Trading Post or Resort?

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Mackinac Island Harbor

The Bay View Mackinac boat race

Situated in the northern part of Lake Huron, Mackinac Island has long been a staple of life for those in the Northwest Territory. Nestled in the place where two Great Lakes meet each other, the island has a small permanent population of approximately 500. The island is often referred to as a crossroads between the lakes and has remained a popular destination since the 1800s. Tourists began to appear on the island in the 1850s, and the island became a national park in 1875, just three years after Yellowstone. The island was long home to Anishinaabe settlement and Tribal communities well before European colonization began in the 17th century; the island is a sacred place and is the center of many creation stories.

For early arrivals, it was a place of exchange and a place of pleasure. More than 400 years ago, long before Europeans arrived, the Anishinaabe called this island home. The island's name itself is derived from Anishinaabemowin, interpreted by the French as Michilimackinac, meaning "place of the Great Turtle." By the time of the arrival of newcomers, the Mackinac Straits had become a primary corridor of transportation, and the island's position made it a convenient stopping point. The first of the Europeans likely to have visited Mackinac Island is Jean Nicolet, a French-Canadian coureur des bois, in 1634. Jesuit missions were formed on the island in the 1670s. By 1671, Father Jacques Marquette arrived. Raphael Hamilton argues that with the missions as a focus, Mackinac Island became a strategic point of contact for both the French missions and the fur trade.

Fur traders and voyageurs alike stopped at the island to rest, restock, and trade. Trader Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard described Mackinac as "the beautiful island where our wearisome voyage was brought to an end." Working for the American Fur Co., Hubbard spent a lot of time in the Great Lakes. Mackinac Island was one of the fur trade headquarters and had a thriving industry. Hubbard later observed that: “during the summer months, congregated the traders employed by the Fur Company, bringing their collections from their several trading posts...south and east to the white settlements; in fact to all...hunting grounds, so that when they are all collected they added three thousand or more to the population. The Indians from the shores of the upper lakes, who made this island a place of resort, numbered from two to three thousand more. Their wigwams lined the entire beach two or three rows deep, and, with the tents of the traders, made the island a scene of life and animation. The voyageurs were fond of fun and frolic....” (15-16). 

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Lakeshore Walkway

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about his visit to the island in 1831. He made his way to the island on the Superior and while there seemingly talked to everyone in sight. In Journey to America he wrote: "At 3 o'clock we are skirting Bois-Blanc and Ile Ronde and arrive at Mackinac. Island three leagues round and fairly high. At the top the white defense-works of an American fort. On the shore some fifty houses, several of them rather pretty, belonging to the American company. On the bank a great number of Indian huts. They visit there, coming from distant parts, for the sake of presents. Two churches. We take a French Canadian guide. We go to see the perforated rock. Picturesque" (145). 

In 1839, Anna Jameson described the island as "exceedingly beautiful" which was only enhanced by the enchanting scenery, communication afforded by the lake steamers and ferry services, and its place in the region. The island's position as it were was "likely to render Mackinaw a sort of watering-place for Michigan and Wisconsin fashionables." From her lodgings, Jameson described that the island was lively, and the little crescent bay was "thickly studded with Indian lodges; canoes-fishing, or darting hither and thither, light and boyuant as sea-birds" with tall ships anchored in the bay. Jameson noted that "opposite rises the island of Bois Blanc, with its tufted most luxurious foliage. To the east we see the open lake, and in the far western distance the promontory of Michilimackinac, and the strait of that name, the portal of Lake Michigan," a site to behold. Later on, Jameson remarked that Mackinac Island did indeed live up to its native name, shaped like "a large turtle sleeping on the water."

Like Jameson, Margaret Fuller wrote about her time on Mackinac. She commented that "Mackinaw has been fully described by able pens, and I can only add my tribute to exceeding beauty of the spot and its position." Moreover, "it is charming to be on an island so small that you can sail round it in an afternoon, yet large enough to admit of long secluded walks through its gentle groves." In a similar fashion, Fuller commented that Mackinac was best admired from the water, where one could appreciate the shape of the island"the Great Turtle."  

Well into the 19th century, Mackinac Island served as the western-most customs house on the lakes. Vessels bound for Green Bay, Lake Superior, Sault Ste. Marie, Chicago, or St. Joseph were required to check in at customs. In the latter half of the century, as the prominence of Mackinac Island to the fur trade began to wane, tourism took over as the hallmark of the island. When the Civil War ended and railroads expanded across the nation and the state of Michigan, the tourism industry began to thrive. Mackinac's designation as a national park in 1875 earned more visitors alongside the sport fishing industry. To accommodate the new influx of tourists in the 1880s, the boat and railroad companies built hotels, including the Grand Hotel.

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Mackinac, the wonderful isle, Petoskey, Traverse City & other northern Michigan summer resorts.

The Michigan Central Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company came together to form the Mackinac Island Hotel Company in 1886. From there, hotel construction began after the purchase of the land on the island. In 1887, the Grand Hotel opened to guests who would arrive by steamer from places including Erie, Chicago, Montreal, and Detroit, to name a few. Railroad companies also ferried people to various places up north where ferry services to the island could be obtained. Rates for the night ranged from $3.00 to $5.00. 

After the opening of the hotel and the appearance of regular steamship routes to the island, railroad companies advertised summer resorts on the lakes and islands. Mackinac the Wonderful Isle touted the island's most delightful resort region because of its position between the lakes. The resort booklet described the island as "fanned by the breezes and laved by the waters of the three greatest lakes of AmericaSuperior, Michigan, and Huron" with the "most equable, exhilirating, and delightful summer climate." Describing the blue-green waters of the lakes and the Anishinaabe stories of the island, the booklet beckons visitors to explore the little paradise themselves. Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad's summer resort brochure Northern Michigan Summer Resorts: "The Fishing Line" of 1885 lauded that "[n]o one who has ever visited Mackinac can accurately describe the beauties of that lovely island...It is indeed the Wonderful Isles, and well worthy a long journey for a visit."  

The Summer Resorts and Lakes of Northern Michigan and How to Reach them encouraged vacationers to the island because well-known author Charles Hallock commented: "I am sure no one who has ever visited the Island if Mackinac will ever regret it. I found its natural local attractions more romantic and pleasurable than most of the places I have visited." Many of the booklets also advertised the natural land formations as vistor "must-dos," including Arch Rock, Fort Mackinaw, Sugar Loaf, and Robinson's Folly. Summer Resorts called attention to the sights at the island, the surrounding scenery, and the historical importance of the island. 

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Arch Rock, Mackinac Island

According to the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau, "For centuries, visitors have found this national landmark to be the ideal vacation spot. No cars. No chain hotels. Just world-famous Mackinac Island Fudge, historic Fort Mackinac, unique shopping and diverse dining." Talking to the Detroit Free Press, the 2021 tourism season was "off the charts crazy," according to Chris Shepler, third-generation operater of Shepler's Ferry Service. He estimated that they carried more than 600,000 visitors to the island. Even today, you can come to the island and be ferried around in a horse and carriage just like in 1920. Guests can stay in hotels that date back to 1852, fire cannons at historic Fort Mackinac, or just explore the nation's second national park.  

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