Mackinac or Mackinaw?

Friday, Aug 3, 2012

Is it Mackinac or Mackinaw?  I finally got the answer today.  It is both.  The natives to this area called the island Michilimackinac.  The French were the first to settle in the area and built Fort Mackinac to help protect the fur trade.  When they first wrote down the name they spelled it in the French style - Mackinac (the c is silent in French when it follows a vowel and ends a word).  On the mainland the British were in charge and they wrote the word phonetically - Mackinaw.  Today the island is spelled Mackinac and the mainland city is Mackinaw City to help the post office figure out where the mail goes. 

Mackinac Island is about 8 miles in circumference and 3.8 square miles in total area.  There are about 500 people who live there year round.  Tourism is the main industry on the island.  You can only reach the island by ferry, small plane or snow mobile in the winter.  The lake freezes over and forms an ice bridge. 

We took the ferry.  First we were treated to a view of the bridge that is not normally seen -  the underside!

Ok, here is a side view -

Once on the island there are only a few ways of getting around.  You can walk, ride a bike (available for rent), ride horse (also available for rent), or take a horse drawn carriage ride.  There are only a few automobiles on the island - the fire engine, the ambulance, and a couple of others.  No cars are owned by private people.  I also didn't see golf carts on the roads.  Mostly there are a lot of bikes. 

We arrived around 9:30 AM and it was still a bit overcast and cool. We walked through Main Street and checked out a few of the shops. Then we headed over to the carriage ride place.  This isn't our carriage but it will give you an idea of one.

The guide was good and we passed many historical buildings - I think this is the Biddle House -

We also passed the Grand Hotel -

The Governor of Michigan's summer house -

A movie called Somewhere in Time was filmed here in 1980.  This phone booth was used in the movie -

Since the island used to be a summer vacation spot for the rich and famous back in the 1800's and early 1900's, there were a lot of carriages the families had for themselves.  They also owned many of the houses on the island.  Many of the carriages were left on the island when the families left.  They are currently working on a museum for them.  It is open and you can see many of these -

Most of Mackinac Island is a state park.  At one time it was a National Park.  In fact, it was the second National Park in the country.  When the government decided the fort was no longer necessary they turned the park over to the state.  We were lucky enough to see a woodpecker during part of our tour.  The guide said he had never seen one before as they usually were out only in the early morning or late evening. 

We also spent a lot of time exploring Fort Mackinac.  The first battle of the war of 1812 was fought here.  The buildings are all original.  Boy and Girl Scouts spend time on the island with their troops.  They also work at the Fort and provide assistance there.  We really enjoyed our time there. 

We asked one of the carriage drivers for a suggestion for lunch.  She gave us a couple and we decided to go to her first choice.  It was a restaurant called the Chuckwagon.  They basically do hamburgers and sandwiches.  It is also one of the smallest restaurants I have ever been in!  Yes, this is the entire place -

The food was surprisingly good. 

After lunch we wandered through a few stores, bought some fudge the island is famous for, and then headed back to our boat.  As we said goodbye to the island I snapped a few pictures of some of the fabulous houses there -

We had a fabulous time.  If you are ever in the Upper Part (UP) of Michigan you should plan on spending a day on Mackinac Island.  Take the horse drawn carriage ride and enjoy yourself.  Oh, and have some fudge. 

Please enjoy all the pictures I took.  Remember, if you click on the slideshow you will be taken to Picasa where you can see larger pictures.