to Mackinac Island since the late 1800s when vacationers from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit came north for the cooler climate.
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Mackinac Island is 4.4 square miles in area and located in the Straits of Mackinac - a narrow stretch of Lake Huron between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas that is spanned by the Mackinac Bridge. It has has been an important part of American history since 1634 when French-Canadian Jean Nicolet found the island. The first white settlers arrived soon after Mackinac Island went on to become the center of the great Midwest fur trade. As the fur trade began to wane in the end of the 1800s, the island changed from being a fort/trade town to becoming the tourist attraction and summer colony that it is today. The island now has a year-round population of approximately 500, but in the summer as many as 15,000 people come to the island every day.
The island is accessible by ferries, private boats, and small planes. In the winter Lake Huron freezes over and snowmobiles can make a 5 mile crossing from the mainland to the island over the ice. Because no personal motorized vehicles are allowed on the island many people travel by bike, foot, horse or carriage. These travelers use either an 8 mile road that circles the island or the numerous roads, trails and paths that crisscross the interior.
In the 17th century Mackinac Island was the center of a thriving fur industry which lasted into the early 19th century. The French controlled the island from Nicolet's arrival in 1634 until the end of the French and Indian War when possession of the island was given to the British. During the American Revolution Fort Mackinac was built on the bluffs of the island in preparation for an attack by the American forces, this attack never came, and yet the British were forced to relinquish control of the fort to the United States in 1796, because of a treaty. The fort eventually saw battle durring the War of 1812 when the British recaptured it, and then again as the American forces tried to regain control. Although the American forces never managed to recapture the fort, the island was returned to the U.S. in 1815 because the Treaty of Ghent. After the War of 1812 Mackinac Island became the center of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, providing work for the many inhabitants of both the island and the surrounding area. In 1822 Fort Mackinac's surgeon William Beaumont became famous for discovering how the stomach digests food (learn about this discovery at the Fort Mackinac Hospital Museum.) As the century came to a close so did a chapter in the island's history. The American Fur Company moved west taking the jobs of many locals. Although the fur trade forced many men to find new jobs, tourism begain to increase dramatically and with it came the construction of many of the Victorian hotels still in operation today, providing different job opportunities. In 1875 much of the island was designated as Mackinac National Park, the second national park in United States History. When the last soldiers left Fort Mackinac in 1895 the fort was decommissioned and the land was given to the state of Michigan to became Michigan's first state park, the Mackinac Island State Park. Of the island's total area, over 82 percent is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park.
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Posted/updated Jul 17, 2006
by Cody Sprattmoran
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