A Brief History of BBI - by Chris McAfee
Mysteries and misconceptions about Bois Blanc Island abound. Many have stood on the shores of the Straits of Mackinac and wondered, “What is that island like?” Perhaps that is why the editors of Traverse Magazine report that their largest selling issue by far was the
one which featured ‘The Straits’ Other Island, Bois Blanc” on the cover.
Once on a carriage tour of Mackinac Island, I asked the driver about “that island out there,” and he replied, “Oh, only millionaires and rattlesnakes live there.” Perhaps the most common misconception is that Bois Blanc, meaning white wood in French, was named for its birch trees. The name actually refers to the bass wood tree, which is white under its bark and was much prized by early settlers for the strong ropes and mats that could be made from the inner bark.
Bois Blanc is the largest of the three islands in the Straits of Mackinac, joining Lakes Huron and Michigan, yet is the least known. Its much smaller neighbor, Mackinac Island, has garnered the lion’s share of fame and fortune, both now and historically (that’s just fine with most of us Islanders; we like our peace and quiet). The first answer to the mystery as to why Mackinac Island rose to prominence is that it literally did rise. Glaciers retreated from the Straits area about 9000 B.C., and the land rose once the huge weight of the ice was removed.
At the time Mackinac Island rose to the surface, Bois Blanc island was still under water. Water levels rose and fell over the years. In 1984 and 1985 we saw high levels, but by 2013 and 2014, they were dangerously low. If you thought they were bad, however, consider that between 6000-3000 B.C. the Straits of Mackinac was just a river connecting the two lakes.
In 2024, they were again dangerous, but dangerously high!
Another reason for Mackinac’s prominence is that its commanding presence in the center of the Straits, as well as its smaller size and greater heights, made it much easier to defend. Too, with its high ground, it was not subjected to the swarms of mosquitoes, black flies, and “noseeums” that infested the lower, swampier land of Bois Blanc.
Some things never change! Anthropological exploration at the Juntunen Site on the west end of BBI confirmed that Bois Blanc Island was occupied as early as A.D. 60. However, most of the “habitation debris” dated from about A.D. 800 to 1400. Evidence suggests that these settlements were seasonal (again, some things don’t change), and that the Indians were drawn here for the large numbers of fish in the surrounding waters.
These were not the only Indian artifacts that were discovered. In 1888 five complete skeletons were discovered, all placed in a sitting position in a circle on land across the road from the old Pines Hotel site. A report in the Cheboygan Democrat, August 30, 1888, states, “Their skulls were all broken as if by blows and the supposition is they were dead of a battle
or victims of torture.” Some longtime Islanders recall that the remains were displayed at the hotel but then disappeared.
Jean Nicolet was the first white man recorded to have traveled the Straits area in 1634. Other French fur traders followed, and France took formal possession of the region in 1671. Father Jacques Marquette, the explorer-priest, set up a mission in that year, and Louis Joliet soon followed him. The Jesuits brought the word of Christ to the Indians and sent the news of vast lands teeming with game and beaver back to the adventurers trickling into Quebec and Montreal.
The first sailing vessel on the Great Lakes, the Griffin, anchored near St. Ignace on August 27, 1679, and attempted to return to Niagara with a load of furs. It sank, but the trickle of voyageurs soon became a flood, and Mackinac became the trading center for the whole Great Lakes basin.
The potential value of military control of the Straits was understood almost from the start. Very early the French built a fort at St. Ignace, which was soon abandoned. Then, about 1715, they built a fort at what later became Mackinaw City. The British bested the French in their war in 1760, so English troops took over that fort in 1761. The unsettling thought of trying to defend a wooden fort against American cannon fire persuaded the British to build the partly stone fort on Mackinac Island, where they relocated in1781. The transfer of Fort Mackinac to the Americans in 1796 was the final incident of the long-other
wise-over Revolutionary War.
In 1795, the Chippewa Nation ceded Bois Blanc Island, along with vast tracts of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, to the United States in the Treaty of Greenville. Bois Blanc was an afterthought in this deal: it was considered only a woodlot for the troops at the fort, a convenient place to construct a kiln to produce quicklime for use in the mortar to build the fort, a fine place to gather maple sugar, and a place to bury those who died of contagious diseases.
The first General Land Office Survey of Bois Blanc was made in 1827 by Lucius Lyon. Several private holdings were reported but not confirmed. The major thrust of the survey was to discover what Bois Blanc had that the Fort on Mackinac Island could use, and accordingly, Major Thompson, Commander of the Fort, wrote that even though a “considerable part of the reservation is useless swamp not even producing timber proper for fuel,” Bois Blanc had some value. It could supply ‘sufficient uttering (sic) pine & other timber to build and keep the post in repair.’
Two years later the first light house was built on the island, and Eber Ward began his duties as light-keeper for the princely sum of $350 a year. He was almost fired when his son, in his absence and against orders, sold “spiritous” liquors to fort soldiers. The son later became a millionaire. Eber lived to see the light tower fall in a great storm that washed away its
footings in 1837. A second light was built in 1839, but in May 1843, Ward quit. He had had enough of his not so pleasant boss, S. Pleasanton, whose penny pinching made the lonely life of an island lighthouse keeper very unpleasant. A succession of keepers followed, and in 1867 the third light was built, sturdily, for it still stands today as a private home.
In 1884, the U.S. government opened Bois Blanc Island to settlers. According to the Cheboygan Democrat, 71 families settled there that first year. In the period of just one year, the island was transformed from an Army woodlot into a community of private citizens. The years between 1884 and 1894 saw a flurry of activity. The U.S. Coast Guard opened a Life
Saving Station at Walker’s Point in 1891. Several sawmills were in operation. In addition, homesteaders were farming at the east end, and one of them, J.C. Blanchard, started the first commercial ferry route between the island and Cheboygan.
In 1888, the Bois Blanc Island Land Company, which was set up to sell resort plots, acquired a steamer, the Jennie King. By August, the Jennie King was plying a route between Cheboygan, Pointe Aux Pins, and Mackinac Island twice a day. A dock had been built the year before at the site of the present “Association” dock, enabling building materials for a new hotel to be offloaded. Construction on the Pines Hotel began in May and was far enough along to open to great fanfare on July 9, 1888.
By the early 1900s several sawmills were operating on the island. There was a mill near Gull Island, one on McRea Bay owned by Lawrence Duman, (the boiler from the mill can still be seen; it’s #17 on the Historical Society Tour), and a shingle mill on the east side of Thompson Lake. The remains of a skidway can still be seen crossing the main road near Moon Bay. This trail is unique in that there is no evidence of wheel ruts. The loggers would wet down the trail in winter to ice it, then “skid” the logs along it.
The largest steam sawmill was built in 1908 at Sand Bay; it employed about 30 men, some of whose homes are still in use. Getting the logs to Sand Bay was accomplished with a narrow-gauge railroad which ran north out of Sand Bay across most of the island
with a spur going easterly off the main line that is parallel to, but south of, the base line. Another spur ran across the present-day airport and ended near the bluff that overlooks Zela (Stony) Point.
The steam engine, manned by Carl Boileau, frequently jumped its tracks despite engineer Mike Laway’s best efforts. The small engine pulled eight cars, each laden with about 1,000 feet of timber. (A piece of the original track, found on a hike a few years ago, is now on display at the Historical Society Museum.) Once cut, the lumber was shipped via steamboat, one of which was the Helen Taylor. When the island had been nearly logged out, the mill at Sand Bay was abandoned to the people of the island who “used” the lumber until there was nothing left but the boiler and stack. Then even that was removed. A smaller mill, run by the Richardsons, was located near the Sand Bay School site and continued for several years.
The mills and lumber camps brought families to Bois Blanc, and schools were opened to teach the children. One stood on the north shore as early as the late 1880s, and another was built near Sand Bay in 1908. There was also a school on the east end to serve the children of the Coast Guard station, and one to serve the children in the Pines, which, happily, is still in operation today.
Education must have been difficult in the one room, uninsulated, frame buildings where wood stoves served to both heat the room and cook a hot meal for lunch. Ray Plaunt, who went to a school on the North Shore for a while, remembers bringing a potato each
day to place in a pot of milk to make potato soup for lunch. The Four R’s often took a backseat to more pressing concerns: the weather, hunting season, or a shortage of funds.
When money ran out the schools closed, then opened again when funds were available to pay a teacher.
Then as now, the island population swelled in the summertime. By 1904, there were often as many as 125 people for dinner at the Pines Hotel, which boasted just 41rooms. The Bois Blanc Island Land Company (BBILC) had built cottages with nine different floor plans, but none had kitchens! The owner, E.T. Webb’s idea was that “resorters” would eat at the hotel, and thus he would make a little extra money. Cottage prices ranged from $200 to $500 dollars, and many are still in use today. Dances were held almost nightly, and a gazebo, which originally stood near the Association dock, was used as a bandstand. Church services were held even before the Church of the Transfiguration was completed in 1906. Sailing regattas, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, and berry picking were popular pastimes.
By 1908, a fire had swept over several logged areas and burned down several cottages. The BBILC sold their holdings to a new group of businessmen, and a self-governing organization was formed to involve the landowners in the operation. The current Bois Blanc Island Association can trace its beginnings back to the original group and several other organizations, including the Pointe Aux Pins Association and the Wilderness Club. Then as now, the organizations strove to better the life of all those on the island. Sidewalks were built, the “old dock was maintained, and activities were planned. Most of the activity took place in Pointe Aux Pins back then.
Families continue to come for the summer to escape the heat and stress of the rest of the world. Throughout the years, the Plaunt family brought most of us to Boblo. First, it was on the Adventure (1932-34), captained by Charles Plaunt, then the Ada M, (1934-54). Ray Plaunt took over for his father as captain and christened his next boat the Charleanne II after his two daughters in 1954. It was in service until 1987, and the Chemaunes (Little Canoe) also ran from 1979 to 1987, when the Kristen D replaced both on August 21. It was named for Ray’s son Curt’s daughter; Curt took over the wheel when Ray retired. Several other boats have provided service, including the following: Bois, Busy Bug, Charleanne, Curt, Jane L, Nora, North Star, and the Polaris.
Given all this information, those who have never been on the island may still wonder, “So, what’s the attraction? No golf course, no fancy restaurants, too many bugs, and too much dust!” For those of us who love Bois Blanc, E.T. Webb said it all well in one of his promotional brochures way back in 1903. For us, Bois Blanc is: The place to go for pleasure, for comfort, for health. Worries are lost sight of here, buoyancy takes the place of weariness, the old lassitude and languor is exchanged for ruddy health; life takes unto itself a deeper, larger, sweeter meaning than ever before. No mystery there!
REFERENCES:
Andrews, Roger. Old Fort Mackinac On the Hill of History. Herald-Leader Press, Menominee, MI, 1938.
Crouch, Helen, The History of Bois Blanc Island. Pamphlet
McPherron, Alan. The Juntunen Site and the Late Woodland Prehistory of the Upper Peninsula. Anthropological Papers No. 30, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1967. (reprints available at the BBI Historical Society Museum)
White, Mike. Unpublished research.
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