Mackinac Island
| Mackinac Island | ||
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| Waters | Lake Huron | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 51 '40 " N , 84 ° 37' 50" W | |
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| length | 5.1 km | |
| width | 2.9 km | |
| surface | 9.779 km² | |
| Residents | 492 (2010) 50 inhabitants / km² |
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| main place | Mackinac Island | |
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Mackinac Island [ ˈmækɪˌnɔː ] is an island in the Huron Sea east of the Mackinac Strait ( Mackinac County , Michigan ). Its area is 9,779 km². The island is located at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the Upper ( Upper ) and the Lower Peninsula ( Lower Peninsula ) of Michigan.
The island was inhabited by Odawa Indians. European explorers came to the island in the 17th century. Mackinac Island soon assumed a strategic position as a trading center for the fur trade in the Great Lakes area. The British built Fort Mackinac on the island during the American War of Independence, where two battles occurred during the War of 1812.
The second national park in the United States , Mackinac National Park , was established here in 1875 . In 1895 it was converted to Mackinac Island State Park.
In the late 19th century, Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction and summer getaway. Numerous hotels (e.g. the Grand Hotel ) and villas in Victorian style were built, which have been preserved and used to this day. The island has been on the list of National Historic Landmarks as a Historic District since 1960 . It is still car-free today.
history
Early days
Archaeologists have found prehistoric fishermen settlements on Mackinac Island. Fishhooks, ceramic vessels and other everyday objects are evidence of settlement as early as 900 AD, more than 700 years before the first Europeans came to the area. For the oldest known residents, the Anishinaabe, the island was a sacred place, because they considered it the home of Gitche Manitou ("Great Spirit"). According to legend, Mackinac Island was created by Michabou and was the first land to emerge from the water after the Great Flood fell. The island was a gathering place where local tribes made sacrifices to Gitche Manitou. The chiefs were also buried here.
17th century: European discovery
The French-Canadian Jean Nicolet was probably the first European to set foot on Mackinac Island in 1634 during his exploratory trips. In 1670 the Jesuit pastor Claude Dablon founded a missionary center for the Indians on Mackinac Island and spent the winter of 1670/71 on the island. His successor, the missionary and explorer Jacques Marquette, moved the mission to St. Ignace after his arrival in the autumn of 1671. With the mission as a focal point, the settlement on Mackinacstrasse soon became an important French trading post and played an important role in the French fur trade.
Mackinac Island was a central travel hub in the Upper Great Lakes region not only for the first Europeans, but also for the Indians. The tribes that had resided on Mackinac Island had been driven out by the Iroquois, leaving the island virtually uninhabited and deserted by 1670. Only the Huron tribe (from Lake Superior) had retreated to the north coast of Mackinac Island while fleeing the Sioux Indians. Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville, wrote in his memoir of 1688 that the region had been inhabited by French since 1648. A small French garrison was stationed between 1679 and 1683.
18th century: French, British and American rule
Since 1715 the French had controlled the Straits of Mackinac through Fort Michilimackinac near present-day Mackinaw City . After the end of the French colonial empire through the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) and the subsequent Peace of Paris, British troops took over the fort. Since the British military considered its location too exposed and difficult to defend, they built it during the American War of Independence in 1780 –1781 a new stone fort on the rocks of Mackinac Island.
On September 3, 1783, the American War of Independence ended with the Peace of Paris . In the Treaty of Paris, the border between the 13 new "United States of America" and British North America (now Canada) was established. In this context, the entire region around the Mackinac Strait officially fell to the USA. The British forces left the Great Lakes region only after the Jay Treaty of 1794, which enshrined US sovereignty over the Northwest Territory. The US states Ohio , Indiana , Illinois , Michigan (in the north of which is Mackinac Island) and Wisconsin as well as parts of Minnesota emerged from the Northwest Territory .
19th century: from civil war to vacation island
In the British-American War of 1812, the British took the fort on Mackinac Island before the Americans even realized that war had been declared. The victorious British tried to secure their conquest by building another fort above Fort Mackinac (Fort George). In 1814 there was another battle between American and British troops on the north side of the island. In this battle, the Americans did not succeed in retaking the island.
The Treaty of Ghent (1815) forced the British to cede Mackinac Island and the surrounding mainland to the United States. US forces returned to Fort Mackinac, and Fort George was renamed Fort Holmes, after the American Major Andrew Holmes, who died in the last battle on Mackinac Island. Fort Mackinac remained under the control of the US government until 1895. During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the fort was occupied by a volunteer army. It also served as a prison.
After the end of the American Civil War, Mackinac Island became a trading post again. The fur trader John Jacob Astor settled on the island and exported beaver pelts for 30 years. In the middle of the 19th century, commercial fishing replaced the fur trade as the main industry. Mostly whitefish (caught Whitefish ) and lake trout. In the 1880s, sport fishing became increasingly popular. Mackinac Island saw the first hotels and restaurants for tourists arriving by rail or ferry from Detroit.
Since the end of the American Civil War, the island has developed as a tourist destination for the residents of the cities along the Great Lakes. Much of the state's land on Mackinac Island was declared the US's second national park, Mackinac National Park, in 1875. Three years earlier, Yellowstone National Park had been declared the first national park in the United States.
To cope with the tourist rush, the rail and ferry companies built hotels on Mackinac Island. In 1887, the Grand Hotel, the largest hotel on the island to this day, opened . More and more islanders opened souvenir shops. Wealthy businesspeople had Victorian-style villas built as summer residences ("summer cottages") on the cliffs. A social life arose with dance events, tennis and golf courses as well as hiking and cycling trails.
In 1895 the island became the property of the state of Michigan from the US government. Mackinac Island became Michigan's first state park. Since then, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission has controlled private development projects and the preservation of the island's typical Victorian architecture.
After the first visitors brought their cars to the island, residents complained about the noise, the exhaust fumes and that cars scared the horses of the local coachmen. A car ban came into force in 1898 and is still in force today. Rare exceptions are ambulances, construction vehicles and snowmobiles.
20th and 21st centuries: Car-free summer tourism
To this day, Mackinac Island lives mainly from tourism in the summer months. However, during World War I, after the Depression of 1929 and World War II, tourism suffered tremendous declines and many businesses went out of business.
In 1960 Mackinac Island was added to the list of "National Historic Landmarks". The Grand Hotel has also been on this list since 1989.
Tourist numbers have been increasing again since the 1950s and 1960s. In 2000, Mackinac Island had 835,000 visitors.
tourism
Mackinac Island is a popular day and multi-day vacation spot, especially between May and September (Memorial Day to Labor Day). Many meetings and conferences also take place on the island.
transport
Mackinac Island is served by ferry from Mackinaw City (Lower Peninsula) and St. Ignace (Upper Peninsula). From April to October, ships of the two ferry companies Shepler's Ferry and Star Line Ferry operate up to three dozen times a day in each direction. The third ferry company, Arnold Transit Company, ceased operations at the end of 2016 after 138 years. The company had been bought by competitor Star Line Ferry. Outside the main season, the ferries run a maximum of 5 times a day when the waterway is free of ice.
Small planes can land on the island airfield. Great Lakes Air operates charter flights from Pellston (near Mackinaw City). St. Ignace and Traverse City to Mackinac Island through.
Annual events
Since 1949, the ten-day lilac festival has been held every year during the flowering period in May / June. Among other things, a lilac queen will be elected and a horse-drawn parade will be held. In the Victorian era, the residents of Mackinac Island began to plant lilacs. Today many paths and gardens are lined with lilac bushes.
Mackinac Island is also the destination of two sailing regattas, the "Bayview Mackinac Boat Race" and the "Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac". Both regattas take place in July each year, offset by one week. Both regattas have been held since the 1920s and are among the longest inland lake regattas in the world. Over 500 boats with 3,500 sailors take part in the races.
Attractions
Nine attractions on Mackinac Island are on the National Register of Historic Places (in alphabetical order):
The fort was built in 1780 and closed in 1895. In the 1930s the fort was restored and returned to the state of the late 19th century.
The Victorian-style hotel opened in 1887.
- Indian Dormitory
After the Treaty of Washington was signed (1836), the building was built as a school and shelter for Aboriginal peoples who came to the island to receive their annual allotment. The building was restored in 1966 and turned into a museum. In 2003 the museum was closed. In 2010 it reopened as the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum and exhibits local art from prehistory to the present day.
- Lawrence Andrew Young Cottage
- Matthew Geary House
The Matthew Geary home was built in 1846 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It can now be rented as a holiday home.
- Mission Church
The Mission Church from 1829 is the oldest surviving church building in Michigan. After restoration work, the church can be seen in its original condition from the 1830s.
- Robert Stuart House
- Round Island Lighthouse
The lighthouse is located south of Mackinac Island on the small, uninhabited island called Round Island. The lighthouse was built in 1894 and automated in 1924. The lighthouse has been continuously renovated since the 1970s.
- Round Island Passage Light
Film locations
The Grand Hotel's swimming pool was named after the actress and competitive swimmer Esther Williams. She played the leading role in the film "This Time for Keeps" (1947), for which many scenes were filmed on Mackinac Island.
Much of the film " A Deadly Dream " (Somewhere in Time, 1980) was filmed in Mission Point on southeast Mackinac Island. Numerous landmarks are featured in the film, including the Grand Hotel and the Round Island Lighthouse.
Mackinac Island was also featured in two episodes of the television series " Dirty Jobs " ( Discovery Channel , 2005–2012). In one episode in 2007, presenter Mike Rowe worked as a maintenance worker on the Mackinac Bridge, in another in 2009 as a garbage collector and horse manure collector on Mackinac Island.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Michigan. National Park Service , accessed August 15, 2019.
- ↑ Hamilton, Raphael N .: SJ Father Marquette . Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans. Page 43
- ^ History of Mackinac Island , Mackinac.com , accessed February 20, 2017
- ↑ History of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island , Grandhotel.com , accessed February 20, 2017
- ↑ The Victorian Age , Mackinac.com , accessed February 20, 2017
- ↑ Mackinac Island: Where Cars are Banned and Bikes Rule the Road , Triplepundit.com , October 17, 2013 article
- ^ Mackinac County Tourism Profile
- ^ Shepler's Ferry timetable
- ↑ Star Line Ferry timetable
- ^ Arnold Transit to end ferry service to Mackinac Island , The Detroit News , Nov. 4, 2016 article
- ^ Great Lakes Air website
- ↑ Information about the Lilac Festival (Lilac Festival)
- ^ Website of the Bayview Mackinac Boat Race
- ^ Website of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac
- ↑ World's Longest Freshwater Sailing Race Bound for Island Harbor ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Mackinac Island Town Crier , July 14, 2007 article
- ^ Esther Williams Pool , Grand Hotel website
- ^ Dirty Jobs, Bridge Painter , Imdb.com
- ^ Dirty Jobs Crew returns to Mackinac Island , Mackinac Island News, October 10, 2009
