Marquette Island
Encyclopedia
Marquette Island is the largest of the 36 islands in the Les Cheneaux archipelago
of northern Michigan
, United States. Located in Mackinac County
on the north shore of Lake Huron
, the island has a small summer population. It is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long and 3.5 miles (5.5 km) wide. Its geographic center is close to 45 degrees 57 minutes N., 84 degrees 23 minutes W.
A narrow, freshwater sound, the Les Cheneaux Channel, separates Marquette Island from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The channel shore of Marquette Island is lined with Edwardian boathouse
s and cottage
s, relics of the island's development as real estate in the early 1900s. At its most narrow, the channel is less than 0.25 miles (0.4 km) in width. The island's summer inhabitants often travel by water to the nearby towns of Cedarville and Hessel for the necessities of life. The Les Cheneaux Yacht Club, a social center of the islands, is located on Marquette Island.
Although Marquette Island is large, it is not as expansive as its overall dimensions might suggest, because it is deeply gouged by freshwater bays such as Duck Bay, Hessel Bay, Peck Bay, and Wilderness Bay. There are no bridges or other means of automobile access to the island, and no roads on the island. Because of this, most island landowners own some sort of water frontage or dock access. The waters adjacent to Marquette Island are noted for freshwater fishing
, particularly for lake perch
. The island is named in honor of missionary/explorer Jacques Marquette
.
"On this spot stood the log cabin of Chabowaway (sometimes called 'Shab-wa-way' or 'Shabway'), a leading chief of the Ottawa Indians. Here he and his ancestors lived for over a century and in this cabin he died about the year 1872 at the age, it is said, of over 100 years. March 28th, 1836, he represented his tribe and signed the Indian Treaty at Washington, D.C., ceding most of northern Michigan to the United States but reserving for himself and for his people 'the Islands of the chenos' (Indian Treaties, Ed. of 1873, Vol. 1, p. 607). He was succeeded by his son 'Pay-Baw-Me-Say' who took his father's name and who also died in this cabin, about the year 1882. Soon thereafter the cabin was burned by a company of hunters."
Between 1883 and 1887, the property on Club Point (the northernmost peninsula of Marquette Island) passed from the heirs of Shab-wa-way, through several temporary owners into the ownership of William L. Benham who purchased Club Point in 1888. Benham, Alfred E. Bousfield, and other investors, mostly from Bay City, MI, formed the Les Cheneaux Club, which attracted summer cottagers seeking to escape the heat and humidity of Chicago and other midwestern cities. The Club grounds contain a number of large summer homes which remain the most conspicuous feature of Marquette Island. Among the early members of the Club was the family of Aldo Leopold
, who spent his childhood summers in the woods and waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands.
Les Cheneaux Islands
Les Cheneaux Islands are a group of 36 small islands, some inhabited, along 12 miles of Lake Huron shoreline on the southeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The name is French for "the Channels", noting the many channels between the islands in the group...
of northern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States. Located in Mackinac County
Mackinac County, Michigan
-Local Airports:*Mackinac County Airport *Mackinac Island Airport -Airline service:The nearest airports with scheduled passenger service are:*Chippewa County International Airport in Sault Ste...
on the north shore of Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, the island has a small summer population. It is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long and 3.5 miles (5.5 km) wide. Its geographic center is close to 45 degrees 57 minutes N., 84 degrees 23 minutes W.
A narrow, freshwater sound, the Les Cheneaux Channel, separates Marquette Island from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The channel shore of Marquette Island is lined with Edwardian boathouse
Boathouse
A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...
s and cottage
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s, relics of the island's development as real estate in the early 1900s. At its most narrow, the channel is less than 0.25 miles (0.4 km) in width. The island's summer inhabitants often travel by water to the nearby towns of Cedarville and Hessel for the necessities of life. The Les Cheneaux Yacht Club, a social center of the islands, is located on Marquette Island.
Although Marquette Island is large, it is not as expansive as its overall dimensions might suggest, because it is deeply gouged by freshwater bays such as Duck Bay, Hessel Bay, Peck Bay, and Wilderness Bay. There are no bridges or other means of automobile access to the island, and no roads on the island. Because of this, most island landowners own some sort of water frontage or dock access. The waters adjacent to Marquette Island are noted for freshwater fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, particularly for lake perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
. The island is named in honor of missionary/explorer Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
.
Home of Chief Shabwaway
Marquette Island was the home of Chief Shab-wa-way, whose homesite was located directly south across the channel from the present site of the Les Cheneaux Club golf course. A plaque was placed on this location by the Les Cheneaux Historical Association in 1982. The plaque describes the significance of this site as follows:"On this spot stood the log cabin of Chabowaway (sometimes called 'Shab-wa-way' or 'Shabway'), a leading chief of the Ottawa Indians. Here he and his ancestors lived for over a century and in this cabin he died about the year 1872 at the age, it is said, of over 100 years. March 28th, 1836, he represented his tribe and signed the Indian Treaty at Washington, D.C., ceding most of northern Michigan to the United States but reserving for himself and for his people 'the Islands of the chenos' (Indian Treaties, Ed. of 1873, Vol. 1, p. 607). He was succeeded by his son 'Pay-Baw-Me-Say' who took his father's name and who also died in this cabin, about the year 1882. Soon thereafter the cabin was burned by a company of hunters."
Between 1883 and 1887, the property on Club Point (the northernmost peninsula of Marquette Island) passed from the heirs of Shab-wa-way, through several temporary owners into the ownership of William L. Benham who purchased Club Point in 1888. Benham, Alfred E. Bousfield, and other investors, mostly from Bay City, MI, formed the Les Cheneaux Club, which attracted summer cottagers seeking to escape the heat and humidity of Chicago and other midwestern cities. The Club grounds contain a number of large summer homes which remain the most conspicuous feature of Marquette Island. Among the early members of the Club was the family of Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold was an American author, scientist, ecologist, forester, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac , which has sold over two million copies...
, who spent his childhood summers in the woods and waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands.